Dining Drive: 2nd Street Diner in Madison

Dining Drive, a new Pigeon605 series, gives you a taste of the deliciousness that awaits within an easy drive of Sioux Falls. Today, we go north for an experience that takes diners back to the 1950s and ’60s. 

Who doesn’t love an old-fashioned diner? 

Consider the 2nd Street Diner in Madison the ultimate diner experience just a short drive north of Sioux Falls. 

Husband and wife Blaine and Shari Eliason have called it their own since 1997 when they purchased the diner. 

In fact, 2022 marks 25 years. 

The family bought the existing space and remodeled it in 2005. 

The restaurant features traditional diner-style meals with a menu for breakfast, brunch all day, lunch, dinner and desserts for kids and adults of any age. 

“I like to say we’re happily stuck in the past,” Shari Eliason said.

“Our menu doesn’t change a lot. We stick with what we’re good at: breakfast all day, hot beef sandwich, burgers and fries.”

In addition, the restaurant offers catering for special events with a large banquet room for birthdays, reunions or business meetings for up to 35 guests. The space offers a projector and screen. 

As a local restaurant, many of the food items are locally sourced.

“We have a sausage our downtown butcher makes for us, which is really popular with our French toast,” she said.

With food so widely enjoyed, the repeat clientele make it a special place.

“People have to eat,” Eliason said. “So oftentimes, we see the same person for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

The Eliasons said they’re grateful to those loyal patrons and the entire community of Madison for the opportunity to share their business.

Blaine and Shari Eliason pictured far right

“It’s been a great way to raise our family,” she said. “Our kids know all about working, running a business and growing up on a farm.”

The vibe: Diner guests will be transformed. Like the slogan says, it’s “bringing back the good times.”

The Eliason family likes to try to keep it warm and cozy with classic hits playing from the ‘50s and ’60s. They even kept the old ice cream counter from the original building. 

“We have a lot of old tchotchkes that remind you of grandma’s house,” she explained. “We have lots of black, white, red and turquoise.”

Signature menu items: To keep things classic, the menu doesn’t change much.

One of the bestsellers is the No. 1 Breakfast Combination with two eggs, a choice of meat, hash browns and toast or a pancake. The other bestseller is a chicken fried steak.

Another classic is a homemade hot beef sandwich for lunch.

Daily special: On weekdays for lunch, the diner features a Blue Plate Special for around $7, which typically includes a combination like meat and potatoes, a dinner roll and dessert, and it changes everyday. 

The drive: Not far. Find the 2nd Street Diner in Madison off of Highway 34 at 610 Washington Ave. S. It’ll take approximately 40 minutes from Sioux Falls. 

The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It is closed Wednesdays.