A wonderful role model for “milk’s leap into immortality” Writer Clifton Fadiman, quite a radical back in the middle decades of the 20th century, once famously called cheese “milk’s leap toward immortality.”When I eat this delicious, full flavored, creamy, and complex Kentucky Rose from Kenny Mattingly and crew down in south central Kentucky, it immediately […]

It’s our 50th year! That’s right. The Big 5-O! And the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB) is healthier, happier, and more financially sound than ever. We have continued to break creative ground in the worlds of progressive business, service, food, work experiences, love and care. In an era where electronic interaction is now the norm, our personalized, passion-driven, person-to-person connections set us further apart from the mainstream.

As we have for nearly 40 years now, since the 2009 vision was written in 1994, we operate as one coherent community, honoring the 15 to 20 Zingerman’s businesses that are a part of the organization. All are located here in the Ann Arbor area. Some of the businesses are “big,” others are small. All strive for excellence in their respective areas of expertise. Each business in the ZCoB has a managing partner or partners who own real shares in the business, have a deep passion for what that business does, and are charged with leading its work.

Back in November, on what would turn out to be Ji-Hye Kim’s last free day in a long time, ZingTrain eagerly interviewed her about what it meant to be a partner of the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses and opening our newest business—a Korean food restaurant—Miss Kim. ZingTrain: Tell us the story. Start at the very […]

Zingerman’s co-owner and founding partner Ari Weinzweig sent this note to the staff in response to the recent election. It meant a lot to many of our community, so we decided to share it with you. Although I’ve worked at it over the years, I’m still not all that great at processing strong emotions quickly.  […]

With all the action that goes into daily life in the ZCoB, it’s all too easy to lose our way and end up in the wilderness. We use this chart to help us stay focused and to keep things in perspective. Vision: Zingerman’s 2020 This is where we’re headed over the next decade or so. […]

1. Alignment with our guiding principles. Our guiding principles specifically state that we’re committed to sharing as much information as possible with everyone in the organization. Open book management honors that commitment. 2. The more information we share the more effectively everyone can make a positive difference. Without solid information about how we’re performing financially, […]