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Ari's Top 5
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Ari's Top 5

You really can do business differently!

lessons on leadership, life, artisan food, and anarchism

(with some minor musings on music to boot)

From Ari Weinzweig, Co-founding Partner, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses

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Recent Posts

On Democracy

Last week, I wrote a lot about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, the work of Indigenous Canadian folk musician Willie Dunn, and the centuries-old democratic decision-making processes of Dunn’s people, the Mi’kmaq Nation of eastern Canada. This week I’m digging into a dream of my own, a dream about establishing equally effective democratic governance … Read More

Essay

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Pumpkin Muffins at the Bakehouse

I will confess that for much of the year I forget about the Pumpkin Muffins we make at the Bakehouse. And then, every October, I see them in the Bakeshop, I have a bite, and then another, and then I’m reminded how ridiculously good they are. Can a pumpkin muffin matter all that much? It … Read More

Zingerman's Bakehouse

Farmstead Hungarian Paprika from the Hodi Family

There’s a long-standing Hungarian saying that “a day without paprika is like a day without sunshine.” I’m glad to say that the sun has been out in force in Ann Arbor in the last few days, and happily, Hungarian farmstead paprika is on the shelves and in the kitchens at the Deli, Bakehouse, and Roadhouse. … Read More

Zingerman's Delicatessen

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Radish and Harissa Salad to Make at Home

One of my favorite autumn vegetables, there’s little so tasty as a fresh, heirloom varietal radish out of the ground. Peppery, refreshing, lively, crunchy, cool, and compelling, this is a simple way to turn already great radishes into a spicy salad dish that’s especially delicious. The salad can be completed in a matter of minutes, … Read More

Recipe Zingerman's Delicatessen
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About Ari’s Top 5

Ari Weinzweig

Ari Weinzweig, Co-founding Partner, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses

Ari’s Top 5 is the weekly e-newsletter authored by Ari Weinzweig, co-founding partner of Zingerman’s, the iconic Ann Arbor, Michigan, institution. Each issue features an in-depth personal essay by Ari on a vital topic in business, leadership, or philosophy, plus a roundup of four fantastic foods that Ari’s excited to share from across the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. Subscribe below to receive some delicious food for thought in your inbox every Wednesday! 

What readers are saying

Ari Weinzweig’s weekly essays … have become a must-read for me and a bolstering presence in my life as a poet and teacher. Weinzweig is a brilliant writer, generous and honest, and an uncompromisingly intelligent thinker. The essays are called Ari’s Top 5, but they could just as easily be called How to Be Alive.

Michael Dickman

Guggenheim Fellow and author of "Days & Days" and "Pacific Power & Light"

I come for the food, of course. … But I stay for the soul. Long before there was Substack, Ari was giving us generous dollops of management philosophy and insight. In every issue, I’m introduced to writers, poets, business managers, artists, and essayists I don’t know and should, and am always enriched and invigorated for adding them to my reading list.

Corby Kummer

Founding executive director, Food & Society at the Aspen Institute

There’s no newsletter out there like Ari’s e-news. It’s a harmonious synergy of humanity, business, philosophy, history, and deliciousness. … A must, in my opinion, for anyone looking to thrive both personally and professionally.

Charles Wekselbaum

Founder, Charlito's Cocina

Every Wednesday, like clockwork, Ari’s Top 5 shows up in my inbox. It is like no other newsletter—every issue is like a full chapter in a long-running, far-reaching, highly provocative, deeply thought-provoking book.

John Abrams

Author, "From Founder to Future"

Ari, I don’t know how you find the time and energy to keep producing these gems, week in and week out, but I sure do appreciate it. And I know I’m not the only one.

Loren Feldman

Founder and editor-in-chief, 21 Hats

Whether he’s writing about food or philosophy, art or anarchism, history or the human spirit, Ari’s Top 5 always inspires, informs, and entertains.

Molly Stevens

Award-winning cookbook author ("All About Dinner," "All About Roasting," "All About Braising")

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Ari’s Top 5

In a world of sound bites, are you craving long-form engagement with the big ideas that really matter? Culinary recommendations from a trailblazer in the food business? Join a thriving community of thousands of like-minded readers whom Ari connects with each week!