Fernson Downtown & Totally Rad Eats — Restaurant in Sioux Falls Township

Went there for the FIRST time and sat down at the bar expecting 1 of the 3 workers behind the bar to greet my husband and I....nope. Looked through the menu (had to grab one off the bar myself since STILL no one has said a single word to either of us). 2 other guys came and sat next to us at the bar. Other customers are coming in and ordering at the end of the bar and being helped before us (which it has been 10 min at this point...still not a word or a smile from a single employee), which is when I notice the sign that says "order here" or "start here" or something similar so we get up off our chairs walk 3 feet to their register which is the first time an employee even looks at us. The female comes up and I ask if they are still doing breakfast and she simply says "no" not "I'm sorry breakfast is done at X time." I apologize and say I guess we need more time with the menu and walk the 3 feet back to our seats at the bar which is when this employee then goes and serves the 2 gentleman that sat next to us at the bar several minutes after we arrived. We walked across the street the Blarney Stone and sat at the bar and were immediately greeted with a smile, handed menus, told about specials and got the service we deserved. Do...

We typically frequent every other brewer in town but Fernson. My boyfriend won a gift card at his work party for Fernson so we took our boxer to the dog park and walked to Fernson as a date night. Upon walking in I read “service dogs only” on the window.

EVERYBODY in the room had a smile on their face and all eyes were on our dog when we came in. We approached the bar and were told that they actually don’t allow ANY animals inside the building. We were not asked if he was a service dog - simply told that they don’t allow animals. The second person behind the bar said they were allergic and ‘preferred he not be in there’ with a condescending smile…

… How do said allergies work with service dogs?

I can’t help but feel discriminated walking into an establishment that displays a pride flag while our dog has an American flag on his collar. Needless to say this was not an ideal experience and I, personally, will not be back. My dog and I are treated much better at Woodgrain, Remedy and Monks and we will continue to frequent them and their awesome, dog loving staff.

Attached is a photo of our handsome, well behaved pup...

We camped at the KOA across from the main brewery and were so sad it wasn't open to the public, we'd have been regulars!! The downtown location is definitely worth the ride though, it's a very nice, comfortable and inviting space with great friendly service.

We stopped in for some brew and snacks after doing some of the touristy things in town. We started with a flight to find that one unique brew like no other and a couple appetizers. The cheese curds are delicious! Nice light breading and all melty, stringy and gooey, just like I like them! The stuffed pretzel was totally unique and fun, didn't need any of the beer cheese dip, they were good all on their own!

They're a brewery first and foremost and the brew is where it's at! The sours are sour, the lagers are light and the stout stands up to it's name! Our favorite was the Lemon Pie Milkshake, that stuff is so good!! We got a couple crowlers of that to go then headed on down the road for more touristy stuff!

Definitely should be a stop on everybody's Sioux...