Age doesn’t get in the way for new Medford business owner

Kelli Zimmer is no stranger to hard work.

Zimmer, 19, grew up doing farm chores on her parent’s farm in Glen Flora. Through high school she raised and showed steer at the Rusk County Fair in Ladysmith.

Zimmer has brought that work ethic to her new business, Kelli’s Kitchen, which opened recently on Hwy 13 in Medford.

The building has been home to several restaurants over the years, most recently El Jovensa. Prior to being opened as the home of Kelli’s Kitchen, the building underwent major renovations.

Zimmer's journey to owning Kelli's Kitchen began three years ago when she started working as a waitress in Ladysmith. She said that what started as a job quickly transformed into a passion for waitressing and serving customers.

It is also while working there that she met her boyfriend, Tony Hernandez who was head cook at the restaurant.

Zimmer said she enjoyed working in the restaurant and forming close bonds with the regulars who would come in. She also found a deep interest in the business side of running a restaurant and developed a passion for it. The combination of handson experience and formal education solidified her dream of owning her own restaurant.

Zimmer said her goal is to extend the warmth and personal touch she developed in her previous role to every guest who walks through the door. Kelli's Kitchen is a reflection of her dedication to exceptional service and genuine hospitality.

After graduating as valedictorian at Flambeau High School in 2023, she went on to Northwoods Technical College in Rice Lake to study business and earned an Associate's Degree in Applied Science in Business Management.

Zimmer said that while she enjoys working with and interacting with customers, she found she liked the business side of restaurants more. She said she enjoys things like payroll and hiring and decided “why not do both.”

She decided to make the leap to opening her own business. She learned about the opportunity to lease a restaurant space in Medford and was able to convince her boyfriend to come on board as lead cook. He is joined in working in the kitchen by his brothers.

Since moving to Medford, Zimmer said it has been a challenge to get everything lined up and the restaurant ready to be opened. “We were waiting on the bank, the equipment, more equipment and then the health inspections,” she said, noting the lengthy timeline in getting ready to open.

Zimmer said the reception since opening has been really positive. “We have been doing really good,” she said.

She said she was pleased with being able to get a lot of applications for staffing, but has noted that she has already had some turnover since they opened.

Zimmer credits a lot of her can-do attitude to the lessons learned from her parents Chris and Linda Zimmer of Glen Flora. She said in her downtime, she goes back home and helps the family with farm chores.