Friends and Family a Key Ingredient at Ally's Bistro

At Ally’s Bistro, N72W13350 Lund Lane, family and neighborly ties are just as important as the food items on the menu.

Owners Rodney and Michelle Zimmerman left their home in northern Wisconsin and moved their family to Menomonee Falls in summer to start their newest business venture, which is named after their 14-year-old daughter. Coming to a new community can be tough at times, but they were given an open-arms welcome from residents in the state’s largest village.

“The first time we went to the grocery store and the post office there was such warmth from complete strangers. It’s been an amazing experience.” Michelle said.

The Zimmerman’s are reciprocating that same feeling for customers that come to Ally’s. Rodney and Michelle met and married while working for Champ’s Family Restaurant in Merrill, Wisconsin years ago. Rodney’s family owned that business, and he got his feet wet in the food industry at 12-years-old working odd jobs for the family.

It was the kind of place where everyone knew eachother's name, and the cooks knew what the regulars enjoyed best.

As a teenager, Rodney sharpened his cooking skills while working one-on-one with his grandmother in the kitchen. During that time he learned the ins and outs of crafting entrees from scratch, and he eventually started experimenting on his own.

“Ally’s reminds us of our restaurant up north,” Rodney said. “It was like welcoming people to your home, and that’s what we love. That's what wer are doing here.”

When they enrolled their twin 11-year-old boys at , it didn’t take long for teachers and staff to discover Ally’s. Michelle said just a week later they had a table filled with North staff who wanted to check out the new business.

After working the family business for years in Merrill, Rodney left to pursue profits as a property investor. However, as the economy took a dive, Rodney felt the time was right to return to his roots.

The Zimmerman’s purchased the business from the owners of Camille’s Sidewalk Café, who they had known beforehand. Camille’s owners placed the business up for sale after it became too difficult to run a business in both Wausau and Menomonee Falls.

Despite changing the name, most of the staple items from Camille’s menu are still on the menu at Ally’s. Lunchtime favorites like paninis, sandwiches and wraps are still a specialty. However, Rodney plans to add a few new items to the menu inspired by his time as a cook in Merrill.

“I have this library of recipes in my head that I would like to be able to use. I enjoy that, and I think our guests will enjoy that as well,” Rodney said.

If you stop at Ally’s, you’ll want to give the soups a try – that’s where Rodney has the most fun. He said all his soups are made from scratch including beef and barley soup, potato and bacon soup and even a much-anticipated clam chowder.

“I’ve been waiting for him to make that one for years,” Michelle joked.

Rodney said they are also expanding their breakfast and dinner offerings. They are already serving up an expanded breakfast menu that includes standards like waffles, eggs, potatoes, bacon and custom omlets. He said they are planning to add dinner entrees like pastas, sautés and stir-fries for later in the day.

However, they still don’t have deep fryers at Ally’s and they don’t plan on adding any.

In addition to the tweaks in the menu, Ally’s also features a conference room that groups can rent out free of charge – as long as the group orders a few entrees.

Catering is also a sizable portion of their business, and they can customize catering needs per request.

“Rod’s willing to be creative though. You just need to call and ask him and we can put anything together that isn’t out of the realm of our capabilities,” Michelle said. “We’re willing to work with people depending on what their needs are.”

Rodney said they would also consider keeping the bistro open in later as warmer weather returns. He also hopes to host some bicycling or endurance events and kick them off at Ally’s.

Rodney is an endurance sport enthusiast, and competes in Ironman competitions and races that span hundreds of miles over a series of days.

Ally’s Bistro is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. To inquire about catering or anything else, Michelle and Rodney can be reached at (262) 251-9727 or by email.