Company Blog

Be The Comfort Zone

by Adam Zack — July 8, 2026

“Ina Garten on the cookie you cannot be miserable during — and why a grocery store is really in the comfort business, not the food business.”

“Ina Garten on the cookie you cannot be miserable during — and why a grocery store is really in the comfort business, not the food business.”

“I often say that you can be miserable before eating a cookie and you can be miserable after eating a cookie, but you can never be miserable while you’re eating a cookie.” – Ina Garten

Food has the ability to comfort us and make us feel happy, content, or well, just plain comforted in nearly every situation. Milestone birthday celebration? Your favorite cake. Date night at home watching a movie? Martinis and popcorn. Worried? Brownies. Tired? Hot tea. Celebration? Champagne. Food is a common denominator in satisfying our basic emotional needs. It inspires us to be adventurous when we cook and it also can be the easiest in the form of take-out or ready to eat when we are short on time.

Grocery shopping is the conduit to providing that comfort, and we have the unique...

by Adam Zack — July 1, 2026

“Kindness wins no trophies and shows up on no balance sheet — yet it may be the realest edge in a people business. On the difference between doing kind things and being a kind person.”

I think kindness is a real underappreciated quality. It’s not flashy, like winners are celebrated and recognized. It’s not monetary, like financial savvy. It’s not beauty, which is prized and awarded. It’s not brilliance, which distances itself from average intelligence. Kindness isn’t selfish, in fact it’s the opposite. The Dalai Lama famously said “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” I don’t even think that kindness can be turned on and off like a switch. Either you are kind, or you are not. Kind gestures, like donating to a need cause, are specific acts of kindness. They don’t anoint the the giver of a that specific kindness as necessarily a kind person. My goal in life is to practice kindness in all the little decisions and acts that I do daily that affect peo...

by Adam Zack — June 24, 2026

“Emerson on closing the books every night — and why letting go isn’t the same as not caring.”

I read this Emerson passage again last week, and it hit different than it used to. Funny how that happens — the same words, but you’re not the same person reading them.

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt, crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

He’s not telling us to be reckless. He’s telling us to close the books. Every night. No exceptions. That’s harder than it sounds in this business. A bad shift sticks to you. A tough...

by Adam Zack — June 17, 2026

“On shortcuts, also-rans, and the road that actually gets you there.”

“The bravest word on any team —

and the one leaders most often forget to use.”

Help! I need somebody

Help! Not just anybody

Help! You know I need someone

Help!

-John Lennon

“What is the bravest thing you’ve ever said? asked the boy.

‘Help!’ said the horse.

‘Asking for help isn’t giving up,’ said the horse. ‘It’s refusing to give up.”

– Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

The longer you work with your team, the stronger you all get. All of our stores have had to endure a business climate that seems to tighten by the week. The challenges we have all faced head on have at times seemed overwhelming. Surrendering has never been an option. Screaming in retreat is not an option. People have to eat, and we have to feed them. Employees need to work, and we are there to pay them. They need security, and we take every step we can think of to pro...

by Adam Zack — June 10, 2026

“The things your employees want most cost almost nothing — and most bosses rank them dead last.”

“The things your employees want most cost almost nothing — and most bosses rank them dead last“.

The three things employees want most cost almost nothing — and bosses rank them last.

The struggle to effectively and constantly communicate to your employees is very real. It’s ongoing, never ending and increasingly more challenging. As your team matures and new generations are hired, what’s important to them and what you think is important to them move further apart. You haven’t changed, but they sure have, right? The thing that doesn’t change is that employees (from upper management down to courtesy clerks) just want to know what’s going on. What are the goals, programs, changes, initiatives, results and plans? How is the company doing? Are the owners happy with our work? Why are we doing what we’re doing? Very few leaders get an A in communication. I’d say the average is maybe a C-. And it’s not just in the grocery business – it’s everywhere.

Recently I came across a list — drawn from a classic...

by Adam Zack — June 3, 2026

“Why the hardest part of the Open Door Policy isn’t the door.”

