NEW RESTAURANTS SET TO OPEN IN FREEMAN
After a long stretch without much for dining options, The Coffee Cafe scheduled to open on Highway 81; Watecha Bowl Grille downtown
And just like that, a restaurant scene in Freeman that has been dormant in recent years has taken on new life.
Not only is The Fringe at Valley View Golf Course open again for another season — once again under the management of Rory Hermsen — two restaurants are scheduled to open in the coming months.
One of them is brand-new and scheduled to open in the former Jake’s Electric building on Highway 81 directly south of C&B Operations this summer. The restaurant will be called The Coffee Cafe and is being established by Keith and Susan Letcher and Drew and Angele Letcher.
According to The Coffee Cafe page on Facebook, the eatery will feature breakfast and lunch options “all in one cozy atmosphere.”
“Stay tuned for our grand opening date,” a post from March 13 reads. “We can’t wait to share our love for coffee and food with you.”
And a post from March 24 shows photos of the interior renovation currently underway.
Keith and Susan were actively involved in the restaurant Papa’s when it was in operation at the corner of Highway 81 and the South County Road years ago. They returned to the community last July. Their son Drew and his wife, Angele, moved to Freeman in March of 2022.
The other latest development on the food scene here is an announcement that Lawrence West is closing his Sioux Falls restaurant, Watecha Bowl, and reopening as Watecha Bowl Grille in Freeman, according to Sioux Falls Business Journal. It is scheduled to open in May.
West, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, owns a building on Freeman’s Main Street between Insurance Services and Glenn Roth’s law office and was making plans to open The Whiskey House there in 2021, but that never materialized.
His return to Freeman will bring authentic Native American food to town, including Indian tacos, burgers and fry bread and wojapi (a thick berry dish), according to the Business Journal. The menu will also feature items like street tacos, burgers and chicken wings, and Watecha Bowl Grille will also feature a full bar and video lottery casino.
“I’m growing,” West told the Business Journal. “I’m going to a bigger location that I own … it will be a little more upscale. I need a whole new look, and I need something that represents my … my people, nation and South Dakota.”
West started Watecha Bowl as a food truck in 2020 and added a store front the following year.
