Hilton Sedona Resort & Spa Getting New Director is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

If you are like many people in Arizona, someone in your neighborhood has a solar home. Yes, Arizonans are finally doing more than tanning with the enormous amount of free solar energy that falls on our state.  Are you curious if solar is right for you?

Join your neighbors and friends for the FREE Value the Verde Solar Tour on Saturday, October 22 from 9 to 3pm.  Meet people like yourselves who have gone solar. Talk to experts who can help you make sure solar is right for your home or business. Learn about the incentives, tax breaks and financing options that can help you save energy and save money.

Sustainable Arizona^TM is hosting the tour as part of National Solar Energy Month. The Arizona Solar Energy Association is staging similar tours across Arizona. The Value the Verde Tour is self-guided, so you can see what you want when you want. Guidebooks are available for download at www.SustainableArizona.org. The tour is free and open to everyone, thanks in part due to a grant from Sedona Community Foundation.

“There will be a dozen sites on the tour, and we did our best to cluster several solar homes fairly close together in Clarkdale, Cottonwood and Sedona,” said John Neville of Sustainable Arizona. “That way, you can visit a number of different sites and see different homes and different energy solutions in a very short time.”

The solar tour features a range of home styles and needs and a corresponding variety of solar installations. People can see photovoltaic solar retrofits on smaller and larger homes. There will be different solar electric technologies, including thin film photovoltaics. In addition, there will be homes with solar thermal systems that heat hot water.

“Hot water solar systems are a great way to get into solar with a low upfront investment,” said Matt Bonnstetter of SolarWorks, one of the experts on the tour. “While photovoltaic electric systems are providing a good return on investment, hot water systems start paying for themselves within a couple of years. And then, like solar electric, they keep paying and paying. It’s become one of the best investments you can make.”

Maps and descriptions will be available in advance at the Well Red Coyote bookstore and the Sedona Public Library in Sedona and at Jerona Java in Cottonwood. Tour guides are also available for downloading at www.SustainableArizona.org. Just click on the GoSolar logo.

According to Neville, the time has never been better to upgrade the energy systems in your home or business. “The utilities still offer incentives plus the federal and state tax credits are great. Best of all, the price of installing solar has dropped dramatically over the past few years. It’s cheaper now to go solar than ever before.”

In addition to solar homes, the tour will feature two solar business sites.  Sedona Recycles has a new 12 kilowatt solar array thanks to a grant from APS. Executive Director, Jill McCutcheon, is enthusiastic. “We are very pleased with the system. It provides most of our power and saves us a bundle, which is important for a business like ours.”

The other business on the tour is the Sedona Oak Creek School District Administration building. Like Sedona Recycles, this is a green building from the ground up. Along with seeing the solar installation, people can learn about the energy and water efficiency systems in use.

For more information on solar energy in Arizona, visit Arizona Solar Center at www.AzSolarCenter.org.

Sustainable Arizona is a resource and education council dedicated to improving the quality of life through the pursuit of sustainable development. You can learn more by visiting www.SustainableArizona.org.

The Sedona Community Foundation matches donor interests with community needs and is an affiliate of the Arizona Community Foundation. For more information on how you can create a lasting impact in your community, contact Delstene Atkinson at 282-1058, email datkinson@azfoundation.org or visit www.sedonafoundation.org.

Verde Valley Solar Tour October 22nd is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

With the holiday season fast approaching, the Sedona Hilton Resort and Spa has several ideas on planning get-togethers.

Why Not Combine Office Christmas Celebrations with Your Last Meeting of the Year?

Check out our special Christmas offers or speak to the sales team about your event and you may be able to take advantage of a special Christmas meeting offers whereby your meeting package could incorporate a festive twist to include a delicious three course Christmas dinner, plus the option of extending your event to invite partners along for the Christmas meal.

Consider having an elegant Winemaker Dinner Party in a private dining room to show your appreciation to your hard working team. Sedona Arizona and the Verde Valley is the nation’s fastest growing wine region. Let our experienced catering staff plan your party around a pairing of exceptional food with distinctive wines.

