Just recently I stopped in at Dakota Thyme Deli and Bakery east of Main Street Square in Rapid City to talk to owner Julie Smoragiewicz about when they will open their brand new eating and retail place. This led to a tour and a much longer conversation.

SF  What got you thinking about doing this?

JS  When we lived in Ohio there was Oh So Savory, a place where you could buy very good take-out and I got to thinking what fun it would be to do that here. When we moved to Rapid City, we lived in a house on 12^th Street that used to be a store where people could buy ice cream and penny candy. People who remembered it sometimes stopped by. But today we couldn’t do a store there because of zoning laws. Then there was discussion about business opportunities at Main Street Square. I started doing research. Last year I spent time on the road with Tony [her triathlete son] and we visited places to get ideas– in Des Moines, San Francisco, LA…even Beijing, where I saw Marda’s fingerprints all over…

SF  Marda?

JS  Marda Stoliar of Bend, Oregon, who has the International School of Baking. I visited her three times for a week each. She does one-on-one hands-on instruction. I learned a lot from her about baking and about running a bakery. She and her apprentice, Daniel Taylor, came to Rapid City for ten days to train our staff. Daniel is now our bakery manager.

SF  And your goals are?

JS  To offer something Rapid City doesn’t have. We’ve just seen bits and pieces. We use the best ingredients, and almost all our baked goods—rolls, croissants, breads, pastries, bars– are baked from scratch. We avoid trans fats and preservatives and do things the old fashioned way like Grandma might have done. We’ll have soups, salads, sandwiches, too. Nearly all of our meats are hormone free and, to some extent, local. Our excellent wine collection will be offered at reasonable prices. We’ll have small bottles of milk from Nebraska—glass bottles. Almost all our drinks—beer, sodas—are packaged in glass bottles.

SF  You’re thinking sustainability?

JS  Yes, here at Main Street Square there’s a sophisticated recycling system. And we use very little plastic. All our carryout containers are recyclable—sugarcane clam shells, paper straws, drinking cups made of corn. Our pink bakery boxes are from 100% recycled paper and are not coated with plastic. We serve drinks in glass, food on china,  and even use cloth napkins. We sell items in our wine retail area made from recycled wine barrels—small tables and wine racks.

SF  And you’re thinking local?

JS  We buy local and in the US as much as possible. Our Tiffany lamps were made in the US, and our wooden furniture and chairs were made in the US. Our tables, booths, retail wine racks, wainscoting and cabinetry are by local craftsmen. We buy local whenever we can, and we buy things that last, such as the marble counter in the bakery and the marble tile on the floor.

SF  Anything else?

JS There’s an upstairs room for overflow that can be reserved for private groups. We’ll be having exhibits and receptions featuring local artists. On Thursdays we’ll have “Meet the Producers,” where customers can meet the people who produce the food we sell. We’re a family enterprise—my parents, my husband, and my two sons all work here.

SF  Opening date?

JS  Sometime soon. We have a few things yet to get done. Check our Facebook page.

Dakota Thyme is located on Fifth Street in Rapid City just south of the parking garage, where there is weekday public metered parking and free parking evenings and weekends. The bakery/deli will be open 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Saturday and until 9:00 pm on Thursdays.

Thai food—we don’t think of that as exactly local—but in a way it is. Rapid City resident April Malik loves to cook it, and locals love to eat it. Malik’s business Thai To-go has many of the features we like to see in local businesses.

First, it’s a family affair. Five daughters help with the cleaning and dishwashing. Second, an existing certified kitchen—the one at Minneluzahan Senior Center–is used during the day for seniors and as a restaurant at night. Good use of local resources.

If you want to try some of Malik’s delicious dishes, here’s what you do. Send her an email at thaimealstogo@gmail.com and ask to be put on her mailing list. On Tuesday or Wednesday she will send out a menu, and customers order by email. Orders are picked up at the center between 5:00 and 7:30 pm.

To read more about this Rapid City to-go restaurant, click here.

Today as I write this is Friday the 13^th and it’s a good luck day for those of us who like real bread right out of the oven. The Great Harvest Bread Company bakery is now open, providing amazingly good bread at a convenient location and an affordable price.

I stopped in and was impressed by the quality of the bread and the friendly service. The apple crunch bread was just out of the oven—too hot to put in a plastic bag. The cheddar garlic had such big chunks of cheese it couldn’t go through the slicer. Cranberry orange was not on the menu and is one I’ll be picking up another day, along with the honey whole wheat and the nine grain. Not every flavor is baked every day, so pick up a printed schedule while you are there.

These breads are the real thing—Montana flour, water, honey, yeast, and salt are the basic ingredients. No dough conditioners. No preservatives. No ingredients with unpronounceable names. The whole wheat is ground daily.

In addition to breads GHBC serves sandwiches daily from 11:00 to 3:00. Then there are the cookies, the muffins, the mixes, the granola….

Great Harvest Bread Company is owned by Rob and Marsha Hengen, longtime residents of Rapid City. The bakery is open Monday through Friday 7:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. It is located at 721 Omaha Street between Verizon and Dunn Brothers. Bread lovers rejoice!

Great Harvest Bread Company
Rob & Marsha Hengen
721 Omaha Street
Rapid City, SD
http://greatharvestrapidcity.com/

Selling freshly-baked breads and sandwiches made from Montana wheat and simple ingredients. The bakery is open Monday through Friday 7:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. It is located at 721 Omaha Street between Verizon and Dunn Brothers.

A new eatery has opened in Rapid City: the Dakota Soda Company. It’s fast food, but with a difference. The restaurant is owned by Dr. Kevin Weiland, a local physician who, when it comes to eating local food, is a true believer. His book The Dakota Diet describes the many foods available locally and why we should eat them.

For his new restaurant Dr. Weiland buys buffalo from the 777 Ranch near Hermosa and is looking for a source of local grass-fed beef. The burgers are served up on whole grain buns with an assortment of veggies. “I’d love to serve vine-ripe tomatoes from the farmers market,” he says, “but there are too many rules and regs.”

While the vegetables aren’t local—yet–, you can get sweet potato fries brimming with antioxidants. “The sweet potato is one of nature’s unsurpassed sources of beta-carotene,” according to The World’s Healthiest Foods website.

Dakota Soda Company is located in the old Sears Building just east of Main Street Square and its popular skating rink. It’s the perfect place for skaters to go for a cup of hot chocolate and a perfect place for Mom and Grandma to watch the kids skate, if they’re not out on the ice themselves. It’s open every day for lunch and dinner.