Whatever Happened to Gigglebees in Sioux Falls?

You might remember the pizza, the arcade, or maybe the cheap ice cream. You might have spent Saturday afternoons there, hiding from the South Dakota winter or celebrating your friend’s 8^th birthday.

And you for sure remember the tricycle-riding robot coyote that brought you your food. Yes, I’m talking about Gigglebees, the family pizza restaurant that was a staple of life in Sioux Falls for 22 years.

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Before it was a pizza place, the corner of 14^th and Minnesota in central Sioux Falls was a Red Owl grocery store. Gigglebees opened in December 1985 as part of the Piccadilly Circus pizza chain. That chain eventually broke up and after a contest in 1989, the name changed to Gigglebees.

During the 1990s and into the first few years of the 21^st Century, Gigglebees was a destination restaurant for families in the Sioux Empire. The almost 13,000-square-foot building had arcade games, laser tag, bumper cars, and skeeball to go along with the pizza.

The centerpiece of the place was Gigglebees' mascot Wilbur the Coyote. He was a tricycle-riding robot waiter that delivered pizzas to customers.

As the city grew, competition increased and the cost of business rose. More restaurants opened in Sioux Falls, like Chuck E Cheese's in 2001, and the building aged. In 2008 the land was sold, and in July that same year, Wilbur delivered his last pizza.

The building at 14^th and Minnesota was torn down and a new office development went in, including a bank in the same spot as the former restaurant.

at one time Wilbur the Coyote made a comeback to the Sioux Falls scene as a sort of celebrity party guest. A former robot operator from Gigglebees who loves family entertainment brought the tricycle rider back to life and visited events around town.

Flashback 1992: Inside Sioux Falls Old Washington High School

The modern marvel that is YouTube never ceases to amaze me. Sure, there's plenty of garbage there, but you can also find some gems.

Like this video from 1992. It's a sort of video time capsule of the old Washington High School in Sioux Falls. If you came to The Queen City in the last couple of decades, you may only know the building downtown as the Washington Pavilion, a center of Sioux Falls arts and culture.

Before it was the Pavilion, the corner of Main Avenue and 11th Street in Sioux Falls was home to many of the city's schools for most of the 20th century.

Built on the site of the former Central School, WHS's first class of 328 students started in 1908. It was the only high school in Sioux Falls until Lincoln High was completed in 1965.

The class of 1992 was the last class of Sioux Falls to graduate from the old Washington High. That fall the new WHS, constructed on N. Sycamore Ave on the east side of the city, took over the name and educational mission.

Check out the shots below for a flashback to 1992.

Filed Under: Gigglebees Family Fun Center, Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls History, Whatever Happened To

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