How about Christmas Team Building! Enhance your Christmas meeting or party with fun festive culinary team building activities. Thank the stars of your team by treating them to a specially adapted Christmas team building challenge.

- Christmas Canapé Challenge – Create Christmassy canapés! Teams must communicate as a team to devise, design and deliver a selection of festive canapés. After announcing the winning team the only task left is to enjoy your creation.

- Christmas Cocktail Challenge – The perfect way to end your working day or start your Christmas party! Our cocktail challenge gets your teams working together to create perfect chilled Christmas cocktails.

- Christmas Chocolate Challenge – The chocolate challenge pits your people against each other, working on presentation skills to design, make and promote the best Christmas chocolate bar.

http://www.hiltonsedonaresort.com

Sedona Resort Booking Holiday Parties is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

When looking to attract businesses to Northern Arizona, economic development experts should consider a new secret weapon: grandchildren. It was grandchildren that attracted Edward (Ted) Foley to Sedona.

“When I retired from a career in business in the Cleveland area, I had married kids living in Sedona. I came to retire – but shortly after, I got involved with a fellow who was creating a CPA exam review course. He was looking to raise capital,” said the former vice president of planning and control for TRW Systems’ Guided Missile Research Division. During the Cold War, Foley was on the team that supervised development of the first intercontinental ballistic missile. Foley, along with others, decided to invest, and CPAexcel, an exam review product, was first offered to CPA candidates in 1998.

In 2002, Foley and other original investors bought the assets from the founder. “I became the CEO of the new entity. We had the benefit of starting with a product that had already been developed… I am no longer retired,” he laughed. Today, Efficient Learning Systems, Inc. (ELS) is a national company based in Sedona and has grown to a staff of 25.

“We prepare accountants to pass the Uniform Certified Public Accountant exam so they can become Certified Public Accountants,” explained Foley. According to the Sedona businessman, ELS is the most rapidly growing company in the education sector. One of the factors that distinguishes Efficient Learning Systems from its competitors is the team of 10 accounting professors and CPA Exam Review instructors from top accounting schools across the country.

“We have a team of professors who are outstanding. They write the content and we record them on video giving the lectures,” said Foley. Lectures are videotaped in the studio at ELS headquarters. The studio was part of the build-out when ELS moved into new space at La Tierra Plaza in Sedona.

“Professors who are in Chicago in the dead of the winter are happy to come to Sedona [to record their presentations]. And it’s not a bad place to come to in the spring, summer or fall,” said Foley who clearly appreciates his working environment.

According to Foley, leading technology is another of ELS’s advantages over the competition. “We inherited that from the original creator who was a college computer sciences professor. We created software from scratch with elements that are very tightly integrated. Typically, our students learn about 25 percent more per study hour.”

The technology allows for 650 bite-sized lessons. “The average duration of our video lectures is seven minutes, compared to the one-hour programs of our competitors. What that means is that each bite-sized lesson focuses on a single topic. Then candidates are tested with past exam questions. Our clients conquer one piece at a time. Learning it and testing it, and learning and testing,” Foley said.

“The single most popular part of our courses is that you can knock off a lesson on your lunch hour. If it’s an hour program, God help you, you’re not going to do that on a lunch hour,” said Foley. “To be a CPA, you have to know an enormous amount of data.”

The courses are continually updated to reflect changes in the CPA exam and tax laws. The CPA exam is scored and administered by American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). “The AICPA completely overhauled the exam released on Jan. 2, 2011. So, 2010 was a year in which we had to completely redo our course. There was a real crunch on for a few months, with professors coming to Sedona to get videotaped,” Foley said. Trailhead Video LLC of Sedona helped augment the work of ELS’s in-house video staff.

“At the end of this year, the government might decide to totally revamp our tax system. If that happens, we will be totally revamping the tax portion of our review course,” said Foley.

