A Seat at the Table

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Natalie talks with Jennifer Carriere-LaDuke, who is a 4th generation owner, board member, and marketing wiz for her 133 year old family farming business, Carriere Family Farms.  The business started with her great grandfather coming to the Sacramento area from Canada where he worked for a farmer clearing thick vegeta...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Join the conversation as your host,  Natalie Mariani-Kling delves into Sacramento history by talking with Kevin Fat, a 3rd generation member of the Frank Fat’s Restaurant Group family. Frank Fat’s in downtown Sacramento stands as the oldest family owned restaurant in the city, having opened in 1939 and still being ow...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Alan Turanski grew up in the beekeeping world and started to keep his own hive by age 10. His father Dick Turanski started a honey and beekeeping accessory company in the 1970’s after trying some poison oak honey at a friend's house. Soon Glory Bee honey was being sold in large quantities to natural food stores...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Sub Sea Systems started with the dream of making underwater adventure in the ocean accessible to more people than just trained scuba divers and those in the Navy. Jim Mayfield first dreamed of submarines for tourists in the mid 80’s but soon pivoted to semi-submersible vehicles.  With the sale of nearly 30 of these c...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Today's episode is a unique story for A Seat at the Table.  Typically we interview single family businesses, but Holt of California would never have become as mighty as it is today, employing 900 people brokering deals for Caterpillar equipment. It was the joining of three separate family businesses that allowed...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Stan Van Vleck always had a drive to succeed and a mind for business. He grew up in a cattle ranching family and had his eyes set on being a part of the family business but unfortunately, old school tradition shut him out of that opportunity as he was not the first born son in his family and didn't quite fit the...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Natalie talks with Paul Endelman whose father Ken started the world's largest manufacturer of pilates equipment and education. Paul is head of sales strategy at Balanced Body and he tells the story of how his father went from building custom water beds to building custom exercise equipment for a famous Hollywood...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Mark Echeverria is the 4th generation operator of Musso and Frank Grill in Hollywood. Musso and Frank is part of Hollywood culture and history, having been a meeting place for movie executives, famous writers like Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams, rock stars like Keith Richards and countless movie stars.  Mark...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Chris Benziger comes from a long line of family working in the beverage business, starting with his grandfather smuggling Canadian whiskey into America on a tugboat during prohibition. But it was his oldest brother Mike who realized so much great wine was coming out of California and convinced his entrenched New York...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Natalie talks with Chairwoman Shawn Devlin and CEO Steve Fleming about the origins of River City Bank, which started with a desire to buy a helicopter and a business plan written on a cocktail napkin during a dinner at Frank Fat’s in Sacramento.  Shawn recounts the story of her father going from radio station owner,...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Natalie talks with father and son, Dave and Ryan Lucchetti about how Pacific Coast Building Products has gone from 100 employees to over 3500 employees and many subsidiary companies under Dave’s leadership over the last several decades.  Dave shares what it was like to take over a family business as the son-in-law of...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Your host,  Natalie Mariani Kling sits down with father and son, John Delmare and Allan Delmare of Rappahannock Cellars and Dida’s Distillery, both nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  25 years ago John and his wife made the huge decision to leave California and take their eight kids (at the time) across...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. The Adams Group has been in business for over 100 years, getting started when the founder, David Adams was transporting barley from Woodland to the port of Oakland in a horse drawn buggy to be shipped to Britain during a barley shortage in the 1920’s.  Since then the Adams Group has grown into a food ingredient, vege...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Today Natalie talks with Vincent Ricchiuti of Ricchiuti Family Farms.  At just 23 years old Vincent showed up to the annual family board meeting with the bold idea for the family to shift from growing stone fruit to growing other crops that he believed had a better long term outlook.  Natalie talks to Vincent about w...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Today Natalie sits down with Wayne Bishop of Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm.  In 1973, Wayne’s parents, Bill and Sandy Bishop planted the first pumpkins and invited local schools to come visit the farm. Soon after that Sandy and her friends started baking pies in her kitchen to sell to guests when they came to visit.  Since t...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Today Natalie sits down with George Sousa Jr., president of the Mariani Family Premium Dried Fruit & Packing Company. He also happens to be Natalie’s cousin. George and Natalie give a detailed look at the good, the bad and the ugly of running a multi-generational family company, which has been around for over 100...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Join the conversation as your host, Natalie Mariani Kling visits with Donald and Justin Ratajczak, a father and son who are just two of many family members who have been a part of the family owned S&G Carpet and more.  Donald shares how several members of the Ratajczak family started working at the carpet company...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. In this very first episode of "A Seat at the Table",  Steve Bender joins your host, Natalie Mariani Kling, to share the story of transition from his father's company, Warren G. Bender Insurance to what has now become a significant presence in the insurance industry, Bender Insurance Solutions.  You&apo...

Let us know what you thought of this episode and any other comments you may have. Natalie Mariani-Kling introduces herself and this new podcast to serve family owned businesses and the unique challenges they encounter as they pass from generation to generation.  Created by the Capital Region Family Business Center, Natalie explains the purpose and need for a resource just like this.   To learn mor...