This week's guests are the mother and daughter founders of Dam Good English Muffins, Denise and Olivia Weale. Dam Good English Muffins is a woman-owned, family-operated business in Peekskill, New York, making a variety of square-shaped sourdough English muffins. We talk about the unconventional way their business started, how they grew from making gifts for friends to producing at scale, and the importance of being a mission-driven company that supports the community....
Jun 30, 2025•49 min•Season 6Ep. 12
This week's guest is the founder of Hudson Valley Brewery, John Anthony Gargiulo. Hudson Valley Brewery is located in Beacon, New York, focusing on sour farmhouse ales and creating amazing beers with New York ingredients. We talk with John Anthony about his career change from being a grip in Hollywood to building a brewery, how he sees the entire business as an art project, and he found the building of his dreams after many, many years.
Jun 23, 2025•52 min•Season 6Ep. 11
This week's guest is the founder and CEO of Ithaca Hummus, Chris Kirby.Ithaca Hummus makes amazing hummus with minimal ingredients and maximum taste. We talk about his journey from selling at farm stands in upstate New York to being in over 9,000 doors (with the final boss coming in October), the diversification of flavors, the importance of steady growth versus exponential growth, and a little lesson on Beanie Baby sales.
Jun 02, 2025•48 min•Season 6Ep. 10
This week's guest is the founder, owner, and cheese maker at McGrath Cheese Company, Colin McGrath. McGrath Cheese Company is an artisan producer based in New York's Hudson Valley. They make some of the most incredible cheese, sourced from local dairies. We discussed Colin's remarkable path into the cheese business from the CIA (that's the Culinary Institute of America) to apprenticing, to making his own. He brings his unbridled passion for the product into every batch....
May 27, 2025•49 min•Season 6Ep. 9
This week's guests are the founders of Moonrise Bagels, Jeremy and Ali Rhodes. Moonrise Bagels are award-winning stuffed bagels that are ridiculously good and are taking over upstate New York. We talk about how a party invention and Jeremy's obsession with finding the perfect way to stuff a bagel turned into a full-scale business with three locations, how Ali is able to leverage her sharp PR skills to grow awareness and engagement with the business, and how setting up their business in their hom...
May 19, 2025•52 min•Season 6Ep. 8
This week's guest is the founder of Driftaway Coffee, Anu Menon. Driftaway Coffee is an immigrant-owned, women-led company that prioritizes women and minority producers, and making accessible coffee for all consumers. We discussed her leap from the marketing world to brewing coffee, how her brand helps people find their next favorite blend in a unique way and how the business went from a passion project to a full-scale operation.
May 12, 2025•44 min•Season 6Ep. 7
This week's guest is the CEO and co-founder of Seed + Mill, Rachel Simons. Seed + Mill is a women-owned artisan food brand focusing on food products derived from sesame seed, like tahini and halva. We talk about Rachel's evolution from corporate lawyer to food entrepreneur, the nuances of running an online business that also has a physical location in Chelsea Market, and her upcoming book launch, and why it means so much to her. Seed+Mill Sesame: Global Recipes and Stories of an Ancient Seed...
Apr 21, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 6
This week's guests are the co-founders of Overlook Bakery, Rosie and Mike DeVito. Overlook Bakery is my local bakery here in Woodstock, which makes some of the best cookies, cakes, and desserts in the world. We talk about starting their business during COVID by making cakes in their home, leaving the corporate confines of the accounting world to build out a physical location, and how their direct, honest messaging led to one of my favorite billboards of all time. Overlook Bakery...
Apr 14, 2025•58 min•Season 6Ep. 5
This week's guest is the co-founder of Burlap & Barrel, Ori Zohar. Burlap & Barrel is an American spice importer that sources sustainable single-origin spices directly from farmers and foragers. We talk about the origins of the idea with his business partner, growing a business with omni-channel components, and the richness and diversity of the spice world. Burlap & Barrel...
Apr 07, 2025•47 min•Season 6Ep. 4
This week's guest is the founder and CEO of Eat2Explore, Rowena Scherer. Eat2Explore makes it easy for kids and families to explore world cuisines and cultures with their award-winning experience-in-a-box cooking kits. We talk about how she went from private equity to the French Culinary Institute, the spark for the idea, and the importance of inspiring kids to appreciate and explore all cultures of the world through delicious cuisine. Eat2Explore...
