Company Blog

The Red Ponder Sign

by Adam Zack — April 8, 2026

“On listening, backsliding, and the wise man in the crosswalk.”

PONDER: TO THINK OR CONSIDER ESPECIALLY QUIETLY, SOBERLY, AND DEEPLY.

I’m constantly thinking about how hard it is to be a good listener. I kind of relate it to the person who wants to eat healthier. You do it for a while, focus and start to see results. When you have the intent to listen, conversations are clearer and more meaningful. Interaction is mutually satisfying. The weight of having to speak and anticipate what your answer should be starts to drop off. You’re feeling good about yourself and those you interact with daily, just like you are losing some pounds and feeling in shape for the first time in a long time. You’re getting to be a good listener. That’s not so hard, right? Then when you’re getting comfortable, the unexpected double cheeseburger is before you. Just one, right? You listen to the guy explain what’s in the smoothie for breakfast, then you add ice cream (because it’s so delicious). A bag of chips here, Fettuccine Alfredo instead of grilled chicken and salad. Two cookies and a Bailey’s instead of no dessert. Your good intentions, improved physique, initial success and great feelings are back the way they w...

by Adam Zack — April 1, 2026

“Service Gets You to 90%. Hospitality Gets You Remembered. “

I’ve been thinking about great service a lot recently. I have always measured a great business by the level of service it provides. Great experiences are always led by outstanding service. We all strive to provide the best customer service that we can, right? I’ve never thought about how we can serve our customers better than by providing exceptional service. My wife is always looking for things that she thinks will help our business, or will spark me for a blog topic.

Recently she sent me something on the topic of service versus hospitality. The key difference is consistency. Service is a business transaction. We hope to provide outstanding service every time, but in reality we are happy with 90%. Hospitality is different. It is an art and requires strategy and intent. Think of the world’s hospitality leaders – Ritz Carlton, Nordstrom, Shake Shack, In-n-Out and yes, Chick-Fil-A. In 2001 Shake Shack hired Ritz Carlton to consult with them to build a training and selection program that would deliver the level of hospitality that founder Danny Meyer envisioned.

With businesses such as Chick-Fil-A and In-n-Out, their long term success is depend...

by Adam Zack — March 25, 2026

“we need to talk, and we need to talk every day. To our employees and customers and vendors. When we do it, and really make the effort, the result is success for everyone.”

My phone chimed and I looked at the text: “We need to talk” Uh oh. Has that phrase, whether it’s spoken aloud or written in a text or email ever conveyed a positive, optimistic tone? Nope. Even with an exclamation mark: “We need to talk!!” it delivers a sense of dread and worry. Something’s wrong. How about: “WE NEED TO TALK”. In caps, somebody is definitely in trouble. Add their name to it: “WE NEED TO TALK, STEPHEN” and the s%$# is definitely going to hit the fan for Stephen. Gulp, followed by a stomach roll and fear that something is going to change, and not for the good. Communicating effectively is vitally important in our business, and especially below par in the grocery industry. How many times have you asked, or heard an employee in a retail store asked a question they should know, and the response is “I dunno, nobody told us.” Or something along those lines. I’m telling you now that we need to talk, and we need to talk every day. To our employees and customers and vendors. When we do it, and really make the effort, the result is s...

by Adam Zack — March 19, 2026

“Being good in all important roles in life is more important than being great in a few…”

We have heard about natural born leaders for what seems like eternity. Guys who seemingly slid straight from the womb and emerged directing their siblings on a divide and conquer plan for their parents, manipulating the kindergarten teacher into increased nap time and ended up as student body president in high school, naturally. Guys like Steve Jobs, Jack Welch and George Patton were born leaders, right? The best leaders in history surely were born to lead. Well recently I came across a whole different view of leadership from good old Plato. The guy who inspired “Let’s just be friends” had a terrific insight on who would make the best leader. Traditional leaders dating back to the beginning of time were motivated by self-interest and the innate need for power. These were the guys who were widely considered tyrants and didn’t really care about their subjects. Fetch me a bucket, and if you don’t like it, off with your head. Plato felt that the most important qualification for a leader is to not want to be a leader. Philosophers (Philisophia; Greek meaning lover of wisdom) are naturally the best and most effective leaders, as true philosoph...

by Adam Zack — March 11, 2026

“Our favorites make us happy and comfortable.“

At the end of the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was saying goodbye to each of her traveling partners – the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion (talk about a nickname you’d like to shake!). She tells each how she is going to miss them as she heads off back to Kansas. When she gets to the Scarecrow, she tells him she’s going to miss him most of all. Right there in front of the other two! I don’t think her world was the politically correct one where you couldn’t say what you felt because you might hurt someone’s feelings or make them feel left out. She didn’t have to call him aside and whisper “Don’t tell those other two, but YOU are my favorite and I am going to miss you most.” It’s OK to have favorites. My brothers know that I am mom’s favorite. After all, she has great taste and judgement. My daughters know I have two favorites. We have favorite flavors, movies, colors and employees. Our favorites make us happy and comfortable. They bring us joy, amusement and love. It’s OK to express your favoritism. Life is not a sport where everyone who plays gets a participation trophy. Some people are lousy, and some people rule. Just like there can only be one Supe...

by Adam Zack — March 4, 2026

“Sous-chef – the person ranking next after the head chef. “

Sous-chef

[ soo-shef; French soo-shef ] the second in command in a kitchen; the person ranking next after the head chef.

