FOOD + DRINK
605 STOPS BY
MON KS ALE HOUSE by Dawn Geertsema
“We believe in curating a beer list, which is what Jerry Hauck has done from the beginning,” said new owner of Monks Ale House Justin Henrichsen. “He was pouring beers that he was passionate about, that he enjoyed drinking.” In 2007, gallery owner Jerry Hauck transformed his space to appease his love of Belgian beer, opening the first craft beer bar in South Dakota, Monks Ale House in downtown Sioux Falls.
Eventually, his wife Jeane was fed up. She told him simply, “Do it. Don’t do it. Just shut up about it. Something’s changing.”
“He was kind of a pioneer at the time,” said Henrichsen. “Even where it’s located, he was one of the early ones down [near] 8th & Railroad.”
So, Henrichsen followed Hauck’s lead in 2011 and opened Independent Ale House (Indy) in Rapid City. And earlier this year, Henrichsen jumped at the chance to own Monks, too.
Henrichsen teetered back and forth over a business plan for possibly opening his own bar for about five years.
“I spent about half an hour making the decision to buy Monks, and that included calling my wife at work and getting permission,” said Henrichsen.
T H E F O O D + D R I N K I S S U E november 2020
