Sky Lounge celebrates one year anniversary
One local bar in Tea is celebrating its first year under new ownership. The Sky Lounge will be having its one year celebration this weekend after being under the wings of a trio of owners: Tanya Baker, Jim Baker, and Beth Mielke.
The trio was drawn to the Sky Lounge property last year in their quest to run a local bar. The group was looking for a property to purchase around the area, including in Sioux Falls, and ended up picking the Tea property. One of the trio, Beth Mielke, explained why the Sky Lounge ended up being the perfect choice, “We all agreed that this one was the best fit for us as first-time bar owners. The limited food, existing clientele with a dart community, and somewhat of a small-town ‘divey bar’ atmosphere made it a great fit.”
Back on January 25, 2018, the doors to the Sky Lounge opened up under the wings of the new owners. Now, on Friday, the trio will be celebrating its first year of ownership.
According to Tanya Baker, some of the highlights during the group’s first year of ownership has included making improvements over the year, a growing customer base, experiencing its first Teapot Days and getting to know the Sky Lounge’s regulars.
All of this comes with the help of a solid crew of staff. Tanya Baker explained, “We really do have a great team and we could not have made it through this first year without them. It has been a lot of work but also a lot of fun!”
While that first year has certainly had its positives, the Sky Lounge had some difficulties along the way thanks to a burglar that set their sights on the Sky Lounge. On November 3, the Tea Police Department stated that a suspect entered the Sky Lounge in Tea around 4:30 a.m. and burglarized the business.
Despite this, the Sky Lounge kept on flying along, thanks to the support of their customers.
Tanya Baker stated, “The burglary was definitely disheartening.”
Mielke added, “That phrase ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ is very true in this instance. The outpouring of support from our customers has been much appreciated.”