6 Stores I Want to Come Back to Sioux Falls

I cannot find a TV remote control with extra large numbers for my 90-year-old mother anywhere in this city. I must've gone to every store in Sioux Falls that carried TV remote controls and could not find one. I thought to myself, if only Radio Shack were still open. If I couldn't find a cable or a headphone jack, I knew I could go to Radio Shack and they'd have it.

Osco Drug in the Empire Mall was more than a drug store. You could find anything in that store. I bought many unique Christmas presents at Osco. I had a friend who worked in the Empire Mall when Osco closed and it was a huge loss to Mall employees. They could grab a pop and a candy bar or even pick up their prescriptions on their break.

Prairie Market was located where Staples and Dollar Tree are located now at the corner of 41st and Minnesota. My dad worked for the school system and got paid monthly, so once a month we’d head to Prairie Market and load up on groceries. I used to love riding on the flatbed shopping carts and marking the price on the groceries with the red grease pencil.  The highlight of the trip was my sister and I getting to pick out our favorite flavor of Hi-C – which we bought by the case.

I think I had a Benetton shirt in every color. Benetton was in the Empire Mall in the current PacSun location. The Benetton store reminds me a fun road trips with friends to the "big city" to go school shopping.

I loved music stores - paging through hundreds of albums to find the one you didn't have. I bought my first cassingle at Musicland in the Empire Mall. The Gap now occupies the old Musicland space. The cassette single shown isn't the first one I bought, but apparently is the only one I have left after purging several of my cassettes many years ago.

The Disney Store was just a fun store. I could always find a Christmas present for my nieces and nephews. That store usually seemed busy. It was a surprise when it closed.