Liquor License Sale and Application Procedure

The City of Sioux Falls has 10 off-sale liquor licenses and 7 on-sale liquor licenses available for sale to eligible applicants.  

Effective July 31, the City Council approved the process to issue these license types through a sealed bid process. The ordinance stipulates that a notice of public sale be published at least twice, with the first publication not less than ten calendar days prior to the date of the sale. Sealed bids shall be made using a form provided by the City which requires the proposed address for the license and the amount of the bid. The non-refundable bid application fee of $100 payable to City of Sioux Falls shall be submitted on the outside of the sealed envelope.

Bids will be accepted in person by the Licensing Specialist, or his/her designee, at the City Licensing Office, 224 West Ninth Street, 1st Floor, beginning 8 a.m. Monday, August 7 through 5 p.m. Wednesday, August 23, 2023. The sealed envelope will be time-stamped received with the date and time, and a receipt will be given for the $100.00 non-refundable bid application fee. Submitted bids must utilize the sealed bid forms provided by the City, which are available on this website or in hard copy format from the City Attorney’s Office.

No bid less than the minimum established by ordinance will be accepted. Only one sealed bid will be accepted per location. The minimum bid for off-sale liquor licenses is $500.00 and the minimum bid for on-sale liquor licenses is $240,646.00.  

The sealed bids will be opened at 10 a.m. on August 24, 2023, in the Attorney Conference Room 103 (former Commission Chamber), 224 West Ninth Street, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57104. Public is welcome to attend.

The bidders will be listed in sequential order from the highest to lowest bid. The order for tie bids will be determined by the earliest date and time the bid was received by the City. The bidder(s) providing the highest bids based on the number of available liquor licenses, shall be notified in writing of their conditional award. The names and the amount of the bids for those conditionally awarded will be published online within five (5) business days of the date on the written notice of the conditional award(s). If the highest bidders do not meet all conditions of Chapter111.012.1, the next highest bids may be conditional accepted in the same manner as the highest bid. 

Please refer to the ordinance for more information or contact the City Licensing Specialist at 605-367-8082 or jpalmer@siouxfalls.org

2023 On-sale Liquor License Conditionally Awarded Bids
2023 Off-sale Liquor License Conditionally Awarded Bids

 

Frequently Asked Questions

When can I submit my sealed bid application?
Sealed bids will be received during normal business hours beginning at 8 am on August 7, 2023, until 5:00 pm on August 23, 2023. 
Where do I submit my liquor license sealed bid application?
The sealed bid and the bid application fee must be submitted in person to the Licensing Specialist or designee located on first floor of City Hall, 224 West Ninth Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57104. Bids will be time-stamped with the date and time the sealed bid was received. Prospective bidders will be given a receipt for the $100 non-refundable bid application fee. The $100 non-refundable fee must be outside of the sealed bid. The outside of the sealed bid must note the type of license the applicant is applying for (i.e., Off-sale or on-sale liquor license), the name of the bidder/applicant, and the location where the proposed license will be used.  
Can I mail my sealed bid?
No, it must be submitted in person to the Licensing Specialist or designee.
Can I submit more than one bid for the same location?
No, the city can only accept one sealed bid per location.
When will the off-sale and on-sale liquor license bid opening be held? Will it be open to the public?
The bid opening will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday August 24, 2023. The public is welcome to attend. 
Where will the bid opening be held?
The bids will be opened in the Attorney Conference Room 103, City Hall, 224 West Ninth Street, Sioux Falls SD 57104.
What is the fee to submit a sealed bid application?
The non-refundable bid application fee is $100.00. The payment must be made payable to City of Sioux Falls and be submitted at the time you submit your sealed bid application. Cash or check are accepted.
When will the non-refundable bid application fee be cashed?
The checks will be deposited in the City’s bank account within one to two business days of receipt. 
How will I be notified if my bid was accepted?
You will receive written notice of your conditional award. That notice will outline your next steps and the timeline in which the steps must be completed. All conditionally award bids, including the name of the bidder and the amount of the bid will be published online by the city within 5 business days of the date of written notice of the conditional award.
Where do I find the Bid Form?
Bid forms are available from the City Attorney’s Office (1st floor at City Hall) in hard copy format. You may also download the bid forms from this website.
When must the licenses be used?
Off-sale dealer liquor licenses must be utilized within 90 days of issuance. On-sale dealer liquor licenses must be actively used within two years of issuance.
Is there a minimum bid requirement?
The minimum bid for an off-sale dealer liquor license is $500.00. The minimum bid for an on-sale dealer liquor license is $240,646.00.
When must I submit my fee?

Bidders with the highest bids, based on available licenses, will be issued a written notice of conditional award by the City of Sioux Falls that their submitted bid has been conditionally awarded. If no conditional use permit is required for the proposed location where the license will be used, the conditionally awarded bidder will then have ten (10) business days from the date of the written notice of conditional award to submit a Uniform Alcoholic Beverage License Application to the City licensing office along with a check payable to the City of Sioux Falls for the amount of the bid. 

If a conditional use permit is required for the location where the license will be used, the conditionally awarded bidder must file a conditional use permit application within 30 calendar days of the date of written notice of conditional award. The conditional use permit process must be concluded within 60 calendar days of the date of written notice of conditional award unless extended by the planning commission or city council. Upon receiving the conditional use permit, the conditionally awarded bidder must submit the Uniform Alcoholic Beverage Application and a check payable to the City of Sioux Falls for the amount bid within ten (10) business days of receiving the conditional use permit.

 
Can I withdraw my bid?
Bidders can request to withdraw their sealed bid, with no penalty up until bid opening at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 24, by contacting the City’s licensing office.

Once sealed bids are opened, bidders requesting to withdraw a conditionally awarded bid shall be subject to a penalty of being ineligible to submit future bids for a similar license (off-sale or on-sale dealer liquor license) for a period of three years.

Bidders submitting multiple bids for multiple locations that request to voluntarily withdraw bids, whether conditionally awarded bids or otherwise, must withdraw lower bids in sequently order prior to withdrawing higher bids. 
If I did not secure a license this round, when does the City expect to issue licenses again?
The number of off-sale and on-sale liquor licenses available in the City of Sioux Falls is based on population estimates issued by the US Census Bureau on even numbered years, except for the decennial year. For a decennial year, population is equal to the amount determined by the decennial federal census. Based on current population growth, it would be expected that the City may have five to seven licenses to issue every two years (next in 2025). But this is based on multiple factors and is only an estimate.

In addition, the City may replace the liquor licenses currently used at the Municipal golf courses, which may make two additional on-sale liquor licenses available for sealed bid sometime in 2024. This would be conducted as a separate sealed bid process at that time.
What if I have additional questions?
For questions about the sealed bid application process, please contact the City’s Licensing Specialist at 367-8082 or by email at jpalmer@siouxfalls.org.

Check back for changes to the FAQ, which may be updated from time to time based on questions received from prospective bidders.