With seven restaurants in the Valley, Chef Christopher Collins really knows how to multi-task! In this episode, we talk about how his love of food started as a little boy in the kitchen with his father, Wally, also a chef and restaurateur. Collins now owns Collins Brothers Public House, Grassroots Kitchen and Tap, Wally's American Gastropub, Sweet Provisions, The Collins Small Batch Kitchen, The Macintosh, The Neighborly, and Arcadia Catering Company. Collins shares how he gets it all done while raising two boys with his wife, Melissa—through laser focus on the present. He spills the tea on a new concept he's creating and on how to make a crowd favorite dish at your next family dinner.
https://www.commongroundculinary.com/
In this episode, we meet third generation Arizona entrepreneur Shannon Woodruff of The Green Kitchen. She's turning her nine-month-old meal prep company into a million-dollar business. Woodruff cooks and delivers single, double, and family sized meals to her customers to make eating healthy simple and joyful. Woodruff says she healed herself from Epstein-Barr virus and heavy metal toxicity by eating clean and now she helps others do the same. Her menu consists of items like chicken pot pie and beef stroganoff carefully created with clean ingredients. Woodruff is writing a book about her health journey, and she also wrote a PDF about how she built her business—in case anyone else wants to do the same!!
Instagram: @ eatgreenkitchen
It all started with one picture from a cabin in Prescott ten years ago and blew up to a full-blown production house. We meet Welcome to Arizona founders Jesus Vicente and Luis Gonzalez. Their Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok pages highlight Arizona and all the beautiful things there are to see and do here. The team has grown from two brothers and their brother-in-law to a team of eight using phones, cameras, and drones to tell their stories. They give us the details on the equipment and techniques you can use to grow your business online, how they find the places and businesses to showcase, and they tell us what's still on their bucket lists in Arizona.
Learn more: https://www.welcometoarizona.co/about-welcome-to-arizona-2
Instagram: @welcometoarizona
For decades, you've seen Home Depot Debbie light up the screen on Good Morning Arizona showing off ways to upgrade your home. It turns out that creativity rubs off, or maybe it's hereditary! In this episode, we talk to Debbie Hernandez about her long career in home improvement and her daughter, Sabrina Hernandez, about her growing business as an events planner. Hear more about Sabrina's one-stop shop events business called Lavishlee Events, the memorable live moments and celebs Debbie's met during her time on GMAZ, and the fabulous shoe closet the two built in their home. Plus, they tell us what they've learned from each other in business, trends in 2026, and how they like to unwind.
This is a very big week in Arizona with the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. We are getting some rules of the road from AZ Family sports producer and resident NASCAR fan, Matt Hippe. He tells us how to take great pictures while you're there, about his spin around the track with Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett, and the personal story of Valley athlete, Kellen Mills, who is now a top talent on the pit crew. We'll also talk local restaurants and things to do in Avondale and the West Valley.
Luv Luxe is bringing change to the resale space. In this episode, we meet Sydnie Cadenas, the founder of Luv Luxe in Scottsdale. In a world where many designer pre-loved bags are consigned, she diverted from that traditional model to offer an immediate upfront payment to the sellers. Cadenas says when you buy from Luv Luxe, you get a lifetime guarantee that you bought an authentic designer bag whether it's Chanel, Louis Vuitton, or Hermes bag. Hear how she started with just $3,000 in savings from her childhood bedroom, why she wants to take intimidation out of luxury buying, and her passion for treating her buyers and sellers fairly. https://luvluxe.com/
Quench your thirst with chef-crafted blends and real fruit when you crack open a mason jar of lemonade from AZ Lemonade Stand. In this episode, we learn how owner, Kyle Hollenbeck and his business partner and childhood friend Tom D'Ambrosio grew the business from a COVID hobby to a big business that's finding its way into grocery stores and convenience stores near you. Hollenbeck and D'Ambrosio also own Aoli Burger, commercial kitchens, and handle food and beverage at Turf Paradise. Hear how the Valley natives found success and their quest to expand their zero sugar zero calorie line of sweet lemonade.
https://azlemonadestand.com/
A frozen bean and cheese burrito is locally made and trending on social media. In this episode, we talk to Hank Murphy of Bad Hambres. The Phoenix native grew up eating with the family at Los Dos Molinos and although he followed a corporate career, he was obsessed with cooking beans! After a long kayaking trip, he just wanted a bean and cheese burrito, so he set out to create the best one that you could pull out of your home freezer. But first, he had to convince his wife that his burritos were competitive with those already on the market. So, with a spreadsheet and more than a dozen grocery store burritos, they two taste-tested until they decided his was the winner. Hear about the challenges of expanding batch recipes, navigating social media demand, and the new growth and FLAVORS to come for Bad Hambres.
Have you been to Undertow, Platform 18 or The Grey Hen Rx? They are experiential cocktail bars in Phoenix that transport you to the belly of a spice ship, a train ride, and an apothecary. In this episode, we talk to EVP of Operations of Barter and Shake (the company behind these three bars), Mat Snapp. He tells us how he used his Creative Writing degree from Arizona State University to help write the origin story of Undertow and how the EVP of Operations title can translate to melting shoes on a hot Arizona rooftop.
Salt + Lime Modern Mexican Grill goes viral every year for their extravagant Christmas decor. When the holidays come, the team rallies as there is a line out the door to see what owner, Sandra Van Deraa has come up with next. In this episode, we learn Van Deraa was working in mortgages when she started picking up shifts in the restaurant industry to make ends meet. When she got an incredible offer, she took it and ran, now owning Salt + Lime and growing it to three Valley locations. Hear how she uses her old cheer coach experience to lead a team, her "must have" menu items, and how to get a table during that coveted Christmas season.
https://www.saltandlimeaz.com/