Managing Partner, Zingerman’s Delicatessen

From her first job as a dishwasher/prep cook for an East Cleveland, Ohio country club, Grace has been drawn to the food service industry. After finishing high school, she attended Paul Smith’s College near Lake Placid NY and graduated in 1988 with an AAS in culinary arts.

Grace’s experience has been focused primarily on freestanding restaurants, but she also has experience running outdoor food festivals and on site and off site catering events. She has overseen all aspects of the foodservice industry, including facilities management, merchandising, and POS implementation. Her career has included working at the Kentucky Derby Grandstand, an internship with Marriot in Point Clear Alabama, eight years with Stouffer restaurants, and seven years with Chuck Muer Restaurants.

Since joining Zingerman’s as a Managing Partner in September 2003, Grace oversees the accounting, merchandising, catering and retail departments of Zingerman’s Delicatessen. Founded in 1982 by Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw, Zingerman’s has become an Ann Arbor institutionóthe source of great food and great experiences for over 500,000 visitors every year. Each day the Deli serves up thousands of made-to-order sandwiches with ingredients like corned beef and pastrami, homemade chopped liver and chicken salad. The Deli stocks an array of farmhouse cheeses, smoked fish, salamis, estate-bottled olive oils, vintage vinegars, whole bean coffees, loose leaf teas and much more. The Deli employs over 140 full- and part-time staff, generating sales of more than $7.7 million per yearóout of approximately 1,200 square feet of retail spaceóplus another $1.3 million in catering sales.

Grace teaches a variety of internal Zingerman’s staff classes and is often invited to present to outside organizations on Zingerman’s approach to business.