They opened a restaurant during the pandemic. One year later, it’s a local favorite

By Jill Callison, for Pigeon605

“If it’s both terrifying and amazing, then you should definitely pursue it.”

When Chef Lance White and his wife, Jenny, were choosing the decor for their new restaurant at 431 N. Phillips Ave., that wall plaque said it all.

“We opened last September when the pandemic was nowhere near being over,” 48-year-old White said. “It was obviously super-thrilling and exciting to open our first restaurant, but it also scared the crap out of us. Because of the environment that was going on at the time, we didn’t know if people were going to come in. But if you stay in your comfort zone, that’s where you’ll be the rest of your life.”

As Chef Lance’s on Phillips prepares to celebrate its first anniversary Sept. 8 with a sold-out seven-course wine dinner, the biggest lesson White learned over the past 12 months is to always be flexible and willing to change plans.

That lesson began in March 2020 when COVID-19 began altering people’s eating habits. White then was focused on catering events and offering family meals while operating a small cafe at Signature Flight Support at Joe Foss Field. It served the flight crews and passengers from the jets that landed there and was open to the public.

As the pandemic intensified and fewer people traveled or gathered in large groups, White’s catering for the private jets and special events plummeted. His cooking classes were canceled. The only area that showed an increase: family meals, which people could buy pre-made and heat at home.

To meet the demand, the family meals expanded from a twice-a-week availability to five days, and the menu offerings also expanded. The business grew so much that the small kitchen at Signature Flight Support no longer offered enough space. The Whites began looking for a kitchen.

That’s when a friend who operated a boutique in the Jones421 Building on North Phillips Avenue tagged him on a Facebook post. It said the historic building next door was up for lease. White contacted the building owner and asked about rent. When he saw the amount, he scheduled an appointment to view the building, which he had not visited since it was a brewery more than 20 years ago.

Trouble was, he had missed a zero in the stated lease amount. By the time he discovered that, the Whites had made the appointment. They decided to keep it anyway — and fell in love with the building and its potential.

That’s when luck smiled on them. Rehfeld’s Art & Framing wanted to move north from its Phillips Avenue location and was interested in two-thirds of the first-floor space. That left the Whites with an affordable one-third of the first floor.

“We were looking for a bigger kitchen, not a restaurant,” White said. “But all those pieces fell into place, and we thought even if we don’t get any catering back, if we continue our family meals and slowly grow our restaurant, we’ll be OK. But the restaurant was definitely the right way to go.”

Chey Ryan Tracy first met White in the late 1990s, and at one time White worked for him. While he was surprised White chose to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant since he thought White’s career was going in a different direction, he knew White could make it successful.

“The biggest thing about Lance is he’s not afraid to go it alone,” Tracy said. “He’s not afraid to buck the trend or other people’s opinions to do what he feels is right.”

That started early. When Lance was 17, “I knew everything that needed to be known, and there wasn’t anything that high school could teach me,” he said. “So I dropped out of high school. About a year later, I realized I didn’t know everything. I got a job working at a super-upscale restaurant here in town, and after about a week or two, I fell in love with it. I said to the chef, teach me what you know.”

White has never attended culinary school, but he did take business classes to learn about marketing, licensing, payroll and other concerns. Sitting in front of a computer was unenjoyable, however, and when the first opportunity to run his own business came up, he took it.

“This would be my third crack at my own business where it’s my money on the line and I make all the rules,” he said.

It seems to be effective because, according to White, Chef Lance’s on Phillips has low staff turnover at a time many others desperately are seeking help. The restaurant also offers monthly wine and beer dinners that have drawn a loyal following. Reservations for the wine-themed events fill up within days of being scheduled, and while reservations for the beer event go more slowly, there’s never an empty seat.

Various sources inspire White’s menu. Sometimes Jenny White will send him an intriguing recipe, and he tries it out to see if it would work in the restaurant or as a family meal. At one point, White spent three years as a chef at a private resort. When he returned to the Sioux Falls restaurant scene 11 years ago, he had several changes that required adaption such as keto and gluten-free diets. That wasn’t all.

“I always use the joke that when I came back, all of a sudden it was like people wanted to know where their chicken came from and if it had a name and if it had a story behind it,” White said. “Now, they ask is it grass-fed, is it free-range, is it local. Those are the kind of questions you never got 10, 20 years ago.”

In its heart — or in its stomach — Sioux Falls remains a meat-and potatoes city, White said. He tries to deliver on that, remembering that while there’s “a million different ways you can cook potatoes … it’s hard to beat just good old mashed potatoes.”

White uses local vendors and brewers for his wine and beer events and restaurant meals. Breadsmith bakes the sandwich bread and buns, while Stensland Family Farms supplies heavy cream, ice cream and cheese curds. He relies on a local mushroom grower, and Cakes and Confections by Chef April provides the desserts.

“It’s rewarding in our business to help others grow by carrying their products,” White said.

The Whites have been married for almost three years and collectively have seven children. Jenny White is the business’ general manager, taking charge of everything from payroll to taxes, the stickers placed on the family meals, printing, advertising and social media. If the kitchen is short-staffed, she even has helped there too. Family meals once again are offered only twice a week, giving the Whites much-needed free time, although White’s days often still stretch out to 12 hours.

Sioux Falls is a unique market in terms of restaurants, Tracy said. For many years, the National Restaurant Association listed it in the top 10 saturated markets per capita. Diners familiar with chain restaurants don’t always realize independent restaurants offer a different experience.

“It’s easy to open a restaurant but difficult to maintain it,” Tracy said. He took time from his own busy schedule at R Wine Bar & Kitchen to visit White’s restaurant earlier this summer and ordered a New York strip steak that he said was “cooked perfectly and presented nicely.”

“I’m glad this worked out for him,” Ryan said of his fellow chef. “If he keeps that same goofy attitude he has, if he always has fun while he works and truly loves what he does, he’ll never work a day in his life.”

When they opened the restaurant, the Whites put up what they called a Tree of Hope on the wall.

The idea was to give people a way to come together, leaving prayers, dreams, hopes or anything they wanted on a leaf.

The couple has smiled, laughed and cried reading them. They’ve prayed when prayers have been requested. There are inspiring quotes and valuable advice. There are angel wings and names of departed loved ones.

“We love this tree,” White wrote in a Facebook post. “During challenging days, I sometimes look over at the tree, and it always reminds me of why we opened this restaurant. We love bringing people together, and we love helping people celebrate. The laughter and smiles that fill this restaurant every day are such a huge blessing. ”

What he doesn’t expect to do is become complacent, White said. He is grateful that people choose Chef Lance’s on Phillips to celebrate special events in their life, and he is looking forward to the second year.

“Jenny and I are just excited to see where the next leg of the journey takes us,” he said. “It still excites us, and it still scares the crap out of us.”

Q&A with Chef Lance White

What restaurant in Sioux Falls is on your “must-try” list.

Tarquin Argentinian Restaurant. I’ve been meaning to get there but haven’t.

Favorite meal of the day?

Supper. Sometimes I don’t eat breakfast, I don’t eat lunch, but I never skip supper.

What meal would you fix for your wife?

Scallops. It’s her favorite, and I could put it with anything, and she would be happy.

What type of food are you least familiar with?

I haven’t tried a ton of Indian food.

What do you most often prepare for yourself?

It may sound silly, but after a long day, if I haven’t eaten all day, comfort food for me is peanut butter and jelly and a big, tall glass of milk. I could never go wrong with that. I love prime rib, but I’m not going to put one of those in the oven after 10 o’clock at night.