On Sept. 1, the innovative company released a suite of mobile course apps. The course can now be accessed via iPad, iPhone and Android. “We’ve been growing rapidly and we continue to grow rapidly. We deliver a lot more value for the same price. For example, these new mobile products will be offered to current clients for free. And for new customers, the prices are very reasonable,” said Foley.

“Our investors are happy; our employees are happy,” said a proud Foley. And it looks as if the “secret weapon” is keeping the company in Sedona. “I spend a lot of time with my family here, and I’m now a great-grandfather,” he said.

Which is great news, because ELS provides CPA Exam candidates, colleges and universities, CPA firms and other entities with a choice of high quality CPA review courses at competitive prices. FBN

American Institute of CPAs

www.aicpa.org

Efficient Learning Systems, Inc.

1120 W. SR 89A, Suite D9, Sedona

888-884-5669

www.cpaexcel.com

Find a CPA in Northern Arizona:

https://secure.ascpa.com/find_a_cpa

Sedona Company Helping Prepare Future Accountants is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

Chamber Music Sedona is presenting Native Voices, October 8th. Native Voices brings together two legendary performers from America’s indigenous peoples—Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai and Hawaiian Slack Key guitarist Keola Beamer.  Long regarded as trend-setting musicians and articulate spokesmen for their cultures, Nakai and Beamer will be appearing together for the first time to promote their collaborative  CD,  “Native Voices ” on Canyon  Records.  Their concert performances will include music played on Native American and Hawaiian flutes, Slack Key guitar, and chanting from both cultures.

R. CARLOS NAKAI
To become the world’s premier Native American flutist, R. Carlos Nakai had to rely more on research and innovation and less on his Navajo-Ute heritage. While the Diné had a strong flute-playing tradition, it was lost when they migrated from the Northwest Plains of Canada to the Southwest over five centuries ago. While Nakai may not have been “born to the flute,” it was curiosity about his heritage that led him to it.
During the late 1960s while researching American Indian music and traditional instruments, the wooden flute piqued Nakai’s interest, but it wasn’t until 1972 that he took it up seriously. Prior to that Nakai had devoted his musical energies to classical training on the cornet and trumpet.
In his usual determination to have a thorough knowledge of the instrument, Nakai crafted his own from oak wood. He later learned from a flute-making teacher that cedar is the only wood that works well. He also discovered that there are no standard dimensions. The finger holes and air column are based on hand and finger measurements and are never the same. As a result, each flute has a different sound and pitch, which makes the tonality of the instruments random.  Nakai views each flute less as a musical instrument than “as a sound sculpture – a piece of art that also creates sound.”
Part of Nakai’s philosophy is to ensure that the native flute does not become a “museum piece” of a bygone culture.  Through his original compositions and other musical collaborations, Nakai intends to show the instrument’s versatility and capabilities. Over the past three decades, Nakai has melded his classical training with his expertise on the cedar flute to form a complex, sophisticated sound that not only reveals the flute’s uniqueness, but  covers the spectrum of musical genres: from devotional meditations to jazz  ensembles to full symphonic works.  Additionally, Nakai creates new sounds for the flute using electronic technology such as synthesizers and digital delay.
A native Arizonan, Nakai’s southwestern surroundings as well as his culture, heavily influence his work. He points out “A lot of what I’ve been taught culturally, comes from an awareness of the environment… How I feel is based on my impressions of being in certain spaces at certain times. Thinking  back…on personal tribal stories and the history of my culture figures into how  I organize my music.”
While solo flute albums are the core of his work, Nakai is ambitious regarding joining forces with other musicians. He views collaborations as  “ philosophical communication between…musicians” and opportunities to explore beyond traditional musical and cultural boundaries.  His projects include Island of Bows, recorded with a Japanese group using acoustic and traditional Japanese instruments; Red Wind, with luthier and guitarist William Eaton and percussionist Will Clipman; Winds of Devotion with Tibetan flutist Nawang  Khechog; Inside Monument Valley with silver flutist Paul Horn, andAncient  Future with his Native Jazz group, the R. Carlos Nakai Quartet.  He has also recorded two symphonic CD’s featuring classical pieces written especially for him by Arizona composer James DeMars.  His latest project is Native Voices, a collaboration with Hawaiian Slack Key guitarist Keola Beamer. In addition to his artistic successes, Nakai has amassed unprecedented commercial  honors, including 6 Grammy nominations and the first  two Gold Records to be  awarded to a traditional Native American musician.  A prolific musician and composer, he has 37 albums in commercial distribution, including 28 releases on the Canyon Records label.   Just counting his Canyon titles, Nakai recently surpassed 3,500,000 units sold worldwide.
When Nakai is not recording, composing or researching, his year is spent touring throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan performing and lecturing on Native American culture and philosophy. Nakai wouldn’t have it any other way. “…We were put on the earth to experience life in its totality. And if you’re not doing that, you’re essentially wasting your time.”

