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Andy Hohwieler's day at Rudy's starts before the first customer walks through the door. The team gathers, talks through upcoming events, reviews what product is coming in, and takes care of anything that might disrupt the floor once it opens. The goal is simple: when customers arrive, every staff member is focused entirely on them.

"We really want our team members who are on the floor focused on servicing the customer," Andy explains. "There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes, but the customer shopping experience should be just about them."

That customer-first philosophy is one Andy and his wife Kylie inherited when they purchased Rudy's - A Cook's Paradise in November 2024, and it's one they've made their own. Located on Main Avenue in the heart of downtown Twin Falls, Rudy's has been a fixture of the community for nearly 25 years. The Ashenbrener family built it into something rare — a specialty retail destination in a mid-sized Idaho market that people genuinely love — and the Hohwielers intend to keep it that way.

"What Rudy set out to do, and the Ashenbrener family built, was about the customer," Andy says. "And the customer responded."

Idaho Born, Globally Inspired

Walk through Rudy's today and the range is striking — premium cookware from global brands alongside specialty ingredients made right here in Idaho. The store's Idaho Born section reflects one of Andy's core principles: champion local producers and help connect them with the customers who will appreciate their work.

"We want to support and promote those local purveyors of specialty foods, ingredients, wine, and beer, and really help be that conduit from the producer to the consumer," he explains. Some find Rudy's through food shows, others walk through the door and say they have something worth carrying. Either way, the shelves tell a story about the region.

The wine program carries that same intentionality. Rudy's stocks varieties from across the globe — Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, throughout Europe — alongside a strong selection of Idaho wines. Andy has invested in staff training through the Court of Master Sommeliers and plans to keep building that expertise. The goal is to meet every customer where they are, whether they're a first-time wine buyer or a seasoned collector.

"It's one of our greatest joys to help a customer find a wine," he says. "It starts with asking questions and getting to know them."

A Place to Gather

What sets Rudy's apart from any kitchen retailer isn't what's on the shelves — it's what happens in the demonstration kitchen. Cooking classes run the range from hands-on technique sessions for adults to multi-course wine dinners built around a region or ingredient. A spring renovation expanded the class space and added a new wine bar, the first of its kind in Twin Falls.

For Andy, the classes are an extension of something he believes in deeply. "Some of the most important conversations people have are at the dinner table," he says. "If what we do — the ingredients we sell, the classes we offer — can make that experience just a little more enriching, mission accomplished."

It's a vision rooted in his own upbringing. His mother was a home economics teacher, and some of his clearest memories involve family gathered around the kitchen table, talking about the day, sharing a story, working through a challenge. Rudy's, at its best, is a place that helps people create more of those moments.

As Rudy's approaches its 25th anniversary, Andy isn't looking to reinvent it — just keep it relevant, keep the staff excellent, and keep serving the community that has always shown up for it.

"We need to serve the community," he says. "If we do that, everything else will fall in place."