Zingerman's Deli co-founders Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig vowed that the business they started in 1982 would always stand on its own. The Zingerman’s experience could never be replicated. But after 10 years of growth, sales flattened and esprit de corps fizzled. One of the reasons: Good workers didn't have room to advance into leadership.

So Saginaw and Weinzweig crafted a new vision that allowed ambitious employees to become managing partners of independent businesses under the Zingerman's brand. Today, the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses consists of 10 such operations. This arrangement has allowed the company to stay Evergreen and experience steady paced growth.