I've driven past Sweet Cheeks on West Avera a dozen times before I finally pulled in — it sits in that stretch near the hospital where everything feels like it's designed for quick stops between appointments. But here's what nobody tells you about this place: the owner started scooping ice cream after leaving a career in nursing, and you can tell she knows what comfort actually means.
The shop opened in 2019, back when rolling ice cream was still novel enough in Sioux Falls that people would stand at the window and watch the metal spatulas scrape across the frozen plate. Now it's less about the Instagram moment and more about the fact that they'll fold in basically anything you want — Biscoff cookies, fresh strawberries, brownie chunks — and the texture comes out different than regular scooped ice cream, softer somehow, almost creamy-chewy.
I tried the Nutella banana on a Wednesday afternoon when the place was empty except for two teenagers sharing a cup. The portions are generous to the point of being slightly aggressive — I couldn't finish mine, which felt like both a failure and a win. They also do bubble tea here, which makes sense when you realize the owner wanted to create a place where her kids and their friends would actually want to hang out, not just pass through.
The hours can be unpredictable, especially in winter — check before you drive over from the east side. And the seating is limited, a handful of small tables that fill up fast on summer evenings when youth soccer just let out and everyone's looking for a treat that isn't from a drive-thru on 41st Street.
But the truth is Sweet Cheeks works because it never pretended to be more than what it is: a woman making ice cream the way she wanted to make it, in a neighborhood that needed something sweet.
— Grace
I tried the Nutella banana on a Wednesday afternoon when the place was empty except for two teenagers sharing a cup.