Sioux Falls, SD (519 S Minnesota Ave) was a
Piccadilly Circus that opened in
July 26th, 1986 and closed on
July 3rd, 2008. The location would be renamed to Gigglebee's around December of 1988 by Erin Brende as part of a contest where local residents could rename the location.
History
In 1939, a successful grocery company called
Red Owl was expanding and chose to have their third location be at
519 S Minnesota Ave in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This store was seen as very successful and 20 years later it got a major expansion to the building. In 1976 the then property owner
Merle Getten decided to rebrand the store into
Country Store, a concept where customers could save money by bagging their own groceries and taking them out to their own cars. This concept wasn't very successful and the business sold out to
Kampgrounds of America Inc in 1977.
KOA then remodeled the property again and started an experimental business called
Granny's Ice Cream Parlour and Family Fun Center. The concept included an arcade, bumper cars, pinball machines, batting cages, and mini golf. This concept however didn't take off the way KOA had hoped and in 1982, KOA sold the business to a firm called
Advance-Carter Co. ACC decided to use the property to expand their arcade chain called
The Circus.
(1) This concept however didn't last too long and by 1986, the business was sold to
Galaxy Enterprises Inc owners
Randy Hindbjorgen, Chris Kirkus, Randy Koepsell, and Doug McBeth, who used it as the first Piccadilly Circus franchise location. This would later become the most fondly remembered Gigglebee's location.