Mar 24, 2025•40 min•Season 6Ep. 3
This week's guest is dual threat, Taylor Cocalis Suarez. Tay co-founded Good Food Jobs, a website and newsletter with over 80,000 subscribers helping satisfy the hunger for meaningful work in the food industry. She's also co-founder of one of my all-time favorite breweries, Suarez Family Brewery, which is based near Hudson, New York. We talked to Tay about running both businesses, the aversion for scale at scales sake, and how meaningful work is the backbone of what she does.
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr•Season 6Ep. 2
We are back for season six of The Changeup. What started as a project while I was bored at home during the throes of COVID is now over 100 episodes with smart founders sharing their journey along the way. This season, we're continuing down the path of food and beverage with a focus on New York owned and operated companies. There's something about tangible items in the digital age that gets me excited and I hope the same is true for you. We kick off with one of the OG craft purveyors, Ommegang. W...
Mar 10, 2025•52 min•Season 6Ep. 1
This week's guest is the co-founder of Sound, Tommy Kelly. Sound was born from its co-founder's desire for a better-tasting, more exciting unsweetened beverage. We talk about the company's founding happening while Tommy was an engineer looking for a drink to keep him going during long days and partnering with his then co-worker and now co-partner, Salim. Tommy embraces the ebbs and flows of the hard-to-navigate CPG business. He speaks honestly about the hurdles and brings incredible insight to t...
Dec 17, 2024•38 min•Season 5Ep. 19
This week's guests are the co-founders of Saucy Confections, Alexander and Mary Rose Zaranski. Saucy Confections makes an alcoholic gummy called Winosaurs, which is, you might've guessed, filled with wine. We talk about how they took a fun idea for their wedding party favors and turned it into a business that keeps growing. We learn how they built their own machinery before buying and what's next on the rise in the gummy game. Saucy Confections...
Dec 03, 2024•42 min•Season 5Ep. 18
This week's guest is the founder of Dirty Water, Dominic Minogue. Dirty Water is a hard seltzer brand born in New York City, aiming to be the accessible, easy-drinking dive bar hard seltzer. We talked to Dominic about the David versus Goliath battle in the hard beverage industry, the door-to-door grind of getting his product into bars and bodegas, and how his background and design and fashion helps influence Dirty Water's look and feel. Dirty Water Hard Seltzer...
Nov 19, 2024•43 min•Season 5Ep. 17
This week's guest is Nathaniel Harrington, the founder of Nat's Nuts. Nat's Nuts is a gourmet roasted nut company in upstate New York that ships across the United States and is in over 2000 stores. We talk about how he turned a school fundraising project to Guatemala into a full blown business, how he's built the business from his apartment to a large scale operation, and how faith plays a major role in every aspect of his life.
Nov 11, 2024•40 min•Season 5Ep. 16
This week we welcome Tom Vaughan and Nakiska Vaughan of Westmeadow Farm and Dairy. Westmeadow Farm and Dairy is a family-owned and operated farm and creamery making fresh milk, cheese, and ice cream. We talk about Tom's original path to farming, moving from Ireland to Connecticut and then eventually landing in upstate New York. We also learned how Nakiska's plan to swim with dolphins was thwarted by COVID, but that ultimately led to her running the farm and being an integral part of the family b...
Nov 05, 2024•45 min•Season 5Ep. 15
This week's guest is the co-founder of Bjorn Qorn, Bjorn Quenemoen. Bjorn Qorn is a non-GMO popcorn with all-natural gluten-free and vegan ingredients. They use nutritional yeast instead of butter and cheese, and it's probably the best popcorn I've ever had from a bag. We talk about how a college party concept with a friend turned into a thriving business, the science behind popping using mirrored reflectors to collect the sun's rays, and how a popcorn business got into the roller skating busine...
Oct 28, 2024•51 min•Season 5Ep. 14
This week's guest is the co-founder of Barrel + Brine, RJ Marvin. Barrel + Brine is a food and beverage company located in Buffalo, New York, specializing in pickled foods, kimchi, and kombucha. We talk about leaving the restaurant business to get into the pickling business and returning to the restaurant business to help complement the store. RJ shares his thoughts on packaging design, packaging his own food, and how he intends to grow the business thoughtfully. And the Bills- of course we talk...
Oct 21, 2024•39 min•Season 5Ep. 13
In this week's episode, I'm talking with the co-founders of Loisa, Scott Hattis, and Kenny Luna. Loisa is a Latin-owned food company focusing on bringing organic versions of the most famous Latin seasoning to the market. They started with Sazon and Adobo and are growing exponentially, with their most recent partnership with Whole Foods opening doors across the country. We talk about starting in their kitchen, learning the family recipes, the importance of breaking out of the artificial ingredien...
