Meet those braving COVID-19 risk to support Sioux Falls businesses as restrictions ease

Danielle Ferguson Joe Sneve
Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Bar halls and restaurants sat mostly quiet since late March when Sioux Falls officials put the kibosh on having more than 10 patrons inside at once.

But a day after those occupancy restrictions were repealed and replaced with a directive from city government to keep parties no larger than six people separated by at least six feet, some businesses reopened, and life began to return to downtown..

More:Ahead of re-opening, Sioux Falls' Empire Mall adds new rules for shoppers and employees

While the coronavirus pandemic is far from over, and the risk of catching the disease that's turned the world upside down in the early part of 2020 still exists, Sioux Falls residents began returning to their local bars and restaurants. 

Argus Leader reporters and photographers spent Friday evening downtown talking with people about their decision to brave the COVID-19 risk and return to businesses. 

Here is a selection of their stories: 

'If I die, I die'

Craig Daggett's open heart surgery three years ago didn't kill him. Years of motorcycle riding haven't either.

So he's not among the people in Sioux Falls who are fearful of what catching the coronavirus could do to him.

He spent early Friday evening drinking beer with friends at the Silver Moon Bar north of Falls Park and just a few hundred yards from the Smithfield Foods meat packing plant where more than a thousand COVID-19 cases originated.

Craig Daggett has a conversation outside Silver Moon Bar on Friday, May 8, in Sioux Falls.

"I'm on borrowed time, and I don't think this COVID is gonna kill me either," he told the Argus Leader.

While new occupancy rules took effect earlier in the day, the Silver Moon is still adhering to the 10-patron limit that had been on the books since late March. The bar never closed, and instead is using beaded necklaces to keep count of the number of people there.

"If you're coming in, you need to come in and get your beads," the bartender told Argus Leader staff while visiting with Daggett and others smoking outside. 

Daggett scoffed at the idea that going to the bar might not be safe.

"If I die, I die ... but I got Harleys to ride."

Playing it safe without feeling judged

As they sipped beers outside of Fernson downtown, a group of Sioux Falls area friends were ready to be able to safely support a local business, and stay there, without feeling judged. 

While Bradley Tunge is itching for life to return to normal, he understands the need to take extra precautions. With his hand sanitizer in tow and a hopeful outlook that the handshake will survive the coronavirus pandemic, Tunge said it felt different sitting with a group of friends outside his home. 

"It's weird," he said. "Things are finally open, but what does that even mean?" 

The friend group stopped at Fernson, which was still doing carry-out only and allowing limited, spread apart outdoor seating. Other restaurants that were open downtown were offering limited seating and having people wait outside for a table. 

A group of friends have beers on Friday, May 8, 2020 at Fernson Brewing Co. in downtown Sioux Falls, S.D.

Brock Reinhiller said he felt safe coming downtown, and all of the group said they were feeling healthy. 

"As long as you're not putting anyone else in danger," he said, adding he missed interacting with people other than those he lives with. 

Logan O'Toole was supposed to be walking at her graduation from the University of South Dakota this weekend. She's disappointed it won't happen until November, but she's grateful some businesses have opened so she can still celebrate her graduation with a limited number of people. 

She's looking forward to being able to enjoy her favorite businesses safely and without feeling nervous about what other people think about that choice. 

"People are going to function differently," she said. "It's a different world in a way. We have to adapt." 

Understanding the risk

Friday marked the last day at the office for a longtime coworker of Matt Smith, so a group of six decided to grab drinks to mark the occasion.

At their first stop at Blarney Stone on Phillips Avenue, they found paper menus being used, masks and gloves on the faces and hands of staff and general caution among both patrons and the bar.

Matt Smith and Galen Van Otterloo leave Blarney Stone Pub after taking a coworker for drinks on his last day of work on Friday, May 8, in Sioux Falls.

Neither Smith nor his companions said they're worried enough about COVID-19 to keep them from enjoying fellowship.

