2023 HIGHLANDS NC EXPERIENCE GUIDE
We sat down with Kimmy to get to know her better.
Do you have a favorite or most meaningful tattoo? I tattooed professionally for a few years. I don’t count them anymore, but I have more than 500 hours in tattoos. If I had to choose a favorite, it’s one on my ankle that my Dad tattooed. [It reads “Daddy.”] And then I have an en- tire ankle dedicated to displaying the tattoos by friends who are novices; there are eight. Highlands Tavern will celebrate its first birthday this year. What is its birth date, and do you have anything special planned? Yes, we opened August 6. We’ll probably do a nice, big grand opening/one-year anniversary thing. Do you have a favorite song or one that you consider “perfect?” Hmm… I’d have to think about that. I listen to a lot of Frank Sinatra and 50s old rock-and-roll. I’m an old soul. When you’re not in the kitchen or in the front of the house, what are you doing? I do a lot of gardening, a lot of artwork – whatever I can get my hands on, painting and sculpting. I work on cars with my Dad [Tim Vos, whose cars regularly show at the Highlands Motoring Festival]. He can take a pitted-out pile of rust and make it amazing. Who makes up your family? In addition to my Dad, I have two brothers and three nephews. People here [at Highlands Tavern] are family, the staff. It is filled with energy and teamwork. And my friends in Florida are also family.
Share the short version of your background. My parents moved to Highlands when I was 12. Back then there were almost no restaurants. I went to Rabun Gap School and, afterwards, to Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, where I was part of the first graduating class. I was recruited by Compass Group [a British multi- national contract foodservice company] to serve as an executive chef and oversee two of their major accounts. From Charlotte, I moved to Florida and worked for Sysco [an American multinational corporation involved in mar- keting and tributing food products] as a marketing rep. So, I learned every side of the business. I came back to Highlands five years ago. My brothers were having kids and my parents were here. What inspired you to open Highlands Tavern? How did that come about? I wanted to bring something fresh to the community. Ryan [Aydelotte, her business partner] asked me to join him when he got the opportunity to rent the space. I wouldn’t have been able to make any of this happen without him! The space did not have a kitchen; everything had to be ripped apart and installed. I had to get all the permits. But we did all of it. What makes the menu unique? We work with local farms and the menu changes every two or three days. My specialty is ethnic food and farm- to-table. I like to keep it fresh and new. One thing people might be surprised to learn is I’ve been a vegetarian for 12 years. But I am not here to change anyone. When I’m preparing a meat dish, I make sure to add extra flavor and love. What is your favorite thing on the menu? Probably my curries. I drive to Asheville each week to get the spices to make it as authentic as I can. What are your cat’s names and what would you like to share about them? I have three hairless cats. Gyoza looks like a fat pot sticker or dumpling. Then, there’s Mochi because he’s a Japanese marshmallow. And Dahlia. My Mom used to farm dahlias. She grew thousands of them.
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