Company Blog
Resolve To Reflect
by Adam Zack — December 29, 2021

2021 was a very strange year.
It’s the time of year for those New Year’s resolutions. Lose weight, exercise more, drink less, call mom more often, etcetera, etcetera. I was thinking about it because someone asked me what my New Year’s resolutions are going to be. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that instead of resolving to do something, I should instead reflect on what I did right, what I did wrong, and what I learned in 2021. I think about personal relationships, work associations, personal health and happiness and family ties. What did I accomplish that made others (and me in turn) happy and fulfilled? Resolve to keep doing them. What did I do that I regret? Resolve not to do them again. What should I have done differently? Do it differently. 2021 was a very strange year, with new challenges and old responsibilities presenting themselves daily. I’m going to take a long look in my 2021 rearview mirror and focus on the good images I see reflected.
Read More – I Moved To Nowsville
...read moreIt’s the most wonderful time of the year?
by Adam Zack — December 22, 2021

The focus in our house is going to be one of gratitude and appreciation.
Just before Thanksgiving a friend was telling me how Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday. More than Christmas, I asked? Yeah, he said, because it didn’t involve the stress and craziness of buying gifts, decorating, making sure everyone is happy and the pressure that came with it. To him Thanksgiving was about family and friends sharing a big meal and, well, just being thankful. As we close in on Christmas, I really have given his opinions some thought. The hosts of Christmas gatherings have the pressure to make sure everyone is happy. Guests have to decide where to go, when to go, who to go with. Lists of gifts and recipients to be fulfilled, who to see, what to cook. Combine that with the hectic and extremely busy season that befalls grocers, and it gets almost overwhelming for some people. I love Christmas, and this year I am going to try and take my friend’s view of Thanksgiving and apply it to Christmas. I’ll be thankful for the friends and family that I do get to see. I’ll take their desire for us to be together on the holiday as a compliment and not an obligation. The focus in our house is going to be one of gratitude and appreciation. I�...read more
Acquired Taste
by Adam Zack — December 14, 2021

America’s taste continues to evolve.
I have two daughters who will eat (and thoroughly enjoy) foods that go from off-putting to just gross to me. The key phrase is to me. Lamb heart tartare (raw), they love it. Anything made from glands or organs, yum. Anything from the ocean, especially something raw, slimy or weird, delicious! If it’s made from neck bones or pigs feet, it’s consumed. Rocky mountain oysters? Heck ya!! I’m often the butt of jokes for my conservative, non-adventurous tastes, but these girls (actually young women ages 28 and 31 but we always just refer to them as “the girls”) we raised young with McDonald’s as a special treat (DeDonalds!! DeDonalds!!! I can hear the past glee still) and Domino’s pizza a completely acceptable version of Pizza Napolitana. So what happened? I take some of the blame for always cooking and encouraging them to try everything. I give Los Angeles some blame for having such an array of foods from all over the world so easily accessible. But most of the reason is that, especially in today’s world of Instagram food shots and cooking competition shows everywhere, America’s taste has and continues to ...read more
Gimme Gimme some credit??
by Adam Zack — December 8, 2021

Wanting credit can go to extremes.
We meet some of the very nicest people in the world in the grocery business. For every one of the a-holes that complain about every little thing and make us question why we are even in this business, there are at least 10 that would qualify for instant sainthood. I have a customer at my store in San Diego who would go to the front of the line of potential saints, right in front of my wife’s sister Lorraine and my good friend Mary Cass. This customer, who wishes to remain anonymous (her name rhymes with ennifer) is not only our #1 customer in terms of dollars spent with us, she’s our #1 in terms of customer satisfaction, expressing appreciation to employees and smiles. You literally say “Can a person really be that nice??” So yesterday, she was in shopping and she gave my store manager an envelope with $500 cash in it to do “something nice for the employees” on the condition that we not tell any of them who gave the gift, only that it was from a happy customer. She wanted no credit at all for her kindness and generosity. When I got home last night and was telling my wife the story during our daily debriefing (which may or may not include some bourbon), we talked about ...read more
I Want To Play, Coach
by Adam Zack — December 1, 2021

The key to winning is doing the prep work, which is work.
Mike Krzyzewski (pronounced Shuh-shef-ski, if you can believe that), also known as Coach K, is one of the top college basketball coaches of all time. He has won 5 national championships and has the most wins all-time in NCAA tournament play. He’s in the conversation for greatest coach in history, not too far behind John Wooden, the best ever. I was listening to him on a radio interview this week, and he made a statement that doesn’t just apply to basketball, or sports, but to our everyday work and even our lives in general. He was talking about his players, and he said that everyone wants to play, but everyone doesn’t want to prepare to play. Preparation is the hard part. Preparation is doing the homework, hitting the gym, eating right, not partying, practicing. The fun, the glory and the adrenaline is all in playing the game, but the key to winning is doing the prep work, which is
Thankful 2021
by Adam Zack — November 24, 2021

Learning that expectations are judgments and are based in the past and render me blind to the present.
- I continually strive to be a better listener, and have got past the point of being pissed when the person I am talking to doesn’t.
I Owe, I Owe…
by Adam Zack — November 17, 2021

They have literally made us a better person.
A.W.E.
by Adam Zack — November 10, 2021

And what else?
Getting to Know You
by Adam Zack — November 3, 2021

A reciprocal relationship is satisfying and rewarding for everyone involved.
But a true and honest thought
That if you become a teacher
By your pupils you’ll be taughtAs a teacher I’ve been learning
You’ll forgive me if I boast
And I’ve now become an expert
On the subject I like mostGetting to know youGetting to know you
Getting to know all about you
Getting to like you
Getting to hope you like me– Rogers & Hammerstein from the movie The King and I. Sung by Julie AndrewsI don’t think enough can be said about the most su...read more
Motivating the Motivator
by Adam Zack — October 27, 2021

The only one who can motivate you is you.