My grandparents taught ballroom dancing in Northern Virginia. Once a month they threw a party, cooked all the food themselves, and let their students practice where the only judge was the music. One of those students owned a daycare and could no longer meet evolving health department regulations within her school kitchen.She asked my grandfather whether he would mind making lunch for the kids. He said yes, the way he said yes to his community as a matter of course. Fairfax Food Service was incorporated in 1970.

My grandmother announced that if this family was going into food, she was retiring. My mother became the second CEO. My father bought the company from her and became the third. I grew up climbing onto a stool to count chicken patties onto sheet pans, and eventually I succeeded my father and led the company for seven years.