How a lost pup united a community of givers at Zingerman’s SafeHouse fundraiser

When we lose a loved one, we grieve not only the loss of their presence but a loss of meaning and identity. We may wonder who we are without them. What matters most might not be as clear as it was before. As we search for answers, we can lean on the communities we belong to and find new ways to make meaning — and even joy — within them.

Jelly Bean Jump Up, Zingerman’s annual charity fundraiser, grew out of this quest. In addition to honoring the beloved canine companion of Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig, this event supports Ann Arbor’s SafeHouse Center, which protects and empowers survivors of sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The 10th rendition of the campaign, which raised more than $21,000, included a March 25 dinner at Zingerman’s Roadhouse, donation drives, sales of pet-themed calendars and corgi cookies, and more.

Dinner attendees enjoyed a family-style meal designed by renowned chef and award-winning cookbook author Molly Stevens and cooked by Roadhouse chef Bob Bennett. Many took part in a silent auction featuring donated goodies such as a CSA share from Tantré Farm, line-caught fish from Shoreline Wild Salmon, and a pizza kit from Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats. Everyone celebrated the power of friendship and community by breaking bread – or biscuits, in this case – with new acquaintances.

Breaking bread, building community

Ari introduced Jelly Bean Jump Up by reminiscing about the event’s namesake, a sweet and curious corgi who was a minor celebrity on Ann Arbor’s Clark Road. That’s where she and Ari would often go for a jog, passing SafeHouse on their route. Over the years, the perspicacious pup earned nicknames such as Jelly Bean the Jogger Dog and Zinger-man’s Best Friend. Ari organized the first Jelly Bean Jump Up in 2016, a few months after she passed away.

Ari also highlighted his friendship with Molly, which began at an American Cheese Society in the late 1980s. Over the years, she has appeared at five Roadhouse dinners and Camp Bacon, a bacon-themed festival with special classes, speakers, meals, and more.

“Molly is a great cook and a great cookbook writer, which are different things. But I don’t think of her for her cookbooks, like a lot of people do. I think of her as my friend,” Ari said.

Molly’s cookbooks include All About Braising, All About Roasting, and All About Dinner. She also hosts the Everything Cookbooks podcast with Andrea Nguyen, Kate Leahy, and Kristin Donnelly. 

The menu Molly devised reflected several special moments from her life as a chef. For instance, a vegetable course dubbed a “mess of bitter greens” was a nod to Zingerman’s other co-founder, Paul Saginaw, who she cooked with during a trip to Greece.

“I would relive that trip if I could, especially the experience of cooking with other people. I find the idea of this dish so comforting,” Molly said.

The menu also featured several dishes that incorporated cultured butter from one of the event’s sponsors, Vermont Creamery. These included butter-poached shrimp with tomatoes and garlic, butter pecan gelato topped with brown butter hazelnut shortbread, and a warm dip made with artisanal olive oil, garlic, and Fishwife anchovies. The centerpiece of the meal was braciole, a pasture-raised flank steak stuffed with SarVecchio parmesan, Newsom’s country ham, pinenuts, and raisins, all of which were braised in a savory tomato sauce.

During the meal, Molly shared some of her family’s Thanksgiving traditions and quirks with her tablemates, who shared details about their own holiday meals in return. Micki Maynard, a food writer at the table, said she was excited to see Molly Stevens’ name attached to this year’s Jelly Bean Jump Up.

“I’m a huge fan of Molly Stevens. I have come to her special dinners in the past, and Molly was super helpful to me when I was writing Satisfaction Guaranteed, my book about Zingerman’s,” Micki explained, adding that the dinner’s menu was “delicious from top to bottom.”

Micki also noted the positive energy the event’s crowd brought to the Roadhouse. 

“It’s a treat to see everybody come here because they’re so fired up for SafeHouse and so generous. There are such interesting people to talk to, and there’s a real feeling of community,” she said.

Showing up for vulnerable neighbors

Christine Watson, SafeHouse’s executive director, gave a short speech during the dinner. In addition to acknowledging the generosity of Zingerman’s and several community partners — Plum Market, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Dollar Bill Printing, Old National Bank, and Probility Physical Therapy — she thanked the audience for showing up for abuse survivors.

“You remind me we have a community around us who genuinely care. SafeHouse exists because of people like you,” she said. “There need to be places for survivors of abuse and assault to tell their stories, because we don’t always get to hear them. You help make that happen.”

In the United States, families and communities lose more than 1,300 of these survivors to violence each year. Pets also get caught in the cycle of abuse. Sometimes people stay in dangerous living situations because they can’t find shelter for an animal companion. In addition to increasing survivors’ access to counseling, legal advocacy, and temporary shelter, Jelly Bean Jump Up has helped SafeHouse expand its capacity to house pets fleeing violence.