The executive chef gets all the credit. They are the big names – Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller, Bobby Flay, Alice Waters, Jose Andres, David Chang. They are the creative face of the brand, the ones ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the restaurant. But it’s the sous-chef who deserves the credit for the prosperity of the restaurant – or deli. They put in the long hours, place the food orders and direct, inspect and ensure that what is going on the plate and into your mouth is delicious and consistent every time. It’s like the executive chef is the car – be it an old Nissan pickup or a new Ferrari – and the sous chef is the driver. We don’t give our sous-chefs enough credit. We need to thank, honor and reward them more, for they are the ones doing the work. In your stores, you as the owner are the executive chef. You are ultimately responsible (and on the hook) for successes and failures. When you have outstanding profits, you reap the rewards. When business is tough and profits ar...

by Adam Zack — February 25, 2026

“We all want to remain calm, and want others around us to do the same.”“We all want to remain calm, and want others around us to do the same.”

I think I can speak for the group of us when I say that we all love being in a state of calmness. There’s no emergencies going on. We’re relaxed, focused and content. Calm is organized, aware and productive. It’s not distracted or interrupted. Calm comes after a good night’s sleep and isn’t easily distracted. Winners remain calm under pressure, even when the pressure is intense. We all want to remain calm, and want others around us to do the same.

I have learned, however, that staying calm is not a piece of advice that can be easily given. Telling someone to “Just stay calm” or “Calm down” usually has the opposite effect. Something along the of “Don’t you tell me to calm down! I am calm! YOU calm down!!!!” Calm doesn’t have exclamation points. Ever. So next time you find someone on your team or your family in an obvious non-calm state, the key to get them to calm down is by how you behave in the situation. Leaders stay chill under pressure, and the team follows.

The Cost of a Closed Mind

by Adam Zack — February 18, 2026

“…open-mindedness isn’t a label—it’s a practice.”

It all sounds so simple. You’re either open-minded or closed-minded. Open-minded people welcome change, invite new ideas, and don’t take criticism personally. They empower others, aren’t threatened by success around them, and tend to lead without ego. Closed-minded people, of course, live on the other side of that line. In theory, it feels like a choice—decide to be open-minded and move on.

In practice, it’s rarely that clean. Closed-mindedness doesn’t usually come from stubbornness; it comes from experience. From past encounters that convince us we already know the outcome before we’ve even evaluated what’s in front of us. After more than 30 years immersed in wine as both a job and a hobby, what began as knowledge quietly hardened into bias. I had decided—confidently—that certain regions simply didn’t produce good wine. Southern California and Baja, Mexico topped that list. I’d tasted enough to “know,” or so I told myself.

Then a friend visited with two bottles: a Russian River Pinot Noir and a red blend from Los Angeles. The Pinot was opened first and was, predictably, excellent. The Los Angeles wine sat untouched, mentally reserve...

by Adam Zack — February 11, 2026

“Personal sharpening includes reading and education.”

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

– Abraham Lincoln

One of my favorite teaching stories is the one about the woodcutter who got a new job and really wanted to impress his boss.

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job with a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so were the work conditions. He really liked his new boss and the company. For those reasons and as a matter of personal pride, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees. “Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!” Very motivated by the boss’ words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. “I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. “When was...

by Adam Zack — February 4, 2026

“Being good in all important roles in life is more important than being great in a few…”

For some reason I have been thinking a lot about goodness and greatness lately. And my thoughts have even made me think differently. There is a lot of greatness by individuals in the world. Super Bowl MVP. Olympic Gold Medalist. Top Chef. Academy Award Winner. There are great achievers making great accomplishments. Occasionally someone might tell you that you are indeed great. It could be that you are a great boss, or a great parent, or maybe a great friend. But I think there are too many categories of potential greatness to be great in all of them. I’ll hear about a supposedly great person, and while one achievement may indeed be great, that person severely lacks in one of what I consider some of the other major life categories. A Grammy Award winning musician may be a great singer, but he’s a lousy husband. A Top Chef may cook unbelievable dishes, but he’s a terrible father, and so on. So I have decided that for me I don’t want to focus on being great at one thing. Instead I want to be good at many: A good father, a good husband, a good boss, a good friend, a good son, a good brother, a good uncle, a good cook, a good driver and many mor...

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