Oct 14, 2024•55 min•Season 5Ep. 12
This week we welcome Brian and Dahlia Graham, the co-founders of Fruition Chocolate Works. Fruition is an ethically sourced chocolate company using traditional and modern techniques to make their award-winning chocolate in Catskills. This episode is a bit of a departure as we met in real life to do the interview. You might hear the sounds of the shop and a change in our voice as we move around, but it led to an intimate and lively conversation and I'm excited to do more of them. https://www.frui...
Oct 07, 2024•41 min•Season 5Ep. 11
This week's guests are the founders of Our Daily Eats, Caroline and Paul Barrett. Our Daily Eats is an Albany based nuts and granola company founded by a husband and wife team who left their corporate gigs to follow their passion, creating exceptional food that they would be proud of and their kids would actually eat. We talk about the journey from cooking it in their kitchen, printing the labels and selling it individually at local farm stands to being in stores across the country. They shared ...
Sep 16, 2024•44 min•Season 5Ep. 10
This week's guest is the founder of Heyday Canning, Kat Kavner Heyday Canning Co. is a canned food company making fun products like harissa lemon chickpeas, kimchi sesame beans, and enchilada beans that are accessible and delicious. We talk about how the company was started at the height of COVID while in Australia, the importance of bringing the fun back into what is arguably a boring food vertical, the shops that embraced Heyday first, and how they expanded to 2000 stores. Heyday Canning...
Sep 09, 2024•43 min•Season 5Ep. 9
This week's guests are the Founders of Weiss Ferments, Erica and Brian Weiss. Weiss Ferments is a family-owned farm, brewery and sourdough bread bakery in Schoharie County, New York. We talk about their past lives working as sommeliers and bartenders at Michelin-rated restaurants, the decision to leave New York City and build their farm, and how they both found their passions in brewing and baking respectively. Weiss Ferments...
Aug 26, 2024•52 min•Season 5Ep. 8
This week's guest is the founder and CEO of Partake Foods, Denise Woodard. Partake is a Black-owned, women-led company that offers delicious allergy-free cookies, baking mixes, pancake and waffle mixes that are certified gluten-free, non-GMO, vegan, and free of the top nine allergens. We talk about the very personal story of her daughter's allergies that led to her founding the company and how she scaled her kitchen to over 9,000 stores nationwide. https://partakefoods.com/...
Aug 19, 2024•43 min•Season 5Ep. 7
This week's guest is the CEO and founder of Treeline Cheesemakers, Michael Schwarz. Treeline Cheesemakers is a dairy-free vegan cheese made in upstate New York. We talk about his decision to become vegan in 2011 and how that compelled him to leave his job as a lawyer and build Treeline. Often business leaders speak in platitudes, but this is not one of those interviews. Michael brought conviction, clarity of our moral obligations, and a convincing rationale for why we all should be vegan. We tal...
Aug 12, 2024•42 min•Season 5Ep. 6
This week's guests are the founders of Outsiders Kitchen, Julie and Austin Landes. Outsiders Kitchen is a gourmet pretzel bite that needs to be tried to be understood. Trust me, it's that good. We talk about their journey from Pennsylvania to upstate New York, starting a cafe business that turned into a pretzel business sold in over 1000 stores, and how even with that growth, each bag is still packaged by hand.
Aug 05, 2024•42 min•Season 5Ep. 5
This week's guest is the founder of Jack and Friends, Jessica Kwong. Jack and Friends is on a mission to make snack foods you can feel good about eating, regardless of your lifestyle or diet. Made with jackfruit and pea protein, Jack and Friends jerky is not only vegan and top nine allergen-free, but a good source of protein and fiber with no added sugar. We talk about the science behind snack foods, how she developed the idea for Jack and Friends, and how she has scaled the business in a really...
Jul 29, 2024•45 min•Season 5Ep. 4
This week's guest is the co-founder and CEO of Finger Lakes Cider House, Garrett Miller. Finger Lakes Cider House is a diversified organic farm that specializes in making some of the best hard cider from New York apples. We talk about the origins of the company initially being a farm with friends to now being one of the top cider houses in New York, how he grew the business and what he wants to give back to the land, and the community with this project.
Jul 23, 2024•42 min•Season 5Ep. 3
This week's guest is the co-founder and CEO of Wandering Bear Coffee, Matt Bachman. Wandering Bear makes big strong coffee with a smooth side delivered on tap to offices and homes nationwide. We talk about how he and his co-founder started the concept while in grad school, how they scaled it from their apartment kitchens to a nationwide business and how they compete in the super competitive coffee business.
Jul 16, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 2