KEOLA BEAMER
Keola Beamer is a recognized master of Hawaiian artistic expression. The fascinating history of his family can be traced back to the 15th century. In traditional Hawaiian society, alii (royalty) recognized that sounded words possess mana (spiritual power).  They encouraged musical expression as a way to preserve information and communicate with one another and the gods. Throughout the generations, the Beamers have been involved in the performing arts.  In the 20th century, they produced a number of influential performers, composers, and teachers. Keola’s great- grandmother, Helen Kapuailohia Desha Beamer (1882-1952), was one of Hawaiÿi’s most prolific and accomplished composers. She was also a skilled dancer whose grace left a lasting imprint on the hula (Hawaiian dance). Her granddaughter, Winona (Nona) Kapuailohia Desha Beamer, is Keola’s mother. A noted chanter, composer, and teacher, Nona is revered for her scholarship and accomplishments in the education of native Hawaiian children.
Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Desha Beamer carries the legacy into the 21st century.  “My family is serious about music,” Keola says. “We come from a history of oral tradition in which music and storytelling is a central component. Our Hawaiian genealogies, land boundaries, and navigational information were all in the chant form. We are now beginning to realize the wealth of that knowledge and how so much of it has been lost. We are finally regaining some of these meanings and incorporating them in our own lives.”
Keola has played guitar, piano, and ohe hano ihu (Hawaiian nose flute) since he was very young. He studied hula and sang in glee clubs while attending Kamehameha School, a school for children of Hawaiian ancestry. Keola attended Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. He was an active teacher of kï hö alu  (slack key guitar) in the 1970s and compiled the first comprehensive teaching  manual on the subject, Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar (Oak Publications, New York) .  His contributions to slack key during the 70s began to spark public interest in kï hö alu, launching a statewide revival of the tradition. His teaching continues today with extensive seminars on the island of Hawaii in which guitarists and dancers from all over the world gather in an extended ohana format called “The Aloha Music Camps.”
Keola is especially noted for his ability to recontextualize ancient Hawaiian mele (songs) into contemporary settings in which he has created a style uniquely his own.  His history has been a series of groundbreaking events, beginning in 1972 with the solo slack key album Hawaiian Slack Key In The Real Old Style. That LP is considered by many to be the catalyst for the revival of kï hö alu. His 1978 release, Honolulu City Lights, is the largest selling recording in the history of Hawaiian music.
In 1994, Wooden Boat, Keola’s first release on George Winston’s Dancing Cat label, became the first Hawaiian music CD ever to reach the top 15 on the Billboard World Music Charts. All four of his subsequent releases for Dancing Cat, Tales From The Dream Guitar, White Mountain Journal, From the Gentle Wind, and Soliloquy (The Voice Within) have also reached the Top 15.  Keola’s recent recording, Island Born, released on his own Ohe Records label, received rave reviews and nationwide airplay.
Keola Beamer’s live concert performances embody the magical otherworldliness of this melodic language of dreams. His unique and polished  style of musicianship skillfully accentuates the stories that his songs tell about the culture and the experience of being Hawaiian in a contemporary world.  The repertoire he presents is a three-dimensional experience, combining the elements of mele (song), hula (dance), and oli (chant) with native percussion instruments and Hawaiian folklore.
In March of 2001, Maui-based filmmaker, Ken Burgmaier, filmed Keola in concert at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.  This blossomed into a full-length feature documentary entitled Keola Beamer: Kï Hö alu — Loosen the Key, which has won major awards at film festivals in New York, Houston and Los Angeles. Keola continues to expand on the slack key tradition as well as author books, including a best-selling collection of original Hawaiian stories entitled “The Shimmering – ka olili”.   Keola Beamer lives on the Island of Maui with his wife, Moanalani.

