It's a fact. Sioux Falls loves eating at restaurants. We're over 600 already and more continue to open, announce plans to come to the city and open new locations.

Just in the past couple of weeks, Taphouse 41 opened on 41st Street, Beef O'Brady's opened a second location, Panda Express opened in front of the Empire Mall, and we've had announcements that WingStop, PizzaRev and Backyard Barbecue will all be opening in Sioux Falls. Plus construction is going along on a Quaker Steak and Lube on the city's south side and several restaurants are opening new locations on the ever-growing east side near Dawley Farms.

So we asked listeners and Facebook fans to tell us (and any potential investors/restauranteurs) what restaurants you would like to see in Sioux Falls? When it comes to food, everyone has an opinion!

The most popular answers continue to look for some of the big chain restaurants like Golden Corral, Red Robin, Dave & Busters and Popeye's Chicken. All would likely do very well in town.

We had several people mention one of my all-time guilty pleasures of White Castle. After the chain recently topped Time Magazine's list of "Most Influential Burger of All-Time", maybe they will start looking to expand the franchise a little more. With the right location or two they'd not only be busy at mealtime, but from midnight to 3am on the weekend, you wouldn't be able to get a stool at the counter if anything like what we had in Minneapolis.

Speaking of burgers, we had a lot of responders say In-N-Out Burger, Whataburger, Jack in the Box, Sanford's, Space Aliens, and more.

We had some Cheesecake Factory's, Chick-fil-A, P.F. Chang's, Old Country Buffet, Chipotle, and Del Tacos as well. We even had a request for Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream (I bet they've got a few more than 31 flavors now!)

I was surprised to see no one mention Dunkin' Donuts, or bringing back T.G.I. Fridays and Boston Market.

In addition, some of the restaurants that are already here, may want to consider opening a second location: Famous Dave's on Minnesota Avenue has been busy since the day it opened years ago. Their location in Uptown Minneapolis is big enough to eliminate the wait for a table plus can host a Sunday brunch AND live music when the mood hits them. That would be a nice addition for the city in my opinion.

A couple other 'newer' restaurants to the city have continued to do well and even grow, not losing anything from that 'opening month kiss' that so many new restaurants get before dropping off: Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Minnesota Avenue near downtown, and Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet on 41st Street. The last three times we have gone to Hibachi (including this weekend) it's been hard to find a parking space and we still had to wait for a table even after the traditional 'lunch time rush' because they were full. A second location for both of them may lighten the load a bit.

And as someone who lives on the west side of the city, it sure would be nice to have a few more options out here. Once you get west of Marion Avenue, the food options dry up quickly. There could be an opportunity for the right food and investor.

As the city continues to grow (and it will!) we're going to be afforded even more choices. So what's missing from the list above? What restaurant would do really well in Sioux Falls?

 

 

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