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BY MARY MICHAELS | PHOTOS BY JULIE PRAIRIE PHOTOGRAPHY

Ifyou have driven by a big white building on South Minnesota Avenue, you may not realize that inside is a tropical getaway ready to help you relax.

The building houses Allure Health, the re-branded Storm Clinic, a multi-specialty independent clinic, along with an IV club, fitness club and Thalia Bar, which opened March 5.

With its black, white and gold decor, tile floor, ornate bar and braided wicker chairs, the Thalia Bar transports you to an early 20th-century island lounge. The atmosphere is comfortable enough for meeting a business colleague or after-work gathering with friends, as well as intimate enough for date night.

“The owners love to experience food and wine,” says bar manager and executive chef McKenna Gering. “They want others in Sioux Falls to have a unique experience here as well.”

Gering says Thalia Bar is perfect for those looking for a place to go in the afternoon or for those who want to stop in for a drink and small plates before heading home from work. They offer an eclectic mix of beer, champagne and wines, along with mocktails, such as the Piña Colada, Mojito and Espresso Martini.

The wines truly take center stage, though, with an extensive bottle list, which, Gering adds, they can cork and send home with you if you only enjoy a glass or two while there. Thalia Bar features both domestic and international wines, and the staff is knowledgeable about the varieties to help you make a selection. You can also enjoy a wine flight, beautifully presented in a tiered stand, complete with cards describing each wine. The flights are arranged by grape and region. So, for example, the Italian Reds flight includes wines from Tuscany, Sicily and Chianti, while the Riesling Flight presents wines from Germany, New York and France. There are nine flights to choose from that incorporate white, red and rose’ wines. Feeling fancy? Try one of the 15 champagne varieties on the menu, available by the glass or bottle.

Gering explains that all of their wines are initially chilled.

“We chill all of our wines so that when we present them to our guests, they can experience how the taste changes as they warm up.”

As a young professional managing the bar and serving as executive chef, Gering had an interesting journey on her way to Thalia.

“I actually started out pursuing engineering,” she says, “and went to the School of Mines for a year. I decided that wasn’t for me, however, and then went to culinary school.”

Gering started out as a prep and line cook at Great Shots, then moved to Minerva’s, where she worked as a pastry chef. She fell in love with that work and hopes to eventually add desserts to the menu at Thalia Bar. Right now, though, the menu is a delicious blend of tapas (small plates) like charcuterie, soft pretzel bits and Dijon mustard, warm olives and seafood features like a sweet red crab salad and a salmon amuse-bouche. She sources the seafood from a Hawaiian company that is catch-to-kitchen within 48 hours.

The interesting specialty on Gering’s menu, however, is deviled eggs. She offers one option with three house-made deviled eggs, with a choice of paprika or chives and dill. The other is the deviled egg bar with eight eggs topped with a variety of ingredients like paprika, chives, capers, pickled red onion and sashimigrade salmon.

If you’d like to take a little bit of Thalia home with you or share with someone else, choose a unique gift basket that features a bottle of wine, a featured beer, snacks and something special like a book.

Ready for a tropical getaway? Head to Thalia Bar.