More information is available at www.chambermusicsedona.org

Chamber Music Sedona Presenting Native Voices is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

Volunteers Sought on National Public Lands Day is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

It‘s been nearly 10 years, but the emotions of working at Ground Zero just after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks are still close to the surface for Mark Ranges.

“I don’t look at the pictures. I can watch things on TV, but I still can’t look at the pictures,” he said.

Ranges, owner of Sedona Off Road Center, was in the Emergency Medical Service for 30 years in New Jersey when the twin towers came crashing down.

“I was a volunteer in New Jersey. New Jersey has the largest number of volunteer EMS in the nation – 17,000. It’s a big system. When [September 11] happened, the [New York] city resources were all tied up. Some of us were told to stand by with an ambulance in case of an injury during the search and rescue. Crushed vehicles had to be processed and opened up,” he said. “We had the equipment and the experience to do what needed to be done.”

Their job was to open the vehicles, search for bodies or body parts, personal effects, government property and evidence.

His team worked non-stop for 30 hours before being replaced by the next one.

“We worked on all kinds of vehicles. Ambulances and fire trucks make a huge difference emotionally,” he said.

His son Darryl, now 29, worked by his side.

“No one could have lived through that without it having an impact on you. People we knew were killed there. The perspective is a little different,” he said.

After September 11, the 30 years of EMS had reached the tipping point for Ranges.

“Part of the reason I’m in Arizona and not in New Jersey is that it put an end to my wanting to do it anymore. When you see that kind of thing again and again over time, it is cumulative.”

There were incidents before September 11 that he had dealt with that were tough.

“The urge to go to a different place was stronger. A change of venue was needed,” he said. “In 2003, I was kind of looking for a place to relocate. Nothing felt warm and fuzzy. When I came to Arizona for a visit, it just called out. This is where I wanted to be.”

Four months later, he was here.

He came without a job, but was confident he could find employment, because it was time, too, for a change in career.

His background included 30 years in the cleaning industry working with toxic cleaners.

When he developed pre-cancer, he threw in the cleaning towel and began massage therapy school, which he finished and became licensed.

“I was going to massage school when September 11 happened,” he said.

Since arriving in Arizona, he uses his massage skills less, but likes working on someone to relieve a particular complaint.

His first job in Sedona was driving jeep tours.

“I drove for another company. Because it is legal to ride ATVs here, I thought why don’t we rent them and let them go out and do their own thing. We bought a couple of machines as a part-time thing,” he said.

The business grew from there and now offers six Tomcars and five ATVs.

Ranges started Sedona Off Road Center in January of 2006, just before the economy began its downturn.

“We’ve had our ups and downs and things are better this year so far. We had to do our due diligence because of the economy, but we are surviving,“ he said.

The business keeps him busy, but he does get involved with worthwhile causes in the community. But, he has purposely stayed away from the fire district.

“I am single again. It’s neither good nor bad. It’s just the way it is. Coming to Arizona, I found out things about myself and life that did not come across in New Jersey. It’s a totally different lifestyle and it takes some adapting,“ he said.

His son joined him in Arizona, and he has a daughter, Crystal, 34, who lives in Fairfax, Va.

