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Z’Kota was a locally-owned chain of four restaurants; three in Sioux Falls and one in Brookings. Originally the stores were part of the Hardee’s<\/a> franchise until the owner, Scott Fritz<\/a>, broke off from the chain in 2002. His plan was to provide customers with a slightly more upscale fast-food experience and larger selection of menu choices that were a little out of the ordinary. I think it was a success. <\/p>\n For the last several years, Hardee’s had been looking to get back into the Sioux Falls market — as if Sioux Falls restaurant-goers needed yet another choice of national restaurant chains — and last year the four stores were purchased from Fritz by a Wisconsin-based Hardee’s franchisee. <\/p>\n On a work day I’ll often go home for lunch, but when time is short, I’ll sometimes hit a nearby McDonald’s or Burger King (and I’m a sucker for the $2.65 Pizza & Pop Combo at Sam’s Club!). If I’ve got a little more time and want to eat out, I prefer going to a locally-owned restaurant or diner, mostly to get away from the mass-produced plasticky food served by the bigger chains; the West 12th Street Z’Kota was a good place to go for me, just a quick run down I-29 away from work. Now though, I’ll have to work a little harder at that with Z’Kota gone. There is Rosie’s<\/a>, Jono’s<\/a> & Marlin’s<\/a>, all within a ten-minute drive from work, but it seems most of the locally-owned restaurants are in the downtown area; a little too long a drive for a lunchtime outing. <\/p>\n The Z’Kota restaurants were a bit of a paradox; part of a chain, albeit a small one, but were put together very well and presented very professionally, more so than some of the bigger chains, yet far more polished than the average mom-n-pop local restaurant. Yet, even with the polished look, it still held something of the mom-n-pop charm that was very appealing. <\/p>\n The food though was where Z’Kota separated itself from the run-of-the-mill restaurant chain; fresh ingredients assembled after you placed your order, and seasoned perfectly — not too much and not too little. My favorite item on the Z’Kota menu was their Cajun Chicken Sandwich. For about $7 or so you got a char-grilled chicken breast on a bun with cajun seasoning & sauce on it, with cheese & lettuce, a helping of fries and a drink. It doesn’t sound like much, but the seasoning & sauce they used made it by far the tastiest thing on their menu, and the tastiest thing in town, fast-food-wise. <\/p>\n Another thing to like about Z’Kota is that on most warm Saturday evenings, the South Minnesota Avenue location hosted a loosely-organized street rodders’ car show. The boys & I would go there as often as we could to see what kind of cars were there… Because there was no organization, no entry fees and no visitor fees — pretty much a free-for-all — it was really a mixed bag of cars that would be there on any given Saturday. I’ve seen everything from brand new Ferraris to the rattiest rat rods to pro-street drag racers to restored Model T trucks to slightly modified tuner-style cars. That store converted over to Hardee’s last fall, right around the time the weather got too cold for hanging out in a parking lot all evening, so it’s unclear whether the show was exclusively a Z’Kota arrangement or if the new ownership will be as accommodating or not. It was rumored that the Z’Kota owner was a rodder himself, but I can’t say that I ever met him on a Saturday evening.<\/p>\n The West 12th Street store was within a quick lunch-hour drive for me, but even after that one converted to Hardee’s I would drive across town for one of their Cajun Chicken sandwiches. Mid-December was the last time I was there; the girl at the counter told me they were closing down in early January, so after the turn of the year I made the trip again. Unfortunately the only vehicles in the lot belonged to contractors working on converting the store and swapping the signage from Z’Kota to Hardees. It was a sad day for me. It’s been a while since I visited a Hardee’s restaurant; Deane says<\/a> they’re not just another me-too food franchise so I’ll likely give them a try, but I’m thinking the bitterness I feel over the change will keep me away from Hardee’s restaurants for a while.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n