It was just recently announced that Chipotle Mexican Grill would be opening its first South Dakota location, along Sioux Falls’ 41st Street, this year. This announcement sparked a lot of discussion about other businesses that could one day call Sioux Falls their home. Which businesses would  LHS students love to see come to an increasingly growing, diverse Sioux Falls?

According to a Statesman poll conducted between Feb. 27 and 28, out of nearly 100 respondents, 67.4 percent said they would love to see a Chick-fil-A open in Sioux Falls. The idea of Chick-fil-A opening a location here is certainly feasible, given their presently close proximity to Sioux Falls via their Sioux City, Vermillion and Brookings locations.

The next most popular option, with 62.8 percent support, was IKEA, followed by Cheesecake Factory at 53.5 percent and Trader Joe’s at 45.3 percent. However, some students feel as though the establishment of many of these businesses in Sioux Falls would be somewhat unrealistic. While a South Dakota location is certainly feasible, the city it would be in remains up in the air. Still, a city with as many people as Sioux Falls would not differ from the precedent established by other Trader Joe’s locations. Many people might associate Trader Joe’s with larger cities, but this is not always the case. For example, they have locations in State College, Penn., a city with 42,000 people, and South Burlington, Vt., a city with 19,000. This is because Trader Joe’s is heavily associated with wealthier or more progressive areas, which overwhelmingly tend to be college towns. Given Trader Joe’s has stated that they want their customers to be “open to trying and learning about new and interesting products,” as Sioux Falls continues to grow, their presence here would not be unprecedented.

How realistic are all these ideas? Is there support in Paul Tenhaken’s administration for bringing a business like those, or like Dunkin’ Donuts and Whole Foods, to Sioux Falls? Actually, both parties, especially Mayor Tenhaken, have already espoused support for a Dunkin’ in Sioux Falls. On Dec. 30, 2019, Tenhaken tweeted, “Paging @dunkindonuts. The 605 is ready.” The same principle applies to many other businesses as well, such as Chipotle, for which this process has already occurred. 

Since Sioux Falls is one of the fastest growing cities in the country, according to South Dakota Dashboard, it is clear that many new establishments will soon be calling Sioux Falls home. As for which ones, that is yet to be decided, though it is clear the will of Sioux Falls’ voters will be a large factor.