This Kansas store specializes in Amish jams, butter and more: ‘Best I ever had’
There’s a good reason the Amish are known for their butter.
Karen Zimmerly, owner of Karen’s Country Kitchen, calls it “life-changing.”
Her son bakes cookies with it and is often asked for his recipe. “It’s just Tollhouse,” he admits to his friends. But the hand-churned, creamy, lightly salted butter makes all the difference.
The butter isn’t the only reason Zimmerly opened her deli and market in Bonner Springs in 2018.
She’s also a big fan of the jams, meat, cheese, fudge and popcorn — all of which, and more, are available at her shop at 300 Oak St.
No preservatives and homemade, Amish food has a superior taste, Karen said.
“I like the products,” she said. “They’re just better — best I’ve ever had. Simple ingredients, but just so good.”
Simple, much like their way of life: no electricity, no internet, plain outfits and, in some cases, no running water.
Appreciate for Amish foods
Her husband and co-owner of the store, Kevin Zimmerly, had Amish great-grandparents in Ohio. (They still have family in that area, Karen said.) Kevin’s father grew up Mennonite — a separate religious community with looser rules regarding technology.
While the Amish traditions have waned throughout the generations of the Zimmerly family, the love for the food has not. But most Amish products aren’t sold at big-name stores like Walmart (though some are).
The two closest Amish communities — Windsor, Missouri, and Jamesport, Missouri — are an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro in opposite directions. And while there are plenty who pack into cars to make pilgrimages for the goods, it’s difficult for most to make regular trips, Karen Zimmerly said.
But every time Karen and Kevin would go to visit family in the Ohio area, they’d hit the local Amish stores in the area and stock up on all the jams and spices they could carry.
On one visit years ago, a store owner posed an idea to Karen that had never occurred to her.
“You know,” they said, “You don’t have to be Amish to open a store.”
“You don’t?” Karen asked in surprise. It was then that the shop owner connected her to contacts for big Amish vendors.
Karen, an environmental chemist, and Kevin, who works at a telephone company, launched their business shortly after. They still juggle running Karen’s Country Kitchen in between their other jobs.
How Kansas couple gets Amish products for store
For some of the Amish products, the Zimmerlys make treks directly to Windsor.
“They have a little barn off to the side that they make their jellies in,” Karen said. “They have our phone number, we have their address.”
But others come from out-of-state vendors. Amish brands available at Karen’s include Amish Wedding, Mrs. Miller’s, Walnut Creek, Uncle Mike’s and more.
Communication with the outside world varies by community, Karen said. Some communities allow cellphones for business purposes, though they cannot be kept in the house.
Other communities, like the one in Windsor, have phone shanties for community use. Some have jobs outside of the community, but many make money by buying and selling their homemade, homegrown goods.
She carries dozens of meats and cheeses. A few of Karen’s items: smoked gouda cheese, dandelion jelly and white bean chili soup mix.
She offers a few non-Amish products from smaller Kansas companies, like Strawberry Hill’s povitica, homemade pies, homemade cinnamon rolls and barbecue sauce.
“We’re trying to support local, too,” she said. “As long as it’s good enough.”
Her sandwiches, made from Amish-sourced meats and cheeses, include a Reuben, a chicken salad sandwich and a fried bologna.
One thing to note: She doesn’t sell the much-raved-about Amish furniture. For that, you’ll have to go to Frontier Furniture in Overland Park at 7221 W. 135th St.
And, if you’re in Ottawa, Wray’s Bulk Foods also sells Amish goods at 221 S. Main St.
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM.