A parting view of the Aberdonian retail center shows Ken's Super Fair Foods and the Shell Express filling station that was added during a 2.5 million dollar store refurbishment. This project was completed in July 1996.
Photo from https://dakotaplainscommercial.com/ / Dakota Plains Commercial Real Estate
SUPER CITY CENTER
6th Avenue Southeast / US 12 and Vivian Street, South
Aberdeen, South Dakota
The Rushmore State's first shopping mall was developed on a 12-acre parcel. This was located in Aberdeen, 1.3 miles east of the downtown area. Ground was broken on August 28, 1963.
SUPER CITY CENTER was built by the Bjornson Development Company, of Valley City, North Dakota. When fully realized, it would encompass approximately 116,500 leasable square feet. The fully-enclosed facility would be anchored by a (40,000 square foot), Minneapolis-based Tempo Discount Center and (15,000 square foot) Fairway Foods supermarket.
Tempo became the first operational store on April 22, 1964. Fairway Foods and White Drug followed, in May. By mid-1965, there were twenty-one stores and services. Charter tenants included Ray's Barber Shop, Adoraccion Coiffures Beauty Salon, Rhine Room Lounge & Grill, Super Bowl, Tom's Hobby & Art Shop and the freestanding Auto-Dine Drive-In Restaurant.
Tempo was also the first mall store to change nameplates. The Gamble-Skogmo parent company merged its Tempo and Buckeye Mart divisions in 1971. In July 1974, Midwestern stores were rebranded as Tempo Buckeye. A new Tempo Buckeye logo appeared in 1975.
Apparently, SUPER CITY CENTER was expanded twice during the 1970s. Details are sketchy, but a first enlargement may have added 10,000 square feet to the Tempo store. A second construction project, completed in January 1976, increased the floor area of the supermarket, which had been known as Ken's Fairway Foods since 1972.
An interior-exterior refurbishment was done between January and September of 1980. On the interior, various stores were expanded into adjoining spaces. When all construction dust settled, SUPER CITY MALL covered approximately 133,200 leasable square feet and housed fifteen stores and services. By 1983, it was owned by Doctor Ernie Larson, of Edina, Minnesota.
Tempo Buckeye pulled up stakes in May 1981. An Omaha-based Pamida ["Pam-iy-duh"] discount store opened in the space in the summer of 1982. This store went dark in July 1991. A Muskegon, Michigan-based Country General Store set up shop. It closed for good on December 31, 2001.
Meanwhile, a formidable retail rival had come on the Aberdeen scene. LAKEWOOD MALL {.6 mile east, in Aberdeen} opened in August 1990. Encompassing over 332,600 leasable square feet, it dwarfed the community-class SUPER CITY MALL. Inline stores, such as White Drug and a Ben Franklin 5 & 10, shut down for good.
The supermarket at SUPER CITY MALL had been expanded southward in 1976. It was enlarged again in the mid-1990s. A grand re-opening, culminating a 2.5 million dollar renovation, was held in July 1996. The store -now known as Ken's Super Fair Foods- had grown into three adjoining store spaces; those of Ben Franklin, a restaurant and White Drug.
A vacant Country General Store space was renovated by the Brentwood, Tennessee-based Tractor Supply Company. They welcomed first customers on May 5, 2003. Ken's Super Fair Foods expanded over the South Mall concourse in 2013. A fourth store expansion, in 2019, added an expanded beer & wine department. Ken's now covered 55,000 square feet.
The Hub City shopping hub changed hands twice in 2019. Kevin Fiedler -owner of Ken’s Super Fair Foods- became the mall's new proprietor. After only a few months, Fiedler sold the mall -but not his supermarket- to the Aberdeen-based Schwan Financial Group. The East, West and North concourses, and adjacent retail and office space, were renamed SUPER CITY PLAZA.
Sources:
The Rapid City Journal (Rapid City, South Dakota)
The Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota)
The Daily Republic (Mitchell, South Dakota)
The American News (Aberdeen, South Dakota)
"It's About Time: Super City was South Dakota's first mall" / Jay Kirschenmann / The Aberdeen News / September 2019
"Looking Back: 50 Years At Ken's" / Aberdeen Magazine / Annie Scott / September-October 2022
http://www.aberdeenareahistory.org / "Aberdeen SD Centennial Edition" / Aberdeen Area Chamber of Commerce / 1979
https://aberdeen.kenssuperfair.com / Ken's Super Fair
https://www.mallsinamerica.com / Malls In America
http://lakewoodmall-sd.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://aberdeenmall-sd.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://nikkimillerrose.com
https://hubcityradio.com / Hub City Radio
