business development

Ari Weinzweig, founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (@zingermanscommunity), used visioning and tried-and-true beliefs to grow the Zingerman’s brand in big, but thoughtful, ways. Watch now to learn about opening Zingerman’s Delicatessen, the process of creating a vision for your business, and humbleness being vital to a company’s ecosystem. WHAT DID YOU LEARN on this episode of the Restaurant Influencers podcast, presented by the @Toast point of sale and restaurant management technology company? Let us know by leaving a YouTube comment below. Support Our Sponsors — • Toast: All-In-1 Restaurant POS — https://bit.ly/3vpeVsc • Atmosphere: TV for Your Business — https://bit.ly/3Mbc2TZ Chapters: [3:05] – Ari Weinzweig 2-Minute Drill [8:59] – Zingerman's Organizational Mindset [18:56] – Importance of Writing the Vision [33:25] – The Zing Train [38:17] – Humbleness is Most Important Ari Weinzweig is a Restaurant Influencer — Despite finding great success in the restaurant industry, Ari Weinzweig, founder of Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, MI, does not come from a food background. “My mother was a good person and a teacher, but not a good cook. No one in my family was in business.” Ari Weinzweig tells Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef of https://calibbq.media. Going from line cook to owner was a huge learning experience that afforded Weinzweig valuable lessons that he has implemented into the company’s vision and foundational pillars. One of those lessons being that love is important to the spirit and growth of the organization. Though leading with love is not frequently woven into a business’ mode of operation, it has become an irreplaceable element to the Zingerman’s culture. “I've come to believe that love is a natural byproduct of a healthy organizational ecosystem,” says Ari Weinzweig. “I really have come to understand how much it does impact the food, it does impact the guest experience.” That intentionality has also been the prevailing characteristic for Weinzweig’s growth plans for Zingerman’s. Initially starting off as only a deli, the organization has gone on to create Zingerman’s Bakery, and pass along their knowledge to the Zingerman Community and others via Zing Train. The multiple entities are the realization of a vision that Weinzweig and company took the time to write down. This has allowed the company growth to align with their intentional vision. “If you want to grow to be giant, awesome. Do it.” says Weinzweig. “But do it because it feels right to you, and because it's how you believe you want to show up in the world.” EPISODE LINKS: Zing Train Website: https://www.zingtrain.com/trainer/ari-weinzweig/ Zingerman's Community Newsletter: https://www.zingermanscommunity.com/category/zingermans-news/ Ari Weinzweig Article on Visioning: https://www.zingtrain.com/article/why-and-how-visioning-works/ ABOUT ARI WEINZWEIG (@zingermanscommunity) Ari Weinzweig is the radical CEO and co-founding partner of the Zingerman's Community of Businesses, which includes the legendary 40-year-old Zingerman's Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, MI. That’s in addition to 13 other local businesses with more than 23 managing partners. He has been recognized by Inc Magazine as one of “The World's 10 Top CEOs (They Lead in a Totally Unique Way)”, by the James Beard Foundation as one of the “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America”, and is the recipient of a Bon Appetit Lifetime Achievement Award. Ari Weinzweig has charted a new path for creating and growing a business. Rather than replicate the original, and now iconic, Zingerman’s Delicatessen, Ari and his partner Paul Saginaw made the conscious decision to create very different businesses, with their own managing partners, that would instead replicate the original Zingerman’s values and support the local community. Ari Weinzweig’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ari-weinzweig-71a1b13/ ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS: Welcome to the Restaurant Influencers podcast and video series. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with leaders like Emeril Lagasse, Sam The Cooking Guy, and Marguerite Zabar Mariscal, and Rob Dyrdek about their secrets to running a business, modern branding, and how to show up where customers are spending time online. https://restaurantinfluencers.media • Published by Entrepreneur Media – https://entreprenuer.com • Produced by Cali BBQ Media – https://content.calibbq.media *** RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience. Toast — Powering Successful Restaurants • Sign up for Toast at https://bit.ly/3vpeVsc