Sept. 15, 2025
When the doors opened for the first time at The Empire Mall on Sept. 24, 1975, the name was Sioux Empire Plaza, and the store lineup read like a chapter in retail history.
There were the anchor department stores: Herberger’s and Younkers. Specialty retailers in the earliest years included Kinney Shoes, Radio Shack and Waldenbooks. Food options were more like snacks: Baskin Robbins, Karmelkorn and Orange Julius.
A JCPenney store arrived a year after the opening, and several original tenants still remain, including Maurices and Riddle’s Jewelry.
Here’s a list from 1976:
In 1978, an expansion brought a fourth anchor — Dayton’s, which later became Marshall Field’s and now Macy’s — as well as space for 22 other tenants.
Through the decades, the mall has expanded and evolved, from 34 tenants in 1975 to an estimated more than 140 today.
A parking lot that once held 3,500 vehicles now accommodates about twice that.
“A lot of people have different memories of the mall, but it’s always family-centric,” said Dan Gies, who became general manager in 2017.
“It’s somewhere you can take the whole family, whether it’s back-to-school shopping or holiday shopping or just running out to the mall. It’s a place to gather and to make memories.”
Looking back
The memories will take center stage next week as the mall hosts a community celebration of its 50th anniversary on Sept. 24.
Nikki Sorenson, general manager of Buckle, began working at the store as a senior in high school in 1989.
At the time, surrounding tenants included women’s and teen apparel stores 579 and County Seat, local shops Michael’s and Burke’s, and anchor Dayton’s.
“I remember the center court had a big tower-fountain with water on the bottom for people to throw coins,” Sorenson said. “And there were so many salons in the mall. I remember when Benetton opened it was a big deal for my era.”
Before the current food court opened in the early 2000s, “the center court used to have Cinnabon and Cookie Company, so mall walkers would get their coffee and Cinnabon,” Sorenson said.
“And when I think back to 1989, the way we displayed merchandise was so different. We were still pinning shirts and jeans to a wall to make a display.”
She went on to manage stores in other markets before returning to Sioux Falls in 2002 and being promoted to general manager in 2006.
“The Empire Mall to me is unique and special because it’s a regional center that draws from multiple states,” Sorenson said.
“We’ve always been blessed and grateful with a lot of loyal shoppers and families. Some have shopped since they were in high school and now bring their families, and that’s a pretty special situation.”
Today, there’s still a big geographic reach, Gies said.
“The more we continue to be that sports hub in Sioux Falls — this is a place where teams come and visitors come, especially being on the corridors of I-29 and 90 — we just get a lot of traffic. We are definitely a destination.”
Ownership changes and face-lifts
The mall originally was developed by Des Moines-based General Growth Development Plaza, which owned it for a decade until it was sold to the IBM Pension Fund in 1985, while General Growth continued to manage it. In 1998, the mall was acquired by a joint venture of The Macerich Co. and Simon Property Growth. Macerich was the managing partner.
While the mall never formally changed its name, at some point it was shortened to “The Empire,” and it stuck.
“Empire Mall already was a profitable mall when I got there. It was a good mall,” said Dennis Gilliam, who managed the mall from 2007 to 2016.
During his tenure, Simon and Macerich split their joint ventures, which included a dozen malls.
“Everybody wanted Empire,” Gilliam said. “It was the jewel of the bunch they were trying to separate.”
Simon Property Group, the largest owner of malls in the United States, would become the sole owner-operator of The Empire in 2012.
Gilliam was asked to propose a package for capital improvements.
“Two of the restrooms areas had never been remodeled since 1975, and none of the entryways had been redone,” he said. “I was able to get Simon to commit to a full remodel within the first year they owned it. So the remodel had a lot to do with the stores that came in during the time I was there.”
It was a decade of considerable growth, including new anchor Dick’s Sporting Goods, The District outside the mall, new full-service restaurants in Red Robin and Applebee’s and new national brands such as Francesca’s and Oakley.
“We actually saw a dramatic increase in EBITDA every year,” Gilliam said. “It’s the perfect-size town to have one good mall. Empire could get all these things because they had a good population, and the primary market was so large.”
He’s now retired and living in Iowa, “but I have a real affinity for Empire and Sioux Falls,” he continued.
“One of the key things was that we worked with the city and the community so well. The Sioux Falls leaders at that time, and I’m sure they haven’t changed, but just working with them and having such a good relationship with the city and the chamber of commerce, it was like a super-charge. Everybody loved the mall, and so the mall did well, and leasing was a lot easier to do when the city was on board with it.”
When Gies became general manager, he brought a department store leadership background. He’d served as the general manager of Younkers from 2009 to 2014.
“During that time, it was at its peak,” he said. “It was a beloved department store … and a really nice store. A great place to buy clothing, home goods, and cosmetics was huge.”
While the store was among the top-performing locations in the company, it went out of business when parent company Bonton Holdings did.
Since Dillard’s opened in the space in 2024, three of the four department store locations are filled. JCPenney recently realigned organizationally to be part of a region based in Minneapolis, “and they’re the No. 1 store is the region and doing well,” Gies said. “They continue to drive forward and try to renew themselves instead of getting stagnant.”
Macy’s is committed long term to The Empire, “and they’ve invested a good amount into the store,” Gies said. “I think they wanted to refresh the store before they start bringing back some of the brands they left behind.”
Future-focused
The future likely holds more evolution for The Empire Mall.
New tenants opening this year include Carhartt and Perfume Palace.
Hollister is returning after more than a decade, while Lululemon is relocating and expanding its store.
The big-box spots likely will see changes too. The 100,000-square-foot Sears space has drawn some temporary tenants since it closed seven years ago, though interest has picked up more recently, Gies said.
The most opportunity likely exists outside the enclosed mall on the campus itself.
California-based Scandinavian Designs owns the property where its store closed earlier this year, so any new tenant on-site would come through that business and not mall owner Simon.
“If there’s an opportunity with our leasing, it’s more the out lots,” Gies said. “7 Brew was a big hit as an addition to the out lots, same as Freddy’s, so our opportunities right now are to fill the three main ones — Wendy’s, Royal Fork and Payless out parcels. Those are the biggies.”
Simon Property Group continues to make investments in the property, he added. In recent years, that has included new asphalt for much of the parking lot and landscaping on the south side of the property.
“If it wasn’t Simon-owned, I honestly couldn’t tell you where we would be at from a capital investment standpoint — from the look of the mall to bringing in first-to-market (retailers),” Gies said. “We’ve got a world-class leasing team, and that’s huge.”
The Empire Mall 50th anniversary
The Empire Mall will host its 50th anniversary celebration from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in center court. Look for special offers from retailers and a historical photo display. A program will be held at 4:30 p.m.
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