High-End Skogen Kitchen Making A Name For Itself On The Plains Of South Dakota

When chef Joseph Raney and his wife Eliza Bellard opened Skogen Kitchen in May 2017, a high-end, chef-driven restaurant in Custer, South Dakota, a town of 1,900 people, they knew they were taking a risk. Nonetheless, they were all in, borrowing $30,000 from his mom and tapping their credit card to finance its opening.

But seven years later, Skogen Kitchen has become a hit. Indeed Raney was a semi-finalist for the James Beard Best Chef Midwest award in 2023. Previously, he had studied at the Hollywood Kitchen Academy and cooked at Napa Rose and Marche Moderne in Calif.

Location, Location, Location

As with many restaurants, location, location, location play a major role in its success since Custer is in driving distance to Mount Rushmore, historic Crazy Horse Memorial and scenic Black Hills. The Landscape Architecture Foundation reports that Mount Rushmore attracts about 2 million visitors a year.

When chef Joseph Raney and his wife Eliza Bellard opened Skogen Kitchen in May 2017, a high-end, chef-driven restaurant in Custer, South Dakota, a town of 1,900 people, they knew they were taking a risk. Nonetheless, they were all in, borrowing $30,000 from his mom and tapping their credit card to finance its opening.

But seven years later, Skogen Kitchen has become a hit. Indeed Raney was a semi-finalist for the James Beard Best Chef Midwest award in 2023. Previously, he had studied at the Hollywood Kitchen Academy and cooked at Napa Rose and Marche Moderne in Calif.

As with many restaurants, location, location, location play a major role in its success since Custer is in driving distance to Mount Rushmore, historic Crazy Horse Memorial and scenic Black Hills. The Landscape Architecture Foundation reports that Mount Rushmore attracts about 2 million visitors a year.