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Joanne Palzkill, co-owner of Draganetti’s and Za 51 in the Eau Claire area, has been honored as the Restaurateur of the Year by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association. The Restaurateur of the Year (ROY) award is the industry’s top honor. Palzkill was announced as the winner in a surprise celebration at Florian Gardens Conference Center in Eau Claire on July 18th. The Restaurateur of the Year award is given to a restaurant operator who demonstrates participation and service to the restaurant association, success within their own restaurant and contributions to their community. The winner is selected at a private meeting of past Restaurateur of the Year recipients and is kept a secret until the official announcement. Being part of a restaurant family since birth, Palzkill embodies true hospitality and the spirit of the restaurant industry. In 1951, her parents moved from Chicago to Northern Wisconsin. They slowly transformed their home, which had previously been a summer home of the Chicago Police Commissioner, into a business and perfected a recipe for pizza dough. All of the children worked in the business side by side with their parents. After high school, having worked all her life up to that point in the restaurant industry, Palzkill was convinced that she wanted to do something else. She attended UW Eau Claire and graduated with an accounting degree. After working at a CPA firm for a year, Palzkill realized that she really missed the wonderful, crazy restaurant business: the people, the chaos, the immediate feedback and the hospitality. In 1981 Palzkill joined forces with her sister Claudia, her brother John and her mother Clara to open Draganetti’s, an authentic Italian restaurant, in Eau Claire. The restaurant continues the family tradition of serving homemade Italian dishes for over 50 years. The three siblings also own and operate their newest restaurant Za 51 Pizzeria in Altoona and the Enchanted Inn in Northern Wisconsin. Palzkill has been an active and engaged member of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association for many years. She was chair of the WRA Board in 2020 and served on the board since 2012, which included seven years on the Executive Committee. As board chair during the COVID-19 pandemic, Palzkill led the association through an extremely challenging time for restaurants and the organization. She did numerous media interviews at the local, state and national levels and testified at state capitol hearings to tell the story of the devastating impact of the pandemic on restaurants. Her steady leadership helped the association and her fellow restaurateurs survive through challenging times. A strong community leader, Palzkill has served on the board of directors for numerous community organizations including Chippewa Valley Technical College. She also has been an active mentor and supporter of the Eau Claire Memorial High School Culinary Arts Program as well as ProStart programs at high schools in her area. - END - Since 1933, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association has been dedicated to the success of the foodservice and hospitality industry.
Joanne Palzkill, co-owner of Draganetti’s and Za 51 in the Eau Claire area, has been honored as the Restaurateur of the Year by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association. The Restaurateur of the Year (ROY) award is the industry’s top honor. Palzkill was announced as the winner in a surprise celebration at Florian Gardens Conference Center in Eau Claire on July 18th.
The Restaurateur of the Year award is given to a restaurant operator who demonstrates participation and service to the restaurant association, success within their own restaurant and contributions to their community. The winner is selected at a private meeting of past Restaurateur of the Year recipients and is kept a secret until the official announcement.
Being part of a restaurant family since birth, Palzkill embodies true hospitality and the spirit of the restaurant industry. In 1951, her parents moved from Chicago to Northern Wisconsin. They slowly transformed their home, which had previously been a summer home of the Chicago Police Commissioner, into a business and perfected a recipe for pizza dough. All of the children worked in the business side by side with their parents.
After high school, having worked all her life up to that point in the restaurant industry, Palzkill was convinced that she wanted to do something else. She attended UW Eau Claire and graduated with an accounting degree. After working at a CPA firm for a year, Palzkill realized that she really missed the wonderful, crazy restaurant business: the people, the chaos, the immediate feedback and the hospitality.
In 1981 Palzkill joined forces with her sister Claudia, her brother John and her mother Clara to open Draganetti’s, an authentic Italian restaurant, in Eau Claire. The restaurant continues the family tradition of serving homemade Italian dishes for over 50 years. The three siblings also own and operate their newest restaurant Za 51 Pizzeria in Altoona and the Enchanted Inn in Northern Wisconsin.
Palzkill has been an active and engaged member of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association for many years. She was chair of the WRA Board in 2020 and served on the board since 2012, which included seven years on the Executive Committee. As board chair during the COVID-19 pandemic, Palzkill led the association through an extremely challenging time for restaurants and the organization. She did numerous media interviews at the local, state and national levels and testified at state capitol hearings to tell the story of the devastating impact of the pandemic on restaurants. Her steady leadership helped the association and her fellow restaurateurs survive through challenging times.
A strong community leader, Palzkill has served on the board of directors for numerous community organizations including Chippewa Valley Technical College. She also has been an active mentor and supporter of the Eau Claire Memorial High School Culinary Arts Program as well as ProStart programs at high schools in her area.
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Since 1933, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association has been dedicated to the success of the foodservice and hospitality industry.