Kim's Diner is a family affair

Apr. 16—Everybody might not know your name at Kim's Diner, 1212 E. 18th St.

But chances are owner Kimberly Phelps does.

And she knows your usual as well.

"I can tell you everybody's name and their usual," Phelps said Wednesday. "When they come in, I take them a glass of water and ask, 'The usual?' That keeps them coming back. The chains can't do that."

She's been working at restaurants since she was 15 — at Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken.

Now her daughter, Sabrina Smith, is 15 and working at Kim's Diner when she's not in class at Owensboro High School.

Phelps worked at JD's Restaurant for six years until it closed in 2020.

Then, she moved over to the Dugout Diner.

When it closed at the end of February, Phelps took over the diner and changed the name to Kim's.

"I put a lot of work into the place when I opened," she said. "I transformed it in one night. Me and my kids."

The price she pays for food keeps going up.

Bird flu has forced farmers to kill millions of chickens — and egg prices are at or near historic highs.

"Shockingly, I haven't had to raise prices," Phelps said. "I do this because I love it. Prices go up and then they come down."

She said, "Some of these people, I've waited on for 10 to 15 years. A lot are on a fixed income. Some of them come in here twice a day to eat. Maybe their husband or wife has died and they're lonely. My customers are my family. If I raise prices very much, I'll lose them."

She said, "We've been very busy. This is the busiest I've seen this place since B.J.'s Castleburgers was here."

It closed in 2015.

Phelps said, "Sometimes, you can't even get in here on weekends. If the wait is too long, I send them to Lizzie's or Dee's. We help each other."

The property valuation administrator's office says the 1,581-square-foot building was erected in 1910.

Since 1939But the earliest reference to that address in Messenger-Inquirer files was in 1939, when the building was advertised as "ready for a grocery or lunchroom."

In 1948, it was Cole's Barbecue Inn, then Jim & Kat's Barbecue Inn and Apman's Barbecue.

It was the 18th Street Tavern in the 1970s and Century Furniture in the '80s.

For awhile, the restaurant was the Coffee Cup, Lalo & Maria's, Dee's Diner, Deloris' Cafe, Bernie's BBQ, Golden's 18th Street Diner and more.

"There's a lot of traffic on 18th Street," Phelps said. "Rent is cheap. Kentucky 54 and Frederica have high rents and you have to raise your prices. I'm able to keep good cheap prices here."

The best sellers on the lunch menu are the hot roast beef sandwich and the club sandwich.

"Only one person has been able to eat the whole club sandwich," Phelps said.

It includes two slices of ham, two slices of turkey, two slices of bacon, two pieces of cheese, three pieces of toast, lettuce, tomato and mayo with either French fries or tater tots.

The diner is open from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday.

"I work every day, more than 80 hours a week," Phelps said. "I am taking Easter Sunday off and I'm going to enjoy it."

She opened during the second annual Owensboro Burger Week.

Phelps hurried and entered the competition with her Breakfast Burger, which featured half-pound of fresh ground beef, cheese, hashbrowns, bacon and egg with tots or fries.

It's still on the menu.

"I sold a $9 hamburger for $7," Phelps said. "I lost money, but a lot of people came in. Next year, I'm putting it on Texas Toast instead of buns."

Thursday, she, Fast Lane Auto Repair and Shilohs Lounge donated 20 new bikes to the Sheila K Foundation for an event today at Kendall-Perkins Park.

It's good for small businesses to work together for things like that, Phelps said.

270-691-7301 klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com