Writing
Notes on sustainable foodservice, building companies, and the craft of hospitality. Also available via RSS.
AI Is an Iron Man Suit. Not a Brain Replacement.
Use AI to expand what you can build without surrendering judgment. Delegate the work, keep ownership of the result.
Why We Sell Twenty Thousand Things
Most suppliers go long and deep on one product and win on volume. I built Restaurantware the other way: a catalog of about twenty thousand items, built for small orders. Here's the logic, what it costs, and why I'd do it again.
Compostable Is a System You Join, Not a Product You Buy
About one in five Americans have a composting program that accepts packaging at all. A packaging CEO on what the access data and the composters actually say, and four questions to ask before you switch.
Paper, PLA, or Wheat: What the Straw Actually Costs You
Paper, PLA, and wheat straws priced from one public distributor catalog, plus what the lab research on paper and PLA actually shows. A packaging CEO on when the cheap straw is the right call and when it isn't.
Is Being Green Worth It If It's Just Virtue Signaling?
A CEO in sustainable packaging on greenwashing, hollow eco-gestures, and why the answer to fake environmentalism is receipts, not cynicism.
How the Shift to Sustainability Is Shaking Up the Food Industry
Sustainability in foodservice stopped being a marketing angle years ago. In 2026 it's regulation, procurement, and operations — and it's rewriting how restaurants and suppliers actually work.
Is Bioplastic Actually Better? An Honest Answer from Inside the Industry
PLA, CPLA, and bagasse compared honestly, including the composting-infrastructure problem that determines whether 'compostable' means anything in practice. From someone who sells the stuff.
What Are Hay Straws? A Straight Answer from Someone Who Sells Them
Hay straws are drinking straws made from leftover wheat stems — no plastic, no coatings, no sogginess. Here's how they're made, how they compare to paper and PLA, and where they fit in 2026.
