Sept. 22, 2022

The steady stream of customers the first few days Dunn Brothers Coffee was in business on the west side of Sioux Falls seemed to confirm the theory: This neighborhood is ready for more commercial development.

That’s the hope of developers behind Firehouse 42, a property along a man-made lake at 12th Street and Ellis Road adjacent to a city fire station. The site is planned as a boardwalk-style development incorporating multiple retail and service uses.

“We’ve lived out here eight years, and we just don’t have any food or coffee options out here,” said Kim Ward, who is a co-franchisee of the coffee shop with her husband, Eric, and Amy and Eric Schofield. They also are part of WS Construction, which is developing Firehouse 42.

“There was nothing for people coming in and out of town, and there are no drive-thru food options.”

The coffee shop opened Monday, and “the drive-thru response has been great,” Ward said. “A steady amount of people inside, and we’re hearing amazing feedback on the food. People are so surprised we have it and how good it is.”

The menu features the traditional lineup of Dunn Brothers coffee drinks, along with an expanded food menu that includes several naan pizzas, bread bowl soups, breakfast sandwiches, avocado toasts, wraps and sandwiches, plus pastries and grab-and-go options.

“We’re developing this area, and we wanted coffee, so we just said, ‘Let’s do it,'” Ward said. “There was nothing for people coming in and out of town.”

Dunn Brothers at 8220 W. 12th St. is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekend.

It’s the first of what the developers envision as multiple commercial uses for the lakefront property.

A multi-tenant building is under construction across the parking lot and has some tenants signed on, including a wealth management office and a third location for Little Tykes University, which was founded on the east side by Corri Poore.

“I just love the dream of the boardwalk area,” Poore said. “It’s just going to be fantastic, and it serves a community that is pretty underserved when it comes to child care.”

He plans to accommodate up to 100 kids from birth through school age, which is twice as many as his next largest location, and he’s 20 percent full already. The hope is to open before the end of the year.

Poore is designing the classrooms for up to 20 students each, with two or three staff, to try to maintain the family feel of his smaller locations.

“I like to be the anti-preschool,” Poore said. “You’re not going to see a bunch of primary colors and a whole lot of color. Our design is efficiency. It helps with everything from staffing to making it look nice and clean at all times. It’s really an open concept, beautiful furniture and really modern. You can tell that from the building.”

The child care center will take up about half of the building and have access to the lakefront with its playground and the future boardwalk.

“We have a big commitment to being outside. That was a big thing to me, and I never thought parents would be so excited about it,” Poore said. “I cannot wait to be able to take our kids on walks around that area and have ducks and geese, and it’s stocked for fishing. There’s so much.”

The building also is planned to include a restaurant, and discussions for one are underway. There are three spaces open before the first phase of the development is fully occupied, and “we have also begun work on possibilities for phase two of the development,” said Eric Schofield, CFO of WS Construction Management.

“We should have the shell of the building for phase one complete by December 2022 with additional tenants following shortly thereafter.”