Feb. 4, 2021

The dessert scene in Sioux Falls is about to be elevated to another level.

Award-winning pastry chef Keyes Clemmer is opening Prairie Cocoa & Confections at 8th & Railroad Center, offering everything from a dessert bar to her signature edible art.

“It’s a unique concept we feel really will fill a void in Sioux Falls,” said Clemmer, whose umbrella of business is under the name “Prairie C.”

She currently works out of a commercial kitchen not far away on Eighth Street and sells at the Falls Park Farmers Market and through her website.

The storefront will be at 8th & Railroad Center is the space that was Barbara’s Needlepoint before its move to Park Ridge Galleria.

Clemmer has a big, creative vision for the 1,100-square foot space.

“It’s an epicurean journey into the world of sweets,” she said. “I live downtown, and I really love being downtown. There’s just a lot going on down here, and 8th & Railroad is where you have your smaller business owners, hands-on owners. We’re not franchises. All the smaller artisan people are downtown, and I consider us a confection artisan, and I want to have that vibe that brings people downtown.”

There will be “whimsical desserts for all ages,” she said, adding she envisions the shop as a place where friends could meet during the day, teens could go after school and adults could socialize in the evenings.

The dessert bar area will feature a line of martini-inspired chocolate mousses, an elevated frozen hot chocolate experience and a line of mocktails.

“Mocktails are in. You’re starting to see them in restaurants all over the place,” Clemmer said. “We don’t serve alcohol, but the mocktails will be a really fun,  seasonal line to choose from for beverages. And we’re doing lemonades with fruit caviar. You can mix like blueberry and pomegranate to your lemonade and stir it all up.”

The cocoa line will use a high-quality gourmet chocolate, Clemmer said. She’s also making her own blend.

“And in addition to our hot chocolate and frozen hot chocolate, we have a full line of Prairie Clouds,” she added. “We have over 100 types of homemade marshmallow flavors, you name it.”

Her new line of  hot cocoa bombs also will have a home here. Those are large chocolate spheres filled with hot cocoa mix and marshmallows with hot milk poured over them.

And there will be a cocoa cup line with “cookies that look like shot glasses, and you can eat them and drink out of them … with a shot of milk.”

And, of course, there will be desserts. Customers will be able to order in the store and eat at a variety of small gathering areas or take them to go.

Her signature edible art will be on full display too.

At farmers market events, Clemmer is known for exceptionally crafted desserts, including those that mimic non-dessert foods.

For Easter, she already is working on a menu that includes Pavlova, raspberry tiramisu and strawberry panna cotta.

She plans to open the store in early spring to give customers time to visit and place Easter orders.

“You tend to shop where you live. Venturing downtown, there is a lot of fun going on, and we want to be part of that,” she said.

“Our interior design is a couple of love seats with coffee tables, and we’re not doing the traditional ‘come in and sit down at a table.’ It’s little vignettes with little groups that we can pull together that will beautify together.”

There also will be a semi-private section for hosting small gatherings such as bridal showers and birthday parties as well as decorating classes.

Clemmer plans to add a wedding cake and catered dessert line out of the new space too.

She has hired an executive event planner and a director of management and operations, “so we have an extremely talented and experienced team for our wedding line and catered desserts,” she said.

Clemmer, who grew up in a military family and graduated high school in the Boston area, has worked in award-winning restaurants first as a savory chef and then as a pastry chef. She began her edible art business while living in Indianapolis and served as the pastry chef for the Indianapolis Colts football team’s VIP areas before moving to Sioux Falls, where her husband works in health care leadership.

“I’ve told him emphatically now that I’m building my niche here,” she said. “Sioux Falls has been incredibly good to me and to my family. The outpouring of support for the business and all the kind compliments and encouragement have been amazing.”