Dakota Butcher to expand to Sioux Falls with meats, groceries, catering

March 4, 2025

Family-owned Dakota Butcher, which has six locations across South Dakota, is coming to Sioux Falls.

The business, which offers an extensive selection of meats along with groceries, handmade pizzas and take-home meals, will be moving into multiple spaces at The Bridges at 57th.

The retail center at 57th Street and Western Avenue is converting 8,100 square feet on the lower level of the building to the south of the former Let It Fly restaurant.

“We’re a neighborhood market, and we’re kind of in a neighborhood here,” said Randy Gruenwald, who owns the business with his wife, Karen. “Our customer base is the same ones over and over. Repeat sales are huge, and new customers come in all the time and are going, ‘Wow!’ They didn’t know what to expect. Most people come in and didn’t know we had all this.”

The Gruenwalds are based in Watertown but have two daughters who live in Sioux Falls, plus catering business in town. Randy has a background in banking, while Karen has years of experience in nursing. They ended up in the meat industry after she worked for a butcher in Clark and saw an opportunity to help turn the business around.

Randy had experience as a meat cutter and managing meat shops before he got into banking, so together they decided to tackle getting into the business in 2009.

“I thought, ‘We can do this,’” Karen said, adding that at first the business was entire custom work, processing meat for producers. “I saw the potential.”

She was right. By 2013, they expanded to Watertown and now have two locations in the community, plus Madison, Pierre and a large store in Rapid City.

“We feel a lot more comfortable in all our stores that they’re under control, and now I think we can better handle it down here,” Randy said.

They’d looked in Sioux Falls for a while and think they’ve found the right fit at The Bridges because “I always liked the idea of being centrally located,” Karen said. “I think it’s a perfect location. I tell people it’s just straight south of Scheels.”

Dakota Butcher also reflects what other tenants at The Bridges are hoping to see in the center, said Autumn Kaufhold of Van Buskirk Cos., who represented the space.

“They want more food options, and these guys will draw a crowd and create good synergy with all the tenants here,” she said.

“I live in the neighborhood, too, and need to come in and grab (food) and go home, so I’m excited for this.”

The full-service meat case is a staple for the business, offering beef, chicken, seafood, pork and lamb.

“Our mission statement is to provide the highest quality product we have available with excellent service at fair prices,” Randy said. “Our entire case will be all Prime and Choice, and we do meat bundles. Just about anything you can imagine in the meat industry, we do it.”

Meats also will be smoked on-site and includes sausages, jerkies and sticks.

Handmade pizzas are baked in-house or available as take-and-bake.

Additionally, “we have a lot of meals we pre-make,” Randy said, including lasagna, beef stroganoff, tater tot hot dish and shepherd’s pie.

“You take them home and throw in the oven, and they’re all ready to go,” Karen said.

Ribs and chicken also are available to go nightly.

There’s no dine-in seating, but there could be some outdoor seating added. Catering, which includes meats, sides, appetizers and salads, also will expand its reach in the Sioux Falls area.

Hiring is starting and will ramp up in the coming months. The hope is to open in mid-June or early July.

“Our employment is based on personality more so than ability,” Randy said. “We want people who are excited to work with us.”

Randy was named the 2020 South Dakota Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The company offers benefits, including health insurance and a 401(k).

“If you’re going to work with us you have to be … willing to perform excellent customer service,” Randy said. “We’re looking as soon as we can because we’re going to train them all.”

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