Ryan Miller & Presh Cox

Ryan Miller has been in the restaurant business since he was 20. His career reads like a tour of some of the most recognizable names in American hospitality: Disney, Outback Steakhouse, Macaroni Grill, Red Lobster, Buffalo Wild Wings. He graduated with a hospitality degree and spent decades working for large organizations, helping them grow, open new locations, and raise the bar on the guest experience. He was good at it. And for a long time, that was enough.

But somewhere along the way, the idea of building something for himself started getting louder. He wanted to take a swing at ownership and see what he was made of when the business he was running was now his own.

Presh Cox took a similar road. She had also spent decades in food and hospitality, with a career that included Aramark Sports & Entertainment at Honda Center and Angel Stadium, Buffalo Wild Wings, and a stretch with Medieval Times, before eventually landing in California. When Ryan started exploring franchise concepts, the answer from Presh was simple.

The two had been friends long enough to know how the other thinks. That knowing and trust would turn out to be one of their greatest assets.

The search for the right concept covered a lot of ground. Mobile pet grooming. A senior care franchise. Pest control. Ryan looked seriously at several options before anything clicked. He loves animals, but he could not picture himself in a truck grooming dogs all day. The senior care concept was meaningful, but the passion was not there the same way it was for food. 

Graze Craze was different. The concept felt like a natural fit for two people who had spent their careers in hospitality and understood, at a gut level, what it means to make people feel celebrated. They flew out to Seattle, tried the food, and came back with their answer.

What drew them was not just the product. It was the philosophy behind it: this idea of enlightened hospitality, of going above and beyond, of treating every order like it matters. For Ryan and Presh, that was familiar territory.

For Presh, there was also a more personal moment tucked inside that Seattle trip. When she tried the raspberry jam, it stopped her. It tasted like something her grandmother used to make. She took it as a sign.

million remodel at Disney that involved 450 cast members. By comparison, standing up a Graze Craze location felt straightforward. The operational side came naturally to both of them, and they were getting into a groove with the first location when a neighboring territory became available. Ryan and Presh saw an opportunity. They took it. The decision was consistent with the bigger vision Ryan had in mind, which he will describe with a grin as his ambition to eventually earn the title of Charcuterie King.

What the second location added, beyond square footage and inventory, was a new level of complexity. Both Ryan and Presh hold full-time jobs outside of Graze Craze. Managing two locations while maintaining those commitments has required real creativity and, at times, some hard nights.

Ryan is candid that looking back, he would have waited longer before opening the second location but is happy they took the leap.

Ryan and Presh are not sitting on the sidelines waiting for the brand to grow around them. Ryan serves as president of the Graze Craze advertising fund. Presh is part of the brand’s menu innovation team. The two of them are among the most invested voices shaping where this brand goes next.

That level of involvement is not accidental. It reflects a genuine belief that Graze Craze is on the verge of something significant, and neither of them wants to miss it.

Ryan draws the comparison to Apple stock he once sold too early, a story he tells on himself with the kind of self-awareness that comes from having been in business long enough to recognize the moments that matter. He is not making that mistake again.

With limited time and full-time jobs pulling at both of them, Ryan and Presh have been deliberate about where they invest their marketing energy. The focus has been on high-volume, relationship-driven B2B opportunities, including wedding planners and venue partners. 

They are also working to convert platform-based orders into direct relationships, building loyalty by offering better terms to customers who order straight from the source. 

One of their most effective moves has been showing up personally. They have leaned into building a social presence that puts their faces and personalities front and center, and the community has responded. People connect with the people behind a business, not just the business itself, and Ryan and Presh have made that their advantage.

Ask Ryan what qualities someone needs to succeed in this business and his answer is specific. You don’t need a food background, but you need a food understanding. The two numbers that determine whether an owner makes money, beyond rent, are food cost and labor cost. 

Presh adds the harder-to-quantify element: drive. You cannot coast in this business. You cannot check out at the end of the day. The questions that successful owners ask, such as how to bring in the next dollar and what to do differently, do not stop when you walk out the door.

Both of them also emphasize the importance of who you do this with. Ryan describes his partnership with Presh in terms of complementary strengths. He is the one who paints the fence and convinces everyone else it was their idea. She is the one who actually makes sure the fence gets painted. Together, they cover the gaps neither could manage alone.

Ryan does not sugarcoat it. This business requires owners who are fully in.

But for the right person, someone with the drive, the financial cushion, the right partner, and a genuine love for what this brand represents, Ryan believes the upside is real and the timing is right.

He puts it simply: you are not getting into the jacuzzi. You are jumping into the deep end. The only question is whether you can swim.