But it comes down to personal responsibility and what people feel safe doing, Smith said.

"We take risks every day," he said.

Smith said when mitigation efforts started, it was to not overwhelm capacity at the healthcare systems. Bars and restaurants can operate and serve clients and still achieve that goal, he said.

"We sit and talk about when we should reopen, but it's never been about eliminating (coronavirus)," he said. "It's been about reducing spread and not overwhelming the health system, and hospitalizations have stayed low."

'It's so wild'

Kadyn Wittman celebrated her 29th birthday with a limited number of people in her downtown Sioux Falls apartment this weekend.

On Friday, she and friends shouted greetings from her second-story apartment above JL Beers at people who she hadn't seen in weeks strolling along Phillips Avenue.

"In downtown, everyone knows everyone," she said with a smile. 

Kadyn Wittman (center) celebrates her twenty-ninth birthday with friends on Friday, May 8, 2020 in downtown Sioux Falls, S.D.

She hasn't seen more than two cars outside her window the last few weeks, she said. But Friday night was different. 

"It's so wild to see the street almost full," she yelled down from her window. 

While she's excited to get back to sipping her favorite cocktail at the Carpenter Bar patio, she said she plans on waiting a little while before venturing back out. She understands people's restlessness and businesses' need to open up again, but is going to stick it out in semi-isolation for a while. 

"You've got to make the most of it," she said. 

Keeping distance

While the language of the new occupancy rules doesn't clarify whether people can walk between tables on their way to use the restroom or get a drink at the bar, city officials are calling the rules the "no mingling" ordinance.

If you ask James Whittler, the Nickel Spot on South Minnesota Avenue is taking the "no mingling" ordinance seriously.

James Whittler drinks a beer while on a smoke break outside the front door of The Nickel Spot on Friday, May 8, in Sioux Falls.

"I almost got kicked out twice because of it. I know everybody here so I walked up to say, 'hi,' and they're like, 'six feet.'" he said. "I'm like, '(Expletive). Quit yelling at me.'"

Whittler said he's been to the Nickel Spot, which stayed open under the 10-patron limits in affect for all of April, many times since the pandemic began. He said he thinks the fear that many have about catching COVID-19 is overblown, and there should be no restrictions on the group sizes or the number of people that can go to any businesses.

"I'm not worried at all," he said. "They should open it all up."

Feeling free

"Free" is the first word that comes to mind when Ashley Jackson thinks of going to a restaurant.

The Sioux Falls nurse who has been cooking just about every night for the last three months was ready to take a break from doing the dishes and enjoy the good food she knew she'd find at MacKenzie River Friday night. 

Nathaniel Post and Halle Jackson have their photo taken by Ashley Jackson on Friday, May 8, 2020 in downtown Sioux Falls, S.D. The group was waiting for their table at MacKenzie River.

Jackson, 29, mostly does in-home care for patients and not in a coronavirus unit. 

She was excited to see traffic picking up, and noticed it even in the gas prices slightly increasing. 

"It's different in a good way," she said. 

She felt safe going out to eat with her family Friday. She saw that MacKenzie River had plenty of signs encouraging social distancing, that workers were sanitizing surfaces regularly and that people weren't able to wait in the lobby. 

"As long as people are taking safety precautions," she said, "I feel safe." 

'The hell with it'

A sunny afternoon motivated Greg Hagedorn to take a cruise on his Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. But after a bit, he got thirsty and decided to stop at the Silver Moon Bar to wet his whistle.

Having had five heart surgeries, which he said might be a record at the hospital he goes to, he's nervous that he wouldn't survive if he were to catch the virus.

Patrons socialize on the front porch of the Silver Moon Bar on Friday, May 8, in Sioux Falls.

That's why when he's at work or shopping for groceries, he wears gloves and a mask, he said.

It's also kept Hagedorn out of the bars for the most part, having only been out for leisure twice in the last month.

"But you gotta just say the hell with it once in awhile and get out," he said.