“I enjoy getting out and enjoying the outdoors here. I do hunt deer and elk,” he said. FBN

Sedona Off Road Center is at 211 State Route 179 in Sedona. The phone number is HYPERLINK “tel:%28928%29%20282-5599″928-282-5599.

Discovering Life’s New Paths Among the Red Rocks is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

Message from Carl Taylor, Coconino County District One Supervisor:

I wanted to make sure that you are aware that the County supervisorial districts have to be redrawn as a result of the census results.  This is a requirement of the Dept. of Justice and is quite involved.  Salient guidelines are as follows:

1.  Draw districts of equal population.  A deviation of up to 5% is allowable, but less is better.
2.  Do not dilute the voting strength of racial and/or language minority groups.
3.  Preserve communities of interest.
4.  Districts must be compact and contiguous.
5.  Maintain traditional geographic and political boundaries.
6.  Do not create a substantial, long-term negative effect on a specific political party.
7.  Base the new plan on existing districts, to the extent possible.
8.  When drawing district boundaries, take into account current incumbents.

Our County staff and Supervisors have spent considerable time wrestling with this.  The single largest problems we face are caused by the substantial out-migration from the Navajo and Hopi people – resulting in little or no growth in District 5 (Supervisor Lena Fowler) and to a less extent in District 4 (Supervisor Mandy Metzger).  On the other hand, District 3 (Supervisor Matt Ryan) had very substantial growth – approximately 30% and thus must shed voters.

Unfortunately, we cannot just transfer precincts between 5 and 3 because they are not contiguous.  The result is that every district has to be redrawn in order to transfer enough population to District 5 – while trying to follow the above guidelines.

We have created 3 scenarios (imaginatively called A, B and C) which appear to be within the DOJ guidelines in terms of acceptable impact on minorities, etc.  Some transfer very substantial portions of existing districts – especially District 1.  Careful review is required to understand the potential transfer of precincts within the City of Flagstaff.

We are inviting public review and input on these three options – which you can examine at the County Admin Building or find on the County website (www.Coconino.az.gov/redistricting).  Please pay particular attention to the potential impacts on your precinct in deciding which, if any, of these options that you prefer.  It is also OK to say that you do not like any of them.

I am the primary author of one of the options, which I would be happy to disclose if you wish; but, in any event please take a look and let us know what you think.  The Supervisors are divided regarding their preferences and public input will be helpful in clarifying which of these redrawn districts would be preferred by their constituents.

We are under time pressure on this, so your quick review and response will be most helpful.

Concerns Over Redistricting is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

Recognized for its advances in solar tracking systems and algorithms, Sedona Energy Labs (SEL) was awarded one of eight grants in the Arizona Commerce Authority’s Arizona Innovation Challenge.  SEL won for its InteliTrack™ Solar Tracking System that generates up to 40% more power from a solar array and for its MaxxTRAK™ Solar Controller, a microchip-based unit that controls a solar tracker. “We are extremely pleased to be recognized by the ACA,” said Mark Scanlon, CEO, “This grant helps us commercialize our products as we move into the market.”  The InteliTrack Solar Tracking System includes single and dual-axis systems for ground, rooftop, and carport mounting.  The systems are used in residential, commercial, industrial and utility scale solar energy projects. The Arizona Commerce Authority awarded a total of $1.5 million to eight innovative Arizona companies chosen from more than 100 entrants to speed development and the commercial launch of promising technology. The winning proposals showcase each company’s ability to attract outside capital investment, create wealth through fast growth, provide quality, high wage employment opportunities, and generate export sales and tax revenue. “Now is the time to invest in Arizona’s entrepreneurs,” said Governor Jan Brewer.  ”As we refocus on the state’s aggressive economic growth plan, we will continue to promote programs like this that are sure to increase our state’s economic competitiveness and drive new business to the great state of Arizona.” “The Arizona Commerce Authority is committed to the success of Arizona’s entrepreneurs and small technology ventures. We’re funding innovators that will bridge the gap between Research & Development and commercial launch of new technologies,” said Don Cardon, President and CEO of the ACA.  ”We are proud to be able to fund such innovative technology; this gives Arizona another step up as we compete with today’s global technology industry.”

