Guest Editor

Proudly raised in Phoenix, Christopher Collins is a fourthgeneration restaurateur and the founder and operator of Common Ground Culinary. After graduating with honors from Boston University with a degree in hospitality management, Collins honed his craft working as both an executive chef and general manager for top restaurant brands nationwide. Returning to the Valley in 2011, he handcrafted local restaurant group Common Ground Culinary with a mission of creating community-driven restaurants that have “soul.”

Common Ground Culinary currently operates Grassroots Kitchen & Tap, Collins Bros. Chophouse, Wally’s American Gastropub, Sweet Provisions in Scottsdale and The Collins Small Batch Kitchen, The Macintosh, Neighborly Public House, St. Urban and Arcadia Catering Company in Phoenix.

Flavors of Phoenix

Classic or creative, the culinary scene in Greater Phoenix happily serves a population that continues to make eating out a favorite entertainment choice. The industry here in peppered with individual chef-driven restaurants and innovative organizations, all bringing to life their unique approach.

I believe the culinary industry here in Arizona is so successful because of the amazing support from our community, combined with our innately entrepreneurial spirit. People can go anywhere to grab a bite to eat, but it means the world to us that they choose to come to our restaurants for family dinners, to celebrate their achievements or reconnect with old friends. Arizonans have always taken a lot of pride in supporting local businesses, and we’re proud to carry on that tradition. Plus, we benefit from having a very business-friendly environment and a growing population. It’s that unique mix of community, openness and our welcoming nature, combined with new and exciting businesses coming to the state that are all contributing factors to a successful and healthy ecosystem within Arizona’s culinary industry.

In Business Magazine has reached out to some of the prominent locally based restaurateurs for a back-of-the-house look into our industry. Many of us have multiple concepts and are taking some that were debuted here and expanding them in other regions. This month’s cover story is as much in the pictures as the narrative.

A hot topic these days is job vacancies and the difficulty employers are having in filling them. The fact that this extends into the C-suites is generally not dwelt on. Harrison Rausch discuses this aspect of today’s business world in the feature article, “How Businesses Can Attract Executive Talent in a Post-Pandemic Recruitment World.”

Pointing out, “The economy works in cycles,” Cristina Fumagalli and Carin M. Cacciatore share their financial and accounting expertise in the Economy feature “Strategies to Recession-Proof One’s Business.” And taking a different perspective on our economy, Hami Sayed examines “Legal Challenges in the Arizona Boom Times” for this month’s Legal feature.

The current buzz about supply-chain issues usually focuses on the challenges those issues pose to businesses. But Mindy Weinstein touches on that subject from a different angle in the Roundtable feature on scarcity marketing, “Using Popularity to Get More Sales.”

This November edition offers the usual full menu of other business-relevant articles, capped with the annual Excellence in Banking special section. I’m pleased to have helped bring you this edition of In Business Magazine. Enjoy the read.

Sincerely,

Christopher Collins

Founder and Operator Common Ground Culinary

Good for the Palate

As we come back from the pandemic we have been energized and our palates pleased by the many restaurants and culinary concepts we have gained. In addition, many of the well-known haunts have improved or learned so much though the past two years that they are nimbler, focused on customer option and certainly great taste. Greater Phoenix is home to some world-class eateries and is quickly finding itself among the top destinations in the U.S. for developing great concepts.

We asked Chris Collins to step in as Guest Editor this issue because he has been busy at work opening and creating new concepts and has a stellar reputation among the Valley’s restaurateurs. We want to thank him for leading this issue and for his meaningful insight on the industry’s ups and downs. It is a great time in Greater Phoenix as we get to experience tastes from our local farms to regions throughout the world among casual to refined surroundings within the impressive restaurant scene sprouting up here. —Rick McCartney, Publisher

EN NEGOCIOS

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