For years, Sheri Wichser imagined that someday she might open a food business of her own.

Maybe it would be a bed-and-breakfast. Maybe something built around cooking and hospitality. What she did not know was that the opportunity would come in the form of a small but prominent property near downtown New Glarus, or that it would arrive just as she prepared to retire from a 37-year career with Alliant Energy.

Wichser, who spent her professional career as a strategic project manager for information technology projects, now finds herself at the center of a very different kind of launch. The Matterhorn Ice Cream & Grill, which has opened in the former Kennedy’s Ice Cream & Grill location at 400 Railroad St. and will celebrate a formal ribbon cutting Friday at 1:30 p.m., represents not only a new business but also a new rhythm of life centered on family, food, and community. “It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do,” Wichser said. “I’ve wanted to have maybe a bed-and-breakfast or something. I love to cook, love to entertain.”