This is personal. The FOOD chamber of commerce is my passion project because I love food entrepreneurs— not the highlight reel, but the grind… the risk… the 16-hour days… the holiday deprivation… the sleepless nights… the weight of providing for employees, customers, and family when everything is on the line.

This is also a love letter to my parents — my heroes!

They built a successful food business from scratch. No safety net. No family money. No backup plan.

Just courage, hard work… and relentlessness!

My parents were over-worked and under-paid for decades. And yet, I never heard my father say he was tired. Not once. No complaints. No excuses. Never heard him say, I quit!

My mother worked two jobs — including one just so we could have health insurance — while still helping run the family food business.

That’s where my respect for entrepreneurs was born.

I understand the pressure. The wins. The losses.

The whole family carries the dream together.

The FOOD Chamber of Commerce is my gift to the community I admire.

My way of giving back.

A non-profit, volunteer project built to stand beside the risk-takers… the dreamers… the people signing the front of the paycheck — even when they’re not sure one is coming for themselves.

Because food entrepreneurs don’t just build businesses.

They build memories. They build communities.

And they deserve all of our support.

Thanks for listening,

“Larry Ravioli” Vivola