As many restaurants around KELOLAND begin to fully re-open to customers, a brand new restaurant just opened its doors on the north side of Tea. 

“It has been insane, it’s been so busy which is great, we have a really good Tea following,” Squealer’s Smoke House owner Andrea Kuipers said.

What started as a food truck turned into a small restaurant in central Tea has now moved into a massive brand new facility.

“Our capacity in here is about 200, we have a really nice patio down on the lower level as well as a rooftop bar and patio up there,” Kuipers said.

Squealer’s Smoke House has not just added a bigger building, but also a lot more options inside.

“We expanded our menu, we’re doing burgers now as well as pastas, different salads now, everyone wanted a little more than just BBQ,” Owner Dustin Kuipers said.

“We increased our staff from about 15 to about 80, so that was definitely a hurdle that we had to overcome,” Andrea Kuipers said.

Owners Dustin and Andrea Kuipers say while they’ve totally revamped their business, one of the key ingredients of Squealer’s Smoke House is still the same.

“Same smoker, it is a lot more of it though, it’s running 24/7, once it’s empty we load it up and keep going,” Kuipers said. “All of the same seasoning and flavors too.”

“There was definitely a lot of things I want to try, a little challenging to make that decision, just got to come here and give some more things a shot,” First time guest Boston Van Donselaar said.

Van Donselaar drove down from Sioux Falls to give the new hot spot in Tea a try.

“It looks very high class, gives you that nice quality feel, I like the waiters and the staff and environment,” he said.

“We’re getting a lot of new faces, a lot of Sioux Falls folks and Harrisburg and the surrounding communities as well,” Andrea Kuipers said.

It’s a new destination designed to draw more people to Tea.

“We talked about getting started about four years ago when we looked at the land and were approached by the landowners,” Kuipers said. “They own the hotel across the parking lot and just really wanted something here in Tea for their guests when they come to stay at the hotel.”

The new Squealer’s was supposed to open in February but was pushed back due to the pandemic. Construction on the rooftop patio was also delayed, but is expected to open in the next couple of weeks.