Jaime's Local Love Podcast

Azfoodie is the OG when it comes to Arizona food content creators. She started before it was cool by taking beautiful pictures of beautiful food around the Valley. Her pages went viral and pretty soon, Diana Brandt found herself Instagram and TikTok famous. She tells us about handling a new form of fame while always keeping in focus, and why she started in the first place: her love and respect for...

Shantelle and Kenny Girard want to create the next big name in hats. They say they eat, sleep and breathe Rancher Hat Bar. It's a company they started out of a vintage trailer they converted into a hat bar. On the very first day they opened, they had a line around the corner and knew they were onto something! While the Rancher Hat Bar brand is still rather new, it's already grown to three location...

That's the idea behind Jenny's Dresses in Scottsdale. Owner Jenny Weinstein has always loved fashion, and when she found a treasure trove of high-end couture, she knew she had to share the one-of-a-kind pieces. Her collection grew from there and is now expanding to a bridal collection too. Hear how Jenny attended ASU, met her husband at Manzanita, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show...and she's a s...

  In this episode of Jaime's Local Love, Jaime Cerreta chats with Chef Ron Young, the mastermind behind Foodvision. Chef Ron shares his wild journey from working at Nike and Victoria's Secret to cooking for celebs like Kyler Murray, Derrick Rose, and Odell Beckham Jr. Hear how a random encounter with a supportive customer led him to cook for a Hall of Fame linebacker and eventually build a booming...

Celebrity chef Beau MacMillan and managing partner and co-founder Mikis Troyan of Clive Collective tell us how they came together to create the very popular restaurant Cala Scottsdale and the new speakeasy Tell Your Friends. The two industry veterans talk about the ever-changing dining culture in Arizona and why they wanted to develop restaurants that offer incredible design, decor, ambience and s...

It is the question Valley Handbag designer, Jennifer Boonlorn, is always asking herself. It's one her mother asked of her years ago. To answer the question, the Valley native made a huge career pivot. The W.P. Carey School of Business graduate packed her bags and moved to New York City to learn the fashion industry. She then came back home to create her Soul Carrier bags, backpacks, clutches, and...

An Arizona girl had dreams of opening a bakery. In this episode, we meet Lindsey Blatney of the Bakery by LMB. She was going to college when one day she came home and told her mom she was moving to New York City with $400 dollars in her pocket and a goal to work at the famed Magnolia Bakery. She made the move, got the job, and learned what she wanted to know. Then Lindsey moved back home to Arizon...

At In Good Spirits Hospitality Group, "half baked" means they're not done yet. At their restaurants—Citizen Public House, The Gladly, and Beginner's Luck—chef and owner Bernie Kantak and owner-operator Andrew Fritz are constantly tweaking and perfecting their product for the ultimate guest experience, AKA "Half baked." They believe they are in the business of making people happy and there's one me...

The 85 in 85 Local stands for the first two digits of Arizona zip codes. The store is home to 35 diverse and creative Arizona makers. Owner Misty Stachel was a vendor herself when she realized many of the maker's markets were on the east side of town. She set out to start her own in her own zip code in Peoria. Hear how Misty is creating an Arizona gift destination, plus how a throwback t-shirt fro...

Two Arizona sisters are serving up western style apparel adorned in sequins, feathers and fringe. Their first concept, Norde Scottsdale, quickly became an online hit and Old Town Scottsdale destination. Then the space opened up next door, and Faith and Julia Ballor jumped at the chance to open Turquoise Candy Hat Bar. The two sisters were studying at ASU to be lawyers when the pandemic happened an...

Handcrafted jewelry for your wardrobe. Artwork carved in silver adorned with beautiful stones. At Saddlebags in Scottsdale,  you can find silver buckle sets with leather belts. The business is  celebrating 32 years in the Valley. Owner Todd Joseph tells us how it all began with his father and why Hanny's is such a special place to his family. Instagram: @saddlebagsaz www. Saddlebagsaz.com

Haley Balzano of Hale Collective is changing the look of our city. She’s the architect behind renovations at State Farm Stadium, the new restaurants at Sky Harbor Airport, and the new build at the BetMGM Sportsbook. She built a business she calls a collective because she realized to create a beautiful space, you need all your creatives in one place. Hear how Haley went out on her own and brought i...

