Canton offers expanding restaurant, familiar favorites with new additions
Aug. 1, 2019
This paid piece is sponsored by the Lincoln County Economic Development Association.
From a new restaurant that’s now expanding to longtime destinations with modern updates, a quick trip south of Sioux Falls leads to some fun discoveries in Canton.
Going through Haisch Pharmacy & Gifts is like a trip back in time but with plenty of up-to-the-minute merchandise. A Canton mainstay since 1973, you’ll find it retains that old-fashioned feel.
Dick and Kay Haisch sold the business to Arne Anderson 26 years ago. In the pharmacy, he will sit down with patients to go through medications. He does blood pressure checks and offers walk-in vaccinations. The pharmacy even provides free prescription delivery and hospital discharge home visits.
“We try to keep it very small and home feeling,” store manager Julie Boor said.
The rest of the store offers a wide array of merchandise, including a big selection of greeting cards, tons of home decor, candy, baby items and a new women’s clothing line.
“Everyone comes in and says it’s unique items they just can’t find everywhere and in your big-box stores,” Boor said. “So we try to only get a few pieces in, so everything is different.”
Haisch Pharmacy & Gifts is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The store holds several special events each year, including a holiday open house in November usually the weekend before Thanksgiving.
“We’ve seen a lot of businesses come and go on main street, and just the stability factor that we’re still here after how many years means something.”
Just about a block away you’ll find a much newer addition to Canton.
Peter Cobb and his stepbrother Ken O’Brien opened Sioux Valley Grille early last year.
They renovated a historic building and built a menu around American comfort food with an emphasis on freshness and quality.
“We’re not cutting corners,” Cobb said. “We’re not trying to buy a bunch of frozen pre-made product. We’re trying to make everything by hand from scratch as much as possible and source locally.”
That means adding items such as chicken teriyaki, with homemade sauce, and quesadillas, with made-from-scratch beans, to complement the burgers, chicken sandwiches and salads on the menu.
Dinner features rotate and include a different fresh fish every Friday. There’s also a plated Sunday brunch.
“Our focus is on making everything pop and look nice and be very comfortable,” Cobb said.
It’s done well enough that the owners have decided to go bigger. They’re renovating an adjacent space that will allow the restaurant to more than double in size, plus include a bar area.
“And we’ll actually have the ability to do private events because we’ll have a private room over there with a stage for live music events,” Cobb said.
The expansion is scheduled to be done this fall. It also will allow for a bigger brunch and catering options. While the menu isn’t expected to grow significantly, there will be more specials added.
“That way we can kind of test out the market and give everybody kind of a unique experience,” Cobb said.
Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
And finally, head outdoors for 1,000 acres of recreational options at Newton Hills State Park south of town. This summer’s hot weather has brought big demand for its designated swimming beach on Lake Lakota.
Visitors can rent kayaks, tandem kayaks, paddle boards and an inflatable water mat or lily pad.
“And then down at the lake, we do have a boat ramp, so a lot of people go out there fishing,” district park supervisor Jason Baumann said.
A lifejacket loaner program offers free rentals in multiple sizes.
There also are eight miles of hiking trails, 136 campsites, nine cabins and a lodge. There are tons of games that can be borrowed for free.
“We have beanbag toss, bocci ball, ladder ball. … Pretty much any of the common and even some of the non-common yard games, we have those available,” Baumann said.
“A lot of people come out and have picnics and kind of have a little beanbag tournament going on, or a lot of the campers as well just kind of fill some time in the afternoon if they need it.”
A one-day license for the park is $6 per vehicle. It’s $30 for the year. Next year is scheduled to bring a new midsize cabin that can sleep six to eight people and will be the first of its kind in the state park system.
Check out the state park this weekend at the 40th annual Sioux River Folk Festival, which starts at 6 p.m. Friday and wraps up Sunday. It features local and national traditional music acts, food trucks and other activities.
Other upcoming events include a fall festival the first weekend in October with a craft show, live music, pumpkin catapult and a candlelight walk featuring two miles of music, magic and storytelling performances.
“We’re really not that far out of Sioux Falls,” Baumann said. “You can be in downtown Sioux Falls in 40 minutes, and you can drive that far and really kind of feel like you’re in the wilderness alone.”
