Brandon 1st Stop gains new owners, new name

Jill Meier

Journal editor

A long-standing business in Brandon now has new ownership.

Dan and Becky Bauer, who own and operate two other convenience stores-casinos in Sioux Falls, took possession of Brandon 1st Stop Nov. 21 from Ann Evangelisto, which she’d owned since 2005.

And while the Bauers are new to the Brandon business community, they’re not new to the combined convenience 8tore and casino business. The couple, who moved from Watertown to south of Harrisburg, have owned and operated a Sinclair station for 10 years at North Cliff and Interstate 90, and a second Local store for nine years at the intersection of Southeastern and Marson Drive.

“With the first two stores, we feel like we’ve learned a lot,” Becky said. “There’s a lot of potential here and we’re thrilled to be here.”

With the new ownership comes a few changes to the business. For starters, the store’s name will be switched from Brandon 1st Stop to Splitrock C-Store & Casino. New signage is coming forth and Bauer said the building’s exterior will gain a new lighted blue canopy to give the store added exposure. New lighting throughout the store and ceiling tiles will also brighten things up inside.

Another of the more noticeable changes customers will see in the coming weeks is the addition of a beer cave, which will go into the space that formally housed the lounge and casino. The beer cave allows the new owners to expand the store’s craft beer offerings, Bauer said. In addition, Bauer said they are also expanding their line of liquor.

“By getting the beer cave, the five doors of beer (in the current cooler) will be freed up for other products, and we’ll be able to offer a lot bigger selection of everything” she said.

The casino is being relocated to the east side of the building. “It will be a bigger, more welcoming type of environment,” she said.

Although the beer cave will be taking over the former lounge area, Bauer said the high-top counter near the south door will be converted to a seating area for the local morning coffee crew and future diners. The Bauers offer Broasted chicken at one of their other locations and are making plans to reintroduce quick-serve foods at the Brandon store.

“To be honest, we didn’t quite realize all of the people that come here every morning, and if you’re serving food, you should have a place where they can sit,” she said. “At one time, they said it (the food here) was kind of a big thing and then it slowed down, so we thought we’ll hit it hard for a year and see what happens.”

The store’s hours have also been expanded, opening at 5 a.m. and now closing at 11 p.m. Monday thru Saturday, and from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays.

Bauer said they considered purchasing Brandon 1st Stop a year ago when Evangelisto first placed it on the market. But it was a reduction in price a year later that lured them in.

“He’s (husband Dan) always wanted to own his own business,” Bauer said. “We both enjoy working with the public and neither of us can sit behind a desk all day. I worked for a franchise for 20 years, so it’s nice to have the ability to do what you want.”