One woman makes the ice cream, the other serves it in her store. Linda Moran-Whittley worked in accounting before deciding to pursue a passion project after her husband passed away. Karen Gagne of Karen’s Kreamery also worked in accounting before she decided she wanted to start a business in which she could involve the family. Karen’s responsible for the creative flavors like blueberry cardamon an...

Afi Maita comes to the Valley by way of England and West Africa. While in England, Afi graduated in media studies, but it was in Africa as a little girl that the woman who created her fashion styling company—Afi Like Taffy—learned a love of wardrobe from her father. Hear how she fell in love with an American man and moved to across the sea to start a life in Arizona. We find out how Afi started he...

For decades, one Arizona family's been feeding Arizona families. The Miracle Mile Deli is celebrating 75 years in the Valley. Famous for their pastrami sandwiches, the deli serves up big portions at reasonable prices. The restaurant has long given back to the community through work like its reading program with Southwest Human Development. We talk to owner Josh Garcia about the Miracle Mile legacy...

The plants of Arizona hold the keys to withstand the harsh elements of our dry desert. So Earth Based Body skincare turns to nature to moisturize. We meet owner, Nancy Rimbergas. She and her business partner, a skincare scientist, started their business three years ago. They call it succulent skincare using ingredients like desert aloe, prickly pear cactus, and Sonoran lemons in their products. He...

We meet the women behind Frosted Bakehouse in Ahwatukee. Kristina and Celeste met nearly a decade ago while working for a fine grocery store bakery. Each went on to have their own home bakery, then right before Valentine's Day in 2024, they opened a storefront together. Hear the incredible story of how they found their space just two weeks before they were to lose their funding. Frosted Bakehouse...

We talk to the founder of The Sparkle Bar in Old Town Scottsdale. It's a makeup studio where you can have a professional do your make up for headshots, weddings, or just a night out. Alex Bradberry says The Sparkle Bar was born out of necessity. Unless you had a friend who's a makeup artist or wanted to make a purchase at the makeup counter, your options were limited. That was, before she opened h...

It all started with a cookie and grew into a full-size brick and mortar that really rocks at brunch. We are talking dancing in the aisles at this Scottsdale restaurant! We talk to Dana Dumas, the founder and CEO of SugarJam The Southern Kitchen, about how her corporate background trained her to be a savvy businesswoman and how her family's influence taught her a true love of food. SugarJam is name...

We meet the woman behind C2 Interiors, who went from a career in pharmaceutical sales to interior design. Connie Lamoreaux's love of design started young—as a kid, she'd rearrange furniture with her mom at home, in college, she started designing her friends' dorm rooms, and as a professional, they call her "The Material Muse." Connie has a degree in industrial organizational psychology.  We talk a...

In this episode of Jaime's Local Love: The Podcast, we meet the man behind Crust Restaurant Group.  It serves up authentic New York Style Pizza with generous portions at a really good price. The owner, Michael Merendino, says he wants to keep his customers coming in two or three times a week, and not just when they're celebrating. Merendino came to the Valley from New York after September 11th and...

Two Valley teachers loved working together so much they often created projects to combine their math and science classes. Now Lindsay and Emily are tackling their passion project together: Leaving teaching behind to create a neighborhood wine bar on Roosevelt Row called Genuwine Arizona. It was inspired by a self-serve wine machine they discovered in Europe and the two call themselves business sou...

You've likely seen Chris Powell on his frequent appearances on Good Morning Arizona talking about healthy food and fitness. Powell's been a regular on GMAZ for some 20 years and tells us how he garnered that coveted spot and keeps getting booked today. He has a passion for helping others invest in their fitness journey and made a promise to himself to help 1 million people and even tattooed that n...

"If we don't make it, we don't serve it." That's the motto at Persepshen in Phoenix. The restaurant's owners Katherine and Jason Dwight met in culinary school at Scottsdale Community College. Now Katherine creates the pastries and Jason is on meats and veggies at their restaurant off Central and Highland. They started at the farmer's markets with a focus on local ingredients and  everything is rea...

Word of Mouth Grill began with the concept of bringing people together with food. The family-owned and operated barbeque restaurant in Tempe boasts shredded pork like you've never had, a wing flight that takes your taste buds through a myriad of flavors, and heat and elevated collaborative dinners. Hear the incredible story of how the owner Demetrious Makel was left with his brother to raise thems...