Jelly Bean Jump Up reflects the hard work of Melaina Bukowski, Zingerman’s community giving coordinator. She’s proud that this event has benefited SafeHouse for a decade, becoming one of the center’s main sources of financial support.

“Our pets give us a sense of security and safety, and SafeHouse serves this need to feel safe in such a deep and fundamental way,” she said. “It’s such a crucial space within our community, and the people there do lifesaving work advocating for so many people.”

This relationship with SafeHouse inspired Melaina to create Nonprofit Spotlight, a blog that introduces readers to charitable organizations the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses supports. So far, more than 50 groups have been highlighted.

Jelly Bean Jump Up continues to be one of Melaina’s favorite events because it shows how pain can spark generosity and transform lives.

“It’s a remarkable thing to take the grief of loss and turn it into a big, loving act to take care of other people,” she says. “I’m always honored to be a part of it.”

We’re matching donations throughout March up to $40,000!

We’re celebrating our 40th anniversary on March 15th. If home is where the heart is, clearly our heart is in Ann Arbor. Four decades and eleven businesses later, we have remained and expanded in the area. To recognize the community we’ve called home since 1982, we’re sponsoring another Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley home in Washtenaw County.  

“At Zingerman’s, we’ve always been passionate about the work being done at Habitat. They are a tremendous organization giving people a fair chance at the security and joy of homeownership.” — Melaina Bukowski, Zingerman’s Community Giving Coordinator

Established in 1989, Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley (HHHV) enriches our neighbors to build better neighborhoods through our volunteer, donation, partnership, and ReStore efforts. HHHV works to enrich Washtenaw County through a legacy of affordable homeownership for families and individuals of low income. In over 30 years, they’ve built or renovated more than 260 homes and provided more than 6,500 Home Improvement Projects. They’ve also engaged with more than 11,000 residents and community partners through community development activities and served roughly 1,000 through the Habitat Education Program.

“I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate Zingerman’s 40 years in Ann Arbor than to partner with Habitat for Humanity Huron Valley. As a member of the Habitat board, and as a volunteer on several build days, I’ve had the opportunity to meet Habitat homeowners and hear first-hand how Habitat has transformed lives and neighborhoods.” — Maggie Bayless, ZingTrain Founding Partner 

Our Goal & How We’re Participating

Our goal is to raise $80,0000 for our local Habitat affiliate. The Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB) will match cumulative donations in March, up to $40,000. Those funds will support the cost of rehabilitating two homes or building one new home. Zingerman’s staffers have assisted with Habitat builds before. They looking forward to working on the house(s) the community contributions will make possible. 

“The ZCOB and HHHV have been close partners for over a decade. We are pleased to elevate our commitment towards an organization rooted in the basic premise that everyone deserves the right to affordable housing. As a member of the board of directors for Habitat, I am proud to be a part of two organizations whose generous spirits create actionable outcomes for deserving, hard-working humans trying to make a bigger difference not just in the local community but the world as well.” — Steven Mangigian, Zingerman’s Coffee Company Managing Partner

How You Can Participate

Donations can be made at h4h.org/zingermans. Donors can leave a public message with their contribution on the website, if they so choose. Funds will go directly to Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley. We’re also accepting cash donations at most Zingerman’s locations.

Micki Maynard’s book, Satisfaction Guaranteed, shares the story of four decades of Zingerman’s

My book will look at Zingerman’s nearly 40-year journey, from a single store on Detroit Street in Ann Arbor, to a business that touches almost every part of the world… The book is for food lovers as well as readers of business books. It will be a guide to the way Zingerman’s does business and how its approach can help any kind of business. And of course, there will be lots of delicious food stories.
—Micki Maynard

Zingerman’s News: What sparked the idea to create this book?

Micki Maynard: Over Thanksgiving weekend, 2019, I saw an email from Irene Goodman, who is a literary agent in New York. She started out by saying she had gone to the University of Michigan, was a Zingerman’s Mail Order customer, and was looking to get more business-related titles. Then, she reached out to me saying she was a fan of Zingerman’s and had read some of my articles about Zingerman’s—especially the 2007 New York Times article. She thought I would be the perfect person to write a book about Zingerman’s. At first, I was not sure if this was legit! It’s like the literary version of the prince who wants to give you a million dollars. I checked into it, and it checked out! I started thinking maybe that would be a good topic for a book! As a journalist, I started looking for the “News Peg”—why in time should this book exist? I realized, doing some math, that the 40th anniversary of Zingerman’s was coming up. We pitched the idea, and Charles Scribner’s Sons said they were interested! We set up a meeting with Ari on March 15, 2020. [Wah!] But it all came together. The publisher made an offer, Ari and Paul offered their support, and that was how the deal came together. Originally the book was going to be the backstory of Zingerman’s, its business philosophy, and a look at the future. We had no idea that the pandemic would be such a factor in the book. So it’s now Zingerman’s backstory, the philosophy, a chapter about the pandemic and the innovation that took place, and a look to the future along with the 2032 Vision.

ZN: What was the research and writing process like in creating this book?

MM: I have the advantage of having been a Zingerman’s customer for a long, long time. Having taken numerous classes upstairs at the Next Door and at BAKE!, sitting in and participating in ZingTrain seminars, eating in just about every part of Zingerman’s that you can eat in … I never knew that was going to be helpful research, but let’s just say my research for the book probably started twenty-five years ago! In terms of actual research, I talked to Ari and Paul a lot. Many partners were kind enough to share time with me. I went on scouting missions where I would wander into the Deli, take pictures, and listen. I had many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners at the Roadhouse. I spent time having coffee at the Coffee Company … In a lot of field research, they call it “go to the spot.” In Japanese, genchi genbutsu [real location, real thing]. I did lots and lots of that! Another thing that was very enjoyable was talking to a community of chefs that are friends of Zingerman’s, other journalists, growers, and folks like that.

ZN: What is it about Zingerman’s that intrigues you?

MM: My first job was at Jacobson’s, a department store in Ann Arbor, when I was sixteen. My training consisted of: how to write an order slip, a few things to say to a customer, and how to ring up a sale. I never got a fraction of the training. There was no Training Compact. There was nothing like what Zingerman’s has in the first thirty days, the first sixty days … My retail experience was so different from what people learn when they come to Zingerman’s. That really struck me. Both the involvement of the employee and that of their manager and others up the chain. I recall that when I was sixteen I met the gentleman whose family owned Jacobson’s and it was seen as a big deal! But when you work at Zingerman’s, everybody meets Ari. Everybody meets Paul when Paul’s here. Everyone meets the managing partner from the business. They are right there. I’ve gone into the Bakehouse and Amy has waited on me, I’ve gone into the Deli and Grace is right there. People are visible. I think that’s one of the things that jumped out at me with my retail background.

ZN: What surprised you in your interviews while working on the book?

MM: Zingerman’s made me think of the Turkish phrase—”sen bir de ona sor”—like a swan gliding along a pond. We see the swan gliding elegantly along the surface, but below the water, it is paddling furiously to create that calm effect. The smiles at Zingerman’s, the knowledge, the quality of its products, the willingness to go an extra mile doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of years of business philosophy, extensive training, and constant education. I saw that effort in action over and over again, and while people worded their answers to my questions in different ways, there was a consistency in everyone’s approach.

ZN: What are some things you hope readers take from the book?

MM: First, I want readers to think, “I can ___________.” I would like them to think that like Ari and Paul, and all the managing partners, they, too, can become entrepreneurs. I’d like to hear that they wrote a vision for their businesses or themselves, and to appreciate what goes into providing good service. I hope the food lovers will enjoy reading about all the steps that go into creating what Zingerman’s serves, and the products it offers in its shops and through Mail Order. None of it is easy; Paul and Ari didn’t just sit down when they agreed on the concept for the ZCoB and voila! it came about. There’s a lot of conversation, research, and decision making that goes into what Zingerman’s does. I hope readers will appreciate learning about that process.

ZN: For someone who might not know Zingerman’s, or who has never been to Ann Arbor, why would you recommend they read this book?

MM: I read a lot of business books, with advice for managers, and I especially hope they will take Zingerman’s management philosophy to heart as they think about their workplaces. I’m especially an advocate of servant leadership, which goes back to the days I spent at Detroit Metropolitan Airport with my father, who worked for American Airlines. He introduced me to people at every level, from the skycaps who checked bags to the air traffic controllers to the people who handled air freight. He taught me to respect everyone, and that everyone had a role to play. I hope my book expresses that about Zingerman’s, too.

ZN: What did your study of Zingerman’s lead you to believe about the future of business?

MM: While I was working on the book, I read Start With Why, by Simon Sinek. Zingerman’s isn’t mentioned in his book, but it could be. Start With Why tells readers that a successful company doesn’t begin by saying, “I want to create a $70 million business” or “I want to bake 20,000 loaves of rye bread a week.” It starts with a foundation—the why—from which everything flows. In Zingerman’s case, it’s good food, good service, and good finances. After researching Satisfaction Guaranteed, I was absolutely convinced that businesses need to look at their “why” and that without it, they simply can’t succeed. Luckily, many businesses know this, and the pandemic has given them an unexpected opportunity to hone in on their reason for being. The ones that get through uncertain times will be infused with their deeply held ideas.

Just like the exceptional company it chronicles, this book might have been called Satisfaction Exceeded! Micheline Maynard beautifully captures the trials, tribulations, trajectory, and ultimate triumph of one of America’s great business stories.

—Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group and author of Setting the Table

ZN: Is there anything you learned in your interviews that you have applied to your own life and work?

MM: On a dark November night in 2020, Ari led a Zoom conversation at the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University. It focused on his work about the power of beliefs in business. I was listening and taking notes for my book, when Ari said, “Beliefs are not genetic. Beliefs are learned.” He added, “You have to ask yourself: where did that belief come from?” I got tears in my eyes. Even though I’ve had the good fortune to work at news organizations like the New York Times and the Washington Post, I’ve never won a Pulitzer Prize. Because it’s considered the highest standard of achievement in journalism, I had convinced myself that I would not be a success unless I won a Pulitzer. I realized, listening to Ari, that winning a Pulitzer had far too great a hold over me. It was liberating hearing him say that, and it helped me focus on my role, which is to educate people, and to help them whenever I can. Thanks, Ari, for helping me shed that baggage.

ZN: Do you have a favorite Zingerman’s memory?

MM: Several! A fabulous butter class at the Next Door with a gentleman from the Cork Butter Museum! My dear friend Dorie Greenspan presenting at a BAKE! class, the tomato dinners at the Roadhouse, and Camp Bacon to name a few. Also, one particular birthday celebration where I was celebrating with my family at the Roadhouse and a plate of Pimento Cheese came out with “Happy Birthday!” written on it. Then Ari came to the table with a wonderful dessert of fresh fruit, cut-up eclairs, and cut-up brownies.

ZN: What is your dream Zingerman’s meal?

MM: It has to be Pimento Cheese, Teutonic toast [Zingerman’s Creamery fresh goat cheese, Uzbek wild black cumin from Épices de Cru, served on Roadhouse bread from Zingerman’s Bakehouse], New Deli Dal soup, Fried Chicken, tomatoes, Garden Party salad from the Deli, the vegetarian tteokbokki from Miss Kim, and miso butter rice. For dessert, Boston Cream Pie from the Bakehouse. And of course, we’d need to have some gelato on the side. My mother and I used to go to a local movie theater, and she always loved gelato, so we would come into the Roadhouse after the movie and we would each get a scoop of gelato. I have many memories of sitting in a booth with my mom and having one scoop of gelato and one of those little cookies.

Get your copy of Satisfaction Guaranteed at Zingerman’s locations, your local bookstore or zingermanspress.com

While the world gets louder, humility can quietly help

Back when I began the work on this project a couple years ago, I can honestly say that I knew next to nothing about humility. Beyond a general understanding of what the word meant, and that it was probably a good thing to have, I wouldn’t have had much to say about why it would matter. In the intervening months of inquiry, I’ve learned a lot. I can see now, very clearly, how humility can help us in so many ways—at work, in society, at home—to make our lives more rewarding and our work more effective. I realize, too, how a lack of humility is behind so many of the problems with which we struggle. Humility, I’ve come to see, is a critical characteristic for any of us who want to lead a healthy organization, or live a grounded, meaningful life. As businessman and writer Dov Seidman said: “What people actually want in a leader, even a charismatic one, is humility.”

Humility, I’ve learned, works quietly backstage. But please, don’t confuse humility’s calm discretion with passive ineffectiveness. Humility, I now strongly believe, has power; the power to heal, the power to help. The power to restore health. The thing is that to access what humility has to offer we need lower our voices and calm the cacophony. While the news seems to get louder and ever more frenetic, humility is waiting for us to let it contribute to the conversation. When we’re ready to listen, I’m confident it has a lot to offer to all of us.

Here’s what I wrote in the opening piece of the pamphlet:

Humility, by definition, won’t win big headlines.

It waits quietly in the wings.

If we listen closely, humility has a lot to teach us.

Mozart once said, “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” Humility fits that frame. It’s the space between the sounds. The whisper between the words. The energy between the egos. Humility is both ethereal and essential. Like great music, it’s hard to measure—and often goes past unnoticed by casual listeners. But if we pay close attention, we can begin to benefit from the beauty and grace that humility brings to the world.

The subtle silence of humility is blended into everything we say—and how we say it. Marcel Marceau, who silently mimed his way through an amazing and creative career, said, “Music and silence combine strongly because music is done with silence, and silence is full of music.” My hope is that the humble, anarchistic inquiry into humility that follows will offer you insights on how to bring the “music” and the “silence” of life together, in the interest of helping us all be ever more effective leaders and live more meaningful, rewarding lives.

If humility was a guest professor, the assignment it might give us would be to turn off the news, take a couple of deep breaths, cock our ears, look inward, and pay close attention to what comes up in the quiet. What at first, to the casual observer, could sound like nothing at all, just might turn out to be a wonderful whispering source of strength and wisdom. In the inflammatory state of current national discourse, humility is a soft but still effective voice leading us away from ego, and in the direction of much needed doses of dignity, compassion, kindness, inclusion, reflection, and respect. (To paraphrase anarchist folk singer and spoken word performer, Utah Phillips, we might want to consider adding “rant control” to our list of programs going forward.) Humility is equally important in our homes and at work. When it’s absent, ego dominates the conversation; antagonism rises, voices get louder—in essence, we might say, it’s all over because of the shouting. No exaggeration—our future, on many levels, may depend on having humility. As Wendell Berry writes: “It is only on the condition of humility and reverence before the world that our species will be able to remain in it.”

Does the subtle, gentle presence of humility have much value when the country is in crisis? On its own, we know, humility won’t cure Coronavirus. But having learned what I’ve learned over the last few years, I’ll answer with an adamant yes. Why? Because rather than shutting out what others (with whom we may not agree) have to say, humility leads us to be more open to the input and help of those who know more than we do. It makes it easier to meaningfully say, “I don’t know.” It increases the likelihood that we will own our responsibility for our errors. It improves the odds we will take the advice of experts seriously, even while still making our own decisions (and sometimes, respectfully going against what experts advise). Humility makes it more difficult to be curt and dismissive. More difficult to be curtly dismissed. And harder to say, “I don’t care.”

Humility, I’ll suggest, would also help us improve the effectiveness of our organizations. It’s a prerequisite, I’ve learned, for the kind of collaborative and caring communities, organizations, and personal relationships we’re working so hard to create. Patrick Lencioni, in The Ideal Team Player, posits that humility is one of a trio of critical characteristics, along with “hungry” and “wise”—as in socially sensitive and emotionally intelligent. When I used Lencioni’s lens to look at our own work, his theory proved out. Nearly everyone I’ve loved working with over the years has exhibited all three of those characteristics. And while I’d long been actively working on hiring and training for the other two, I’d never previously listened and looked for humility in a conversation or a job interview. As you can imagine, that’s all changed. I now have humility front of mind.

Will humility have an impact on our other recovery? The rebuilding of social trust and mutual respect? I will answer, adamantly, in the affirmative. Humility, I believe, is incompatible with racism, hierarchy, and hatred. Twentieth-century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote, “To the end of history, social orders will probably destroy themselves in an effort to prove they are indestructible.” Humility, by definition, could help us steer clear of that tragic fate. If we have humility we accept that we are all imperfect, all fallible, all interdependent. If this year of 2020 is, as I wrote in the summer issue of Zingerman’s News, a “marathon through a minefield,” then I’m realizing humility is one of the keys to successfully getting through. When you don’t need to be “the best,” “the biggest,” or “first to the finish line,” the odds of successfully getting to the other side of the minefield—without losing our minds, our lives, or our livelihoods—increase significantly.

I would suggest that when we approach the world from a place of humility, it makes it much more likely that we will:

• Own our own part in creating the problem with which we’re confronted
• Acknowledge our shortfalls and ask for help
• Understand that none of us have all the answers
• Treat everyone with whom we interact with dignity
• Be much more open to outside perspectives and creative insights

The cover of the new “Humility” pamphlet features a scratchboard illustration of a violet—the historical flower that represents humility—by artist Ian Nagy. In honor of the violet, the pamphlet cover is printed on recycled purple cardstock. Artist and designer Takara Gudell says, “Purple is perfect for this pamphlet. It’s the color of inspiration, of self-awareness, creativity, and empathy.” (Come by the Roadhouse to buy a couple of those beautiful, colorful VOTE pins Takara crafts.) Violet, color psychologist Judy Scott-Kemmis says, stands for, “inspiration, imagination, individuality, and spirituality.” It “assists those who seek the meaning of life and spiritual fulfillment—it expands our awareness, connecting us to a higher consciousness.” Maybe I’m making too much of it, but Scott-Kemmis’ prompt helps me understand why holding the violet pamphlet leaves me feeling good and grounded. Maybe I’m just in a mental place where I’m desperately seeking solace, serenity, and soulfulness. But there’s no cost to you to drop by and hold a copy in your hand for a bit, take a few deep breaths, and see if it helps.

