Fast-casual Brazilian restaurant coming to south Sioux Falls

A chef who came to Sioux Falls from Brazil 20 years ago will be opening his own restaurant.

Marcelo Krunitzky and his wife, Micheli, plan to open Gaucho Flame Brazilian Restaurant in the former Pita Pit location near the northwest corner of 69th Street and Western Avenue.

Krunitzky moved to Sioux Falls in 2005 after culinary school in Brazil and spent most of the years since then working for the founders of Carnaval Brazilian Steakhouse.

It’s now under new ownership, and he started thinking about doing his own concept.

“When we saw the former Pita Pit, we thought, why not do a Brazilian quick-service restaurant,” he said.

Diners will order at a counter while watching a rotisserie grill cooking their meat.

Choose a base, a protein, vegetables and sauce, “and you create your own Brazilian barbecue experience in a quick-service style,” Krunitzky said.

While he’s still finalizing the menu, there will be beef and chicken options, as well as rotisserie pineapple.

“It’s going to be family-operated, and our kids are going to help when they can,” Krunitzky said. “The biggest thing is the challenge of being a small restaurant and a small hood to get everything we want to deliver, but we’re going to try to be very creative … and just create our own identity, and I think with the ideas we’re coming up with, we should be ready to do it.”

He plans to keep the same seating configuration as Pita Pit, so there will be space for about 50 guests to dine in plus tables outside during nicer weather.

The plan is to open by early June.

The intersection of 69th and Western is a strong one for retail, said Marcus Mahlen of NAI Sioux Falls, the listing broker for the former Pita Pit space.

“After the new year, we had quite a few groups looking at this space, but Marcelo  was in a good position to lease it with his business plan and concept all ironed out,” he said.

“I think his concept will complement 22Ten nicely with more of a grab-and-go concept for the lunch crowd in the area.”

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