Jeremy J Fugleberg

Argus Leader

Lewis Drug is planning to build a store to replace its Southgate location at 41st Street and Minnesota Avenue

Construction of the new store, located at 37th Street and Minnesota, will start next month on the new 25,000 square foot location. The site is currently the home of the Billion Kia dealership.

The store will open in November 2017. Its features will build on those of the recently constructed Lewis store at 69th Street and Louise Avenue, and have curb cuts so you can drive off the street and into the pharmacy drive-through, said Lewis CEO Mark Griffin.

"We’re planning convenience because that’s what the marketplace dictates," said Griffin. "That’s one of the reasons online competitors are so successful, people are driven by convenience these days. If you’re not a dominant online presence like Amazon, you better bring your brand to market through convenience."

The new store will be the granddaughter of the first store built in the neighborhood by the local, family owned company. The company opened its first Southgate store in 1956 in a cornfield at the corner of 35th Street and Minnesota Avenue, now the location of the Lewis corporate offices. The store was replaced by the location at 41st and Minnesota in 1990.

"This is a neighborhood, an area that deserves to be well-served, because they’ve served us well for 75 years," Griffin said.

Lewis Drug opened on Phillips Avenue in 1942. It now operates in 52 locations in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

Griffin said the new store will open in November after an accelerated construction schedule, just in time for Christmas sales.

"We’ve been planning this one awhile, so we think we’ve got everything lined up for a speed build, so to speak," he said. "Buckle your seat belt."

Looking Back: Lewis Drug