Can we come back from the brink of the world situation? Can calm overcome chaos? When we’re in the midst of the madness, it sure doesn’t feel that way. But this piece from Saturday’s New York Times gave me some solace. The headline is “30 Years After Reunification, Old German-German Border Is a Green Oasis.” The article, by Christopher Schuetze, tells the tale of the once closely guarded space between East and West Germany: “Crossing the militarized border that split Germany into east and west once meant risking death,” the subhead says. “Now? It’s a literal walk in the park.” Schuetze’s piece helped me remember that humility can come back from even some of the worst the world has to offer. During the Cold War, the space was known as the “death zone.” Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, and thirty years after the end of the division of Germany into two political entities, what was once one of the scariest spots in Europe is now a peaceful, natural refuge.

Natural Law #10 says that strengths lead to weaknesses; and weaknesses lead back to strengths. War, it turns out, if we wait a bit and work through the conflict, can ultimately beget beauty. For over half a century, no one entered the zone other than the occasional bold soul trying to escape, or the occasional soldier checking security. “Farmers and foresters on both sides had been forced to leave the strip alone, allowing animals and plant life to flourish,” Schuetze writes. “Today, more than 5,200 different species live there, 1,200 of them so rare that they are on a list for extinction.” A West German gentleman, about my age, who used to go to the border space to do birdwatching, shares at the end of the article: “It is hard to believe that this peaceful place was once the frontline between N.A.T.O. and the Warsaw Pact.” It was heartening for me to see that the space between the warring, nationalist “notes” could be successfully be converted into a healthy, vibrant green strip where tension and the constant threat of war have been replaced by natural beauty.

I can guarantee that the Cold War was not caused by an overabundance of humility. In fact, it’s the opposite. I think it’s safe to say that, like nearly all wars, it came out of ego and the desire for domination. But when the warring stops, the cacophony is quieted, and the soldiers put away their weapons, the sound of humility can still come gently to the fore. Now the space sounds like the calls of rare birds, the wind whistling through wildflowers, and the gentle bubbling of the brook that runs through the strip. Maybe those are the natural sounds of humility. I believe we can bring them back. And as Simon and Garfunkel once sang,

Because a vision softly creeping

Left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Still remains

Within the sound of silence

Whether it’s at work, at home, in our communities, or around the country, I hope we can, quietly and humbly, follow the German lead and let the beauty, the grace, and the natural goodness return.

You can find “Humility: A Humble, Anarchistic Inquiry” waiting for you, quietly, at the Deli, Roadhouse, Coffee Company, or Cream Top Shop. It’s also online at zingtrain.com and zingermanspress.com

Friends, colleagues, customers, community,

I’ve been holding off a bit on writing something over the last week. In the flood of messages about the Coronavirus (Covid-19), I keep waiting to be able to offer some new insight, a more holistic approach, or better still—a solution. I alternate between wishing it wasn’t happening (denial) and wishing I could tell you that eating more bacon, rye bread, barbecue, or brownies kept you from getting it (magical thinking). Unfortunately, neither of those is true. This is clearly very, very serious stuff, to which no one, least of all me, has the answers. 

The situation, as you already know as well as I do, continues to change by the hour.  As we go forward, we will continue to check CDC and Health Department updates and immediately work to adhere to their recommendations. What I do know right now as I write is:

