Ann Kim

Kim immigrated from South Korea to the United States in 1977 at the age of four, settling in Apple Valley, Minnesota with her sister, parents and grandmother. She was in the theater program at Apple Valley High School, and she pursued an acting career at Columbia University in New York City. She returned to Minneapolis and worked as an actress for eight years before deciding to enter the restaurant business.[1][2]

Recalling the pizza she had enjoyed in New York, Kim began to study pizza making, training at Tony Gemignani's International School of Pizza in San Francisco.[2][3] In 2011, Kim and her partner (and future husband) Conrad Leifur opened Pizzeria Lola in Minneapolis.[3] When reviewing the restaurant for Food & Wine, Andrew Zimmern said: "Yes, it’s true, Minnesota has the best pizza in America."[4] Guy Fieri visited Pizzeria Lola in 2012 for the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.[5] In 2012, Kim and Leifur opened a second restaurant in Edina, Minnesota, a smaller pizzeria called Hello Pizza, selling pies and slices from a counter.[6]

In 2016, Kim and Leifur opened a third restaurant named Young Joni in northeast Minneapolis, expanding from pizza to a broader menu featuring hearth cooking and Korean influences.[1][2] It was named one of the best new restaurants in America by Eater and GQ magazine.[7][8] The Star Tribune named it its 2017 Restaurant of the Year.[9]

In 2019, Kim won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest.[10]

Kim opened her fourth restaurant, Sooki & Mimi, in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis in 2021. Focusing on soft tortillas, the restaurant is rooted in an international cuisine, taking culinary cues from Korean, Midwestern, and Latin American ingredients.[11]

• Young Joni
• Pizzeria Lola
• Hello Pizza