The Zingerman's Community of Businesses records contains 15.8 linear feet (in 17 boxes), 1 oversize box, 2 oversize folders, 2 tubes, and 651 MB. The collection is organized into two series, the General Administrative Records series and the Individual Businesses Records series.
The General Administrative Records series contains central organizational documents from the Zingerman's Community of Businesses. Records include strategic planning documents, employee handbooks, newsletters, clippings, and visual materials such as photographs, architectural drawings, and graphic designs.
The Individual Businesses Records series focuses on specific companies within the Zingerman's Community of Businesses family including Zingerman's Delicatessen, Zingerman's Bakehouse, ZingTrain, Zingerman's Mail Order Delivery, Zingerman's Roadhouse, and Zingerman's Press. The collection contains procedures manuals, photographs, presentations, publications, and recipes.
In 1982, University of Michigan alumni Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw opened Zingerman's Delicatessen in the Kerrytown neighborhood of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The new deli quickly became renowned for its sandwiches, traditional Jewish foods, and friendly customer service. The company began growing in 1991 when it opened Zingerman's Next Door, a coffee shop located next to the original deli. In 1992, Weinzweig and Saginaw partnered with Frank Carollo to open Zingerman's Bakehouse, a bakery which supplied the deli with fresh bread and pastries and soon began selling baked goods to the public.
In 1992, Weinzweig and Saginaw began to establish a broader vision for the future of Zingerman's. Their 1994 plan, "Zingerman's 2009: A Food Odyssey", outlined a 15 year initiative to establish the Zingerman's Community of Businesses- a family of independently owned local businesses sharing the Zingerman's name. Instead of pursuing a traditional franchise model, the Community of Businesses plan would create a unique group of companies, encourage innovation, and provide advancement opportunities for employees. The model proved extremely successful and within a decade, the Zingerman's family grew to include ZingTrain (1994), an organizational training and consulting service, Zingerman's Mail Order Delivery (1996), Zingerman's Catering and Events (1998), Zingerman's Creamery (2001), and the Zingerman's Roadhouse restaurant (2004).
As of 2019, the Zingerman's Community of Businesses featured 14 businesses in the Ann Arbor area, employing over 700 people and often growing to almost 1000 employees during the busy holiday season. Many of the Zingerman's businesses have achieved national and global recognition for their work. In 2007, founders Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bon Appetit magazine. Zingerman's has become a world-renowned brand symbolizing high quality food, excellent customer service, and innovative business practices.