1. Everyone at Zingerman’s is taking this extremely seriously. We’re doing everything possible to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in our businesses. All of the things that you’ve read online—because we’re reading the same CDC messages everyone else is—have been actively implemented in all of our businesses. While each Zingerman’s business has its own specific applications, everyone is doubling—nay, quadrupling down—on all of the strict sanitation practices we have always adhered to. More aggressive—near-constant—handwashing, wiping down of surfaces (chairs, counters, doors, door handles, etc.) with sanitizer, proper temperature controls, and wariness of cross-contamination (we don’t want to forget while the headlines are rightly focused on the virus that is disrupting the entire world, basic food safety rules are all still imperative). We have additional sanitizer in all the businesses and are using it—as everyone else is—at record rates.
2. We are—as we have since we first opened—doing the best we can to provide a positive, supportive, and healthy workplace for our coworkers. As always—more now than ever—we encourage folks who feel even “sort of sick” not to come to work. We know this is very real. And we have a major obligation to do our part in holding the virus at bay as best we can.
3. We have had paid time off for our staff for so long I can’t remember when we started it. We have always allowed folks to take additional time off as well. We have provided health care benefits for over 20 years now. We have a long list of other benefits we offer, which I won’t repeat here. We also have long had—at Paul’s suggestion many years ago—a Community Chest which is a fund available (in confidence) to staff members in crisis. None of these are shared to imply we’re so great, but merely to answer the questions in the news about employees being able to get through this situation without having to work when they’re ill. This week we just added a temporary boost in PTO possibilities for staff in anticipation of the struggles that will come for folks as they work to get through this.  Realistically, given what we know, this will not be enough for folks. While we’re “big” by some standards, we’re still a small business by the world’s standards and the resources don’t match up to what we’d ideally like to be able to do. We’re hoping that Federal or State governments will come through with aid and support for our staff.
4. We’re encouraging staff to stay healthy in proactive ways—the positive work we need to do to take care of ourselves. Everything I read, and my own physicians, regularly tell me that a good diet, exercise, plenty of sleep, vitamins, and effective hydration all help boost immune systems.  And right now, we’ll take all the help we can get.
5. We’re all in this together! We have over 700 people who are part of the Zingerman’s Community, including 18 managing partners and over 200 staff members who own a share in the organization. Paul and I started the Deli in 1982. (Coincidentally, March 15 was our 38th anniversary, though needless to say, there weren’t any big organizational celebrations this year.) We would never have made it out of that first uncertain year without YOU. From Day One, Paul and I have both strongly believed—known, actually—that we need our customers and our coworkers more than they need us. And that our work has always been to give people really good reasons to want to come shop, eat, and work with us. That remains true today, clearly, with some new challenges in the mix. We are working hard, every day, together, to figure out how we can serve you all in what, at least for the next few months and maybe much longer, is the new normal.

I know many of you won’t believe it, but I’m actually a totally shy introvert who would prefer to stay home on my own. “Social distancing,” for me, is my normal state. What’s hard for me isn’t being away from people—it’s going out in public. But at the same time, when I don’t see you all, paradoxically, and very positively, I miss you! Priya Parker, in her fine book, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters, shares in her preface that “My hope is that this book will help you think differently about your gatherings.” Given the state of the current situation we’re all in—together—our work is to figure out how to help all of us to think differently about how to gather while still being safe and sanitary. 

Clearly, the news and understanding of the virus is changing almost hourly. Like every other caring leader you know—and the odds are you know many—we’re doing our best to respond as quickly, caringly, and effectively as possible. After conferring with the Washtenaw County Health Dept and a number of physicians we have decided to keep our businesses open. By doing so, we help provide the sort of comforting place that we have for the last 38 years. We help our staff stay employed. We help support the many small artisans we buy from and keep their staff employed as well. 

Some folks in town will understandably and appropriately choose to stay home right now. The good news is that we can still serve you and offer you full-flavored, traditional food, and a positive Zingerman’s Experience in a wide range of ways: 

• The Deli and Miss Kim have already been using delivery services and will continue to. 
• The Roadhouse is now offering food and wine delivery. 
• The Roadshow has been a steady source of drive-through food and drink for 15 years now—you don’t even have to get out of your car! (Bottles of wine are 30% off when you buy them through the Roadshow!). Swing by and grab some good food to go!
• The Deli has curbside pick-up service so you can get food without leaving the car. Groceries or sandwiches, bread, or brownies, olive oil or cheese. Call ahead and pick up! 
• The Bakehouse Bakeshop, Coffee Co., and Cream Top Shop have pick-up service as well at Zingerman’s Southside. Call ahead and let us know and we’ll bring your order from the shops out to your car.
• The Deli’s Catering and Events have delivery available every day at no added cost through April 20. The Roadhouse catering crew offer delivery too. Obviously big groups are out but . . . small ones? 
• Cornman Farms’ Pie & Mash, which runs through April 5, now has drive-thru pie pick up!
• Oh yeah, if you want to feed your mind, ZingTrain can deliver webinars, books, pamphlets and the like without you having to leave your house! 
• And . . . Zingerman’s Mail Order, by definition, is all about getting good food to folks. You don’t need to really get close to anyone to have access to good things to eat. You can have food delivered in town too!

In our 38 years, we’ve been through massive inflation, recession, 9/11, 2009. We will figure out—together, all of us—how to get through this. If we can be of help in any way at all, please let us know. Even if you just want to talk, we’d love to hear from you. Call, email, drive by for pick up.

Thank you for letting us be part of this incredible community for all these years. Thank you for the chance to serve you. Thank you for being patient with us and with each other and with the universe while we all figure this out. As many of you remind me, and I remind others, we’re gonna get through this. Together. 

Sending good thoughts to you and everyone!

