ALLEN SEIDNER

Allen Seidner is principal of Thought For Food Consulting, a prepared foods design, development and operations consulting firm exclusive to organic and natural grocery retailers. Together, with associate Michelle O’Connor, the team provides the most comprehensive package of prepared foods design, development and operations services in natural foods retailing. 

 

Since 1997 Seidner’s created program, financial and fixture plans for more than 150 co-op and independent store expansion, renovation and new store projects. And, the team’s recent design, development and operations work has supported the prepared foods success in each of the past four Cooperative Retailer of the Year award winners: City Market/Onion River Co-op, Burlington, VT; BriarPatch Food Co-op, Grass Valley, CA; Middlebury Natural Food Co-op, Middlebury, VT; and Oryana Community Co-op, Traverse City, MI.

 

Seidner is a former partner at Good Earth Natural Foods in Fairfax, Calif.; Northern California regional foodservice director for Wild Oats Markets; prepared foods team leader and traveling troubleshooter for Whole Foods Markets; prepared foods and human resources manager for Oak Street Market (Evanston, Ill.), and a long-time manager of Chicago’s renowned vegetarian restaurant, Blind Faith Café.

With O’Connor, Seidner produces and presents DeliOps 101 Seminar, a annual 3-day intensive on the essential aspects of foodservice operations excellence. And, with Carolee Colter and Mark Mulcahy, he’s a co-creator and -presenter of Rising Stars, a series of leadership development seminars presented to more than 2500 industry leaders over the past 20 years.

A native of Chicago, Seidner lives with his twin teenagers and one sweet cat in San Francisco. 

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• Designed prepared foods program, financial and fixture plans for more than 100 natural foods retail grocers

• Co-created and -developed Rising Stars leadership development training program, presented to more than 2,500 natural foods store and department managers since 1999

• Annually present DeliOps 101, a 3-day prepared foods operations training, teaching essential aspects of foodservice operations excellence

• Featured speaker at CCMA, Provender, New Hope Expo and other industry conferences

• Wide practical experience as store owner, regional prepared foods director, prepared foods team leader, restaurant manager, and in most every deli and restaurant position.

• Author of Article Library on prepared foods operations, merchandising, performance and staff development.

• Developer and host of Document Library for clients and DeliOps Seminar participants.