One of city’s oldest businesses starts new chapter; Perch restaurant opening in historic building

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Jodi Schwan with SiouxFalls.Business visited to discuss what’s next for Schoeneman’s Building Materials Center and a breakfast and lunch spot emerging in a former neighborhood grocery building.

One of the oldest businesses in Sioux Falls is writing its next chapter.

Schoeneman’s Building Materials Center dates back to 1888 and has always been either family-owned or employee-owned. As of this month, though it’s now part of Builders FirstSource, a publicly traded company with nearly 600 distribution and manufacturing locations, by far the largest in the industry.

This makes sense for a couple reasons – Schoeneman’s is looking to the future of the supply chain and anticipating there’s going to be another demand for housing as interest rates moderate. Being part of a larger company allows more access to materials. It also allows for technology that would be hard to build out as a smaller company – that’s how leaders here think contractors and others in the building industry will be looking to do business in the years ahead.

At least for now, the name is staying and because there were many employee-owners here who get to share in the sale and will see a significant boost in their retirement fund.

Taking a look at a project we’ve been anticipating for a while that’s really starting to come together — there is a historic former grocery store at 9th and Grange that is the new home of Perch, a restaurant that primarily will serve breakfast and lunch daily.

The building owner is an attorney, Alex Halbach, whose law firm already has moved into the second floor.

Perch isn’t far behind. They are hesitant to put a date on it, but we’re talking weeks, not months.

It is small, with seating for 26 inside, but a patio will add 50 seats, and a future rooftop patio will bring in about 40 more seats. We’ll give you a look inside once it’s done.

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