Lewis, Sanford, expanded PAve nearing downtown openings

July 5, 2018

Lewis Drug returns to downtown next month.

The store under construction at 10th Street and Phillips Avenue is scheduled to open Aug. 30. It’s just north and east of where Lewis opened its original store more than 75 years ago.

“I think it’s coming together really well,” said corporate vice president Nikki Griffin, pointing out refrigerated cases recently installed for food and beverages.

The almost 5,000-square-foot space features a wood-looking floor, tumbled brick on the walls and columns covered with locally sourced barn wood.

“We kept the ceiling white and tried to a do a vintage exposed ceiling to make it feel more airy,” Griffin said.

Other design elements, including a collage on one of the walls, will be added in the coming weeks.

Fixtures are coming in next week, and merchandising will begin after that.

There will be a pharmacy at the back of the store, which will be next to a Sanford clinic with multiple exam rooms.

“The store itself will emphasize convenience, with a lot of fresh, healthy, ready-to-go items,” Griffin said. “We’ll have a variety of grab-and-go foods.”

Gil Haugan Construction is the general contractor on the project. A grand-opening is scheduled for First Friday, Sept. 7, with a ribbon-cutting and special offerings to tie into the downtown event.

Upstairs, neighbor PAve is making progress on an expansion that will add almost 7,000 square feet to its space, including a large second-floor patio.

The hope is to open it in late July or early August, manager John Geiken said.

The addition includes an enclosed space with three garage doors opening to the patio – plus three smaller ones that can be used for bar service.

“When weather allows us, we will have them all open,” Geiken said. “We fully plan on using the interior space year-round. This space will offer another environment that is different from our first- and second-floor areas.”

The new indoor space will include dart boards, a pool table and jukebox. One focal point is a large mural being painted by local artist Shaine Schroeder.

“He is so talented and amazing at what he does,” Geiken said. “It’s been a really fun process working with Shane. We basically told him to do what he wants. We didn’t give any specifics as to what we wanted on the mural. Our feelings were Shane is the artist not us; let’s just let him do his thing.”

The outdoor space “will be special and unique to Sioux Falls,” he added.

The plan is to furnish it with loveseats, LED-lit coffee tables, high-top fire pit tables, retro-looking picnic tables, trees with LED lights and two custom-made park benches.

“It was our goal to offer a relaxing environment but to have some features you would normally only find in a larger market such as Minneapolis, Chicago and Las Vegas,” Geiken said.

“It’s our goal to try to offer more live music during the dinner hours and midweek.”

The space is set up so artists can plug into the house system from the patio, so they don’t need to bring a PA system.

“We’re trying to be as courteous as possible to our neighbors and the residents of downtown,” Geiken said.

PAve is close to finalizing food options for the new addition, he added.

“PAve always wants to get the best possible product to the customer and as fresh as possible,” he said. “Therefore, we believe it’s in our best interest to start with a smaller menu and add more to it if demand is there.”

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Lewis, Sanford, expanded PAve nearing downtown openings

The downtown building that includes Lewis Drug, Sanford Health and an expanded PAve will start to open in the next month.

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