Sedona Energy Labs Wins Innovation Challenge is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper

To raise awareness during May–Celiac Awareness Month, Picazzo’s in Flagstaff and Sedona have some Gluten free specials.

Take $2 Off Any Gluten-Free Pasta or $1 Off Any Gluten-Free Pasta Lunch Combo.

Now through Tuesday, May 31, management encourages patrons to try gluten-free pasta offerings made with organic quinoa for two dollars off the regular price. Or, order one as a lunch combo for one dollar off.  Menu selections also include gluten-free appetizers and desserts.

(More on Picazzo’s and its owner, Rick Freedman, written by FBN’s  Stephanie Balzer.)

Picazzo’s Organic Italian Kitchen may be known for many things but two frequently stand out, and they are both the ideas of restaurateur and owner Rick Freedman.

One: In March of this year, all nine of the classic pizzerias—located in Flagstaff, Sedona, throughout metropolitan Phoenix and now, Tucson—began using organic ingredients in everything. The word “organic” was also added to the restaurant’s name.

“The scary part of going organic is the expense,” said Freedman, a former high-end homebuilder who got into the restaurant business in 2002 with his first location in Sedona, where he makes his home with wife Carol.

“But I know that people should be eating better,” he added, “and people know they should be eating better.”

According to Flagstaff Picazzo’s General Manager Garner Vincent, who began working there in college and never left: “people appreciate a conscious dining experience. And then it’s just an added benefit for everyone else.”

Freedman’s second innovation in this list was actually the first: Picazzo’s was among the first restaurants in Arizona to create and advertise a gluten-free menu—never mind that gluten, which is a protein found in many grain products, including wheat, is nearly unavoidable in Italian food.

Today, lots of restaurants are catering to gluten-free eaters, but eight years ago practically no one had heard of a gluten intolerance. Freedman himself learned of in an unusual way: he knew three people who couldn’t stomach wheat, and they all worked where he got his haircut.

There were three people in one place that couldn’t eat pizza in most restaurants? Freedman thought this was an untapped market, and he was right.

Gluten-free cuisine may only represent about 10 percent of the business’ sales today, but Freedman said it is the kind of offering that can create brand loyalty and distinguish Picazzo’s from its competitors.

“You have to constantly reinvent yourself,” he added, which was why, despite tough economic times, he decided to take the restaurants organic. That meant finding new vendors, rewriting recipes, reconsidering budgets, and rebranding marketing materials.

Picazzo’s today employs more than 300 and serves food to between 30,000 and 40,000 people every two weeks.

The original vision was a fast-casual restaurant where guests would order at a counter and take a number, but the concept evolved to fit the first restaurant space, which was organized better to be a sit-down diner with a wait staff. The founding philosophy was to keep the menu simple: pizza, salads, appetizers and drinks. Because the space had a bar, Freedman and his partners got a liquor license and served wine and beer.

They followed a model of organic growth—no pun intended— navigating among choices as they presented themselves, and that’s still the philosophy today: “I just think that it’s kind of in me,” Freedman said of the businesses’ expansions into new markets.

Freedman got into the restaurant business for several reasons: he wanted a business that would be profitable even in a down economy, he missed a particular pizzeria back in Portland, Ore., and he loves to cook.

Yet despite being successful as a homebuilder, and also having worked in food distribution before building homes, Freedman said starting a restaurant was “tough.”

“It was tons of work. More work that I even imagined,” he said, framing the experience as “Groundhog Day.”

Yet despite the work he hasn’t ruled out adding additional culinary concepts to his restaurant portfolio in the future.

Freedman smiled slyly.

“I’m always playing.”

Gluten-Free Eaters Welcomed at Picazzo’s is a post from: Flagstaff Business & Online News | Northern Arizona Local Newspaper