Cafe known for gluten-free offerings to open south-side location

Sept. 8, 2026

A bakery and cafe known for its gluten-free baked doughnuts, breakfast menu, sandwiches and pizzas is opening a new location in south Sioux Falls.

CNC Food Factory, which also does a significant amount of catering as part of its operations, is taking over a space with a drive-thru in a retail center along Cliff Avenue south of 57th Street, said Andy Brown, who owns the business with his wife, Stephanie.

The cafe is located in the GreatLIFE at Avera McKennan Fitness Center at 3400 S. Southeastern Ave. and is open to the public. Brown said they aren’t sure yet if that location will remain open too.

The new location at 5028 S. Cliff Ave. might be ready to open by the end of the year, but the beginning of next year is more likely, Brown said.

The larger space will allow the CNC Food Factory to expand its offerings. The couple hopes to do more baked goods such as cinnamon rolls, muffins, cookies and brownies. Breakfast and lunch choices will grow, and the cafe eventually might add a hot breakfast buffet on the weekend with gluten-free options.

“We’ll have our own line of coffee called Born Again Coffee,” Brown said. “You drink it and you are ‘born again.’”

They’re working with a local roaster to create the unique offerings. The menu will include all the usual espresso drinks, he said, along with smoothies and energy drinks. “We do that now, but it will be on a bigger scale.”

Diners have the option of regular or gluten-free on all the menu items, Brown said.

CNC Food Factory was named the No. 1 restaurant for gluten-free options in Sioux Falls by Local Best, and it’s also the top ranked spot in the area on the app Find Me Gluten Free, he said.

“We meet a ton of people from all across the U.S. and Canada that come in and use the app.”

The couple starts their workday at 10:30 p.m., working through the night to do all their baking and food prep. Cafe hours now are 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

The new location will be open daily, possibly from 4:30 or 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will have seating for about 50 to 60 people, along with the drive-thru service, he said.

CNC will keep its classic green apple color in the new design, and Brown describes the future look of the new space as modern.

Brown started working at the Avera Fitness Center cafe 18 years ago and bought it in 2019, changing the name and adding new menu items. CNC Food Factory is a play on the name of the C+C Music Factory, a ’90s-era band. It also stands for “cafe and catering.”

The business has grown so much that Stephanie Brown went from helping him make doughnuts for a couple of hours in the night to working with him full time. They’re planning to add staff with the expansion.

Marcus Mahlen, president of NAI Sioux Falls, helped the couple find the new location and describes it as “a great spot for them.”

“I think 57th and Cliff is a mature intersection that has a number of different services and industries, and this is going to complement it very well.”