Zingerman’s Co-Owner & Founding Partner

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1975, Paul Saginaw inadvertently began his career in the food service industry when he left a graduate program in public health to assume a position in a seafood restaurant. His zoology degree from the University of Michigan assisted him greatly in identifying the species of fish for his restaurant guests. Working several years in a managerial capacity with this organization shaped the development of his own business philosophy. In 1979, the opportunity arrived to put those ideas into practice. He and a long-time friend, Mike Monahan, became the owners and operators of a seafood retail/wholesale business which thrives to this day.

A few years later, Paul was offered the chance to open a delicatessen across the street from his fish market. He and a former co-worker, Ari Weinzweig, had dreamed of such a possibility for years. Joining forces, they founded Zingerman’s Delicatessen, and opened the doors on March 15, 1982.

Zingerman’s started as 1300 square feet of combined restaurant and specialty food retail space, run solely by Paul, Ari and one employee. The Zingerman’s Community of Businesses now employs over 590 people and generates over $35 million in annual sales from seven separate businesses: Zingerman’s Delicatessen, Zingerman’s Catering, Zingerman’s Mail Order, Zingerman’s Bakehouse, ZingTrain., Zingerman’s Creamery and Zingerman’s Roadhouse.

When the Bakehouse opened in 1992, Paul, Ari and Frank Carollo, their baking partner, became manufacturers of their own bread and baked goods, with the sole intention of supplying the Deli. They had spent many frustrating years in search of quality and consistency in this most vital menu item. They sought out the baking expertise and training of Michael London of Greenwich, New York, and have since become one of the premier bakeries in the country.

Paul is a visionary and consensus builder in all of his businesses. He is an excellent listener with a wealth of ideas and unlimited appreciation for creative solutions to problems. He is able to bring out the best in most every employee. And he characteristically works in the trenches, shoulder-to-shoulder with his staff as a powerful leader and teacher.

The diverse challenges of twenty years as a food service professional have given Paul true satisfaction and enjoyment. But in his mind, his businesses’ most significant accomplishment was the founding and launching in 1988 of a perishable food rescue program. Food Gatherers has grown to become a viable and independent nonprofit organization, responsible for delivering over 2,000 pounds of food daily to community agencies that feed women, children and men in need. Last year, Food Gatherers proudly accepted an award for Non-Profit Management Excellence. Paul was Food Gatherers’ founding Board President and remains on the Board as Vice President.

In April of 1995, Paul and Ari received the first Humanitarian Award from the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County. This recognition is a reflection of Paul’s personal measure of success in business – that the business become a vehicle for positive social change and that it be known not for what it has gained or accomplished for itself, but rather for the degree to which it has contributed to its community and benefited both its customers and its employees.