March 18, 2020

Nearly 90 years and 20 million copies later, Irma S. Rombauer’s self-published Joy of Cooking is a kitchen staple for generations of home cooks and professional chefs.

In November 2019, the 12th edition of the iconic cookbook Joy of Cooking was released after undergoing a thorough revision and expansion by Irma’s great-grandson, John Becker, and his wife, Megan Scott. They developed more than six hundred new recipes for this edition, tested and tweaked thousands of classic recipes, and updated every section of every chapter to reflect the latest ingredients and techniques available to today’s home cooks. Their strategy for revising this edition was the same one Irma employed: vet, research, and improve Joy’s legacy recipes while introducing new dishes, modern cooking techniques, and comprehensive information on ingredients now available at farmers’ markets and grocery stores. This latest version is a great addition to cookbook collections for Joy of Cooking fans and budding cooks.

Inspiring Joy

Here at Zingerman’s, where hundreds of people are living out their dreams of working with food every day as a career, it turns out that the Joy of Cooking has helped inspire some of those dreams.

“It was the first book I cooked from. I’d come home from school when I was in 5th grade, read the recipes and pick some to try, always something baked. I used my mother’s copy, which was printed in 1953. She got it as a sophomore in college when she got married and moved into her own apartment. She still has that book. When I visited her last week it was right above her refrigerator with a couple of her other favorites. This made me laugh. At 83 she doesn’t cook much anymore but there it was, Joy of Cooking, right within her reach in case she needed it. I continue to use it as my tried and true resource book for basic information. I have a much newer copy that I bought in 1988 when I moved into my first apartment after college.”
-Amy Emberling, Zingerman’s Bakehouse baker, author and co-managing partner

“Reading this book in junior high is part of what inspired me to be a chef. My favorite section of my 1960’s edition was ‘know your ingredients.’ I think it’s a foundational cookbook everyone should have.”
-Rodger Bowser, Zingerman’s Delicatessen chef and co-managing partner

“It has changed my life. I go there first for nearly every recipe. I love the pancake recipe. I’ve also made the doughnuts, and it felt so good to have done this thing that seemed so hard, but was actually pretty easy! The descriptions and depth of ‘why’ put into the book is what is missing from most recipe books.”
-Gary Mazzeo, Zingerman’s Web Designer

“The Joy of Cooking version my mom had included recipes for ostrich and alligator. As a child, this brought me a tremendous amount of joy (ha!). I never tried making them though.”
-Sara Molinaro, Zingerman’s BAKE! principal

“I grew up with this cookbook as a child. My amazing mother sent me a copy for my 20th birthday (37 years ago). I made my first Hollandaise sauce when I was probably 10 years old assisting my mom with a dinner party. To this day I still use the recipe for quick tapioca custard.”
-Amy Berger, Zingerman’s Bakehouse bread mixer

Joy Comes to Zingerman’s Bakehouse

When asked about his desire to visit Zingerman’s, John Becker said “We met Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig eight years ago at one of the first food-industry events we ever attended. Knowing next to nothing about said industry, we asked him what Zingerman’s was all about, and his answers really piqued our interest. One of the things Megan and I first bonded over was cheese, and we vowed to make it to Zingerman’s if circumstances ever took us through Ann Arbor. Since then, we have befriended Ann Arbor expats where we live who have nothing but glowing things to say about the Deli–and the community of businesses that have grown from it.”

One of John and Megan’s few midwest stops on their national book release tour brings them to Ann Arbor and Zingerman’s Bakehouse. In fact, it will be their only Michigan appearance! The authors’ visit on February 25th, 2020 includes a talk and a demonstration. Copies of the new edition of Joy of Cooking will be available for purchase and to be signed by the authors. Tickets for the 2pm and 6pm events are available now. This is part of the “Brown Bag Talk” series hosted by BAKE! at Zingerman’s Bakehouse in the ZingTrain speaker and meeting space.

The interview will be followed by a cooking and baking demonstration. Head to the BAKE! classroom at Zingerman’s Bakehouse to watch the authors create four recipes chosen from the book: olive oil flatbread crackers, spicy chickpea soup, frico eggs (with crispy cheese), and chocolate swirl halvah (a sesame butter fudge). After the demonstration, there will be generous samples to share, and you’ll go home with the recipes.

Get yourself inspired in the kitchen again. Pick up a copy of the new Joy of Cooking for you and for the cooking curious youngsters (or adults) in your life. And be sure to grab a seat at one of these special Zingerman’s events before they sell out!

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Reserve Your Seats!

The new Joy of Cooking will be available for purchase and signing at the event, or order your book now.