Oct. 14, 2020

Cuisine from Argentina is the star at a new restaurant opening this week in north Sioux Falls.

Tarquin Argentine Restaurant, owned by Gabriel Rivero, is in a retail center at the southeast corner of Cliff Avenue and Benson Road. It most recently was Jacky’s Restaurant, before Jacky’s moved to 3808 N. Cliff Ave.

“It’s been a team effort between family and friends,” said Shallun Buckstead, one of the managers.

“I’ve been to Argentina quite a few times and fell in love with the culture, the people, the food, the music, the dance, everything about Argentina. I just love it. It’s an amazing country to visit.”

Tarquin will aim to introduce the Sioux Falls area to the country’s cuisine, with a space set up as a restaurant, bakery and wine shop.

“That’s all part of the Argentinian experience,” Buckstead said.

The menu includes empanadas, which are baked or fried turnovers filled with meat, cheese and vegetables.

There also are grilled meats known as asados, pizzas, pastas and salads.

“There’s a somewhat-Italian influence,” Buckstead said. “It’s definitely not similar to Mexican food or Guatemalan food. It’s closer to Italian food.”

The bakery features a wide selection of bread, pastries, cakes and cookies.

And the wine shop has a selection of wines from South America, including Torrontes, the signature white wine grape of Argentina, along with Malbec and Grenache.

“It will be a new experience in wine,” Rivero said.

The plan is to open Friday.

“It’s in an industrial area, but hopefully with word of mouth and advertising, it will spread throughout town, and hopefully people will love the restaurant,” Buckstead said.

“I know it’s crazy right now because of COVID, and so many businesses are struggling, but we feel like we’ve been planning this for a while now, and we had to keep going.”

Carryout and curbside service will be available.

Hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.