“Why the hardest part of the Open Door Policy isn’t the door.”A lot of companies have what they call The Open Door Policy. It’s where the boss tells his team that his door is always open if they want to talk. It encourages communication, closes the gap of the “them vs. us” view of management and humanizes the boss a little. It brings management and workers closer to the same perceived level, even though the responsibilities and work structure remain unchanged.

by Adam Zack — May 28, 2026

“A Quiet Currency of a Clean Conscience”

It’s never wrong to do the right thing. Never. You treat people right, with respect, with a caring spiritand good things come your way. My simple definition of karma: What goes around, comes around. I’m not saying that you’ll win the lottery. Or that you’ll always be happy. Or that your life will be problem free. No, faith in doing the right thing means that you don’t have to worry about lies being uncovered. It means that your regrets will be fewer. It means you’ll have a clean conscience. It means that the gossipers have nothing on you. It means that you smile more. Really.

Faith in business dealings is incredibly important. It’s not just about maximizing profits, reducing costs and beating the competition. Faith in business is trusting that you, along with your clients, vendors and customers, share a common belief that when you all do the right thing, success will follow. It results in long term relationships that evolve into true caring and respect. And when you care, work becomes less of a job and more of a passion.

Especially in times of economic distress, your business faith will be tested. Pessimism can yank you by the hair and tr...

by Adam Zack — May 21, 2026

“A simple calculation that turned my calendar into an endangered species list.”

I know I’m not the only one who has a major problem with the passage of time. I just looked at the calendar and realized that we are already FIVE months into 2026. That’s right. Summer’s nearly here, fall’s around the corner, football season is just a couple months away, Holy guacamole! Former L.A. Times columnist Chris Erskine put the value of time in a unique perspective. He likened his life to how many summers he has left. The best time of the year (unless you live in Palm Springs. Or Phoenix) goes by so fast. BBQs, beach, no school, cold beers on warm days. Summer is just the best. And how many do you actually get? Maybe 80 or 90 total in your life. Only about 40 or 50 that you really can savor and enjoy. I figure I have maybe 15 – 20 great summers left. When I think of it that way it’s humbling and scary. Don’t have wasted days that you can never get back because of feuds or grudges. Make the most of all you have left, because before you know it the kids are off to college and summers spent together turn into a few days each summer together. Knees start to wear out, hips get broken and then boom, no more summers for you. Summers become memo...

by Adam Zack — May 13, 2026

“The smartest leaders aren’t the smartest people in the room. They’re the ones smart enough to hire people who are.”

Some of the smartest people I’ve ever met are also some of the dumbest. I realize that sounds like either an oxymoron…or just a statement from a moron. I’ve known people who could solve mathematical problems that completely stagger my mind, but couldn’t microwave a potato for dinner if their life depended on it. I’ve met brilliant attorneys who can quote laws and legal precedents at will, yet somehow make personal and business decisions that leave them spinning their wheels for years. I’ve seen computer programmers build incredibly efficient systems and networks, but when asked to apply that brilliance to the real world of grocery retail, they flail around like a shopper looking for the ketchup in aisle nine while standing in aisle two. Over the years, I’ve become convinced that the smartest leaders usually aren’t the smartest people in the room. The smartest leaders are the ones smart enough to surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are.

At first glance, that might seem unfair. The team does the heavy lifting, solves the problems, creates the ideas, and somehow the...

by Adam Zack — May 6, 2026

“If you don’t care for yourself, who’s going to be around to take care of all your people?”

Sometimes it seems to me like all I can think to write about is leadership and taking care of your people. I forget that before you can make others happy and fulfilled, you have to take care of “yours truly”. My best friend from kindergarten has been helping me out this week with a video project. It was a big ask, as it’s for my mom’s 80th birthday celebration this weekend, but in true Scott form he said “Bring it on!” We’ve been friends for 57 years. Yes, I know – he’s old! He has always put everyone around him first. His kids, his parents, his wife, his friends. Selfishness (and self-care) are not in his vocabulary. Almost 6 years ago he was near death and required a liver transplant. And he was still trying to take care of everyone else first. It was maddening and heartbreaking at the same time. It was a real reminder for me to share that you have to take care of yourself. You deserve to be number one sometimes. Whether it’s an extra day off, personal care or just having some alone time with your spouse where you can turn off your phone and do the things that make you happy. It’s what you want your employees to do, so why don’t yo...

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