Ben Kazenmaier 2004

Ben Kazenmaier 2004 learned to be adaptable after graduating from Country Day. He matriculated to George Washington University but decided that D.C. and GWU were not the right fit for him, so he decided to transfer to Tulane for his sophomore year. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina hit before school started, so Ben headed to the College of Charleston for a short program, then participated in UVA’s Semester at Sea program before finally making it to Tulane for his junior year. Upon graduation with a degree in Finance, Ben decided to start not one, but two businesses - City Greens and City Greens Farm. Ben knew that the main reason restaurants fail is because they cannot control their costs. City Greens Farm was created to raise the greens for the restaurants, thereby City Greens could offer fast, made to order, gourmet salads at an affordable price. City Greens has since expanded its restaurant base to include locations in Elmwood and Old Metairie, and City Greens Farm is now a 95,000 square foot hydroponic farm growing over 30 varieties of greens and microgreens which provide sustainably grown products to restaurants throughout the Gulf South. Not one to rest on his heels, Ben has recently worked with a group to design the first of its kind fresh, made to order salad vending machine, The Green House, to be piloted at 650 Poydras in late September 2016. Undoubtedly, there is more on the horizon for this entrepreneur. We look forward to the watching the company’s growth and to following the new projects Ben will pioneer.