Two-Lane Tucson: Stories Behind Local Businesses

Two-Lane Tucson is a podcast about the people behind Tucson’s local businesses. Each episode is a recorded conversation with founders and owners who built restaurants, shops, and companies that became part of the city.Interviews are recorded on location and focus on how these businesses started, survived, and grew in Tucson.

Two-Lane Tucson: Stories Behind Local Businesses is a business podcast hosted by Elaine Bulawin, with 23 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Elaine Bulawin hosts Two-Lane Tucson: Stories Behind Local Businesses, a business show with 23 episodes published.

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  Episode #7

  The Businesses That Keep Tucson Alive | Two Lane Tucson Season 3 Finale

  May 10, 20265 minS3

  <p>What keeps a Tucson business alive when the margins are thin, the summers are brutal, and survival is never guaranteed?</p><p>In this Season 3 finale of Two Lane Tucson, Elaine Bulawin reflects on the stories behind Arizona Hatters, Baja Cafe, Pivot Produce, The Loft Cinema, Kingfisher, and Maya Tea Company — six businesses that reveal something bigger about Tucson itself.</p><p>This episode explores the themes that connected the entire season: craftsmanship, resilience, independence, community, and the slow work of building something that lasts.</p><p>From restoring generations-old cowboy hats to rebuilding local food systems, from surviving th...

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  Episode #7

  The Businesses That Keep Tucson Alive | Two Lane Tucson Season 3 Finale

  May 10, 20265 minS3

  What keeps a Tucson business alive when the margins are thin, the summers are brutal, and survival is never guaranteed? In this Season 3 finale of Two Lane Tucson, Elaine Bulawin reflects on the stories behind Arizona Hatters, Baja Cafe, Pivot Produce, The Loft Cinema, Kingfisher, and Maya Tea Company — six businesses that reveal something bigger about Tucson itself. This episode explores the themes that connected the entire season: craftsmanship, resilience, independence, community, and the slow work of building something that lasts. From restoring generations-old cowboy hats to rebuilding local food systems, from surviving the collapse of independent theaters to creating a manufacturing company with national reach from Tucson, these businesses show what cities lose when local institutions disappear — and what happens when people keep showing up anyway. Two Lane Tucson is where we share the stories of the people building Tucson’s local businesses.

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  Episode #6

  How Maya Tea Quietly Built a National Brand From Tucson | Manish Shah

  May 10, 202630 minS3

  <p>Most people in Tucson have probably had Maya Tea without realizing it.</p><p>What started as homemade chai and a four-foot table at a farmer’s market grew into a company serving more than 2,500 restaurants and coffee shops across the country — all built from Tucson.</p><p>In this episode, Elaine sits down with Manish Shah to talk about:</p><p>– starting Maya Tea in the 1990s while working at Dillard’s<br>– surviving years of uncertainty and expansion<br>– why he brought production in-house instead of outsourcing<br>– the trade show failure that changed the business<br>– what people misu...

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  Episode #6

  How Maya Tea Quietly Built a National Brand From Tucson | Manish Shah

  May 10, 202630 minS3

  Most people in Tucson have probably had Maya Tea without realizing it. What started as homemade chai and a four-foot table at a farmer’s market grew into a company serving more than 2,500 restaurants and coffee shops across the country — all built from Tucson. In this episode, Elaine sits down with Manish Shah to talk about: – starting Maya Tea in the 1990s while working at Dillard’s – surviving years of uncertainty and expansion – why he brought production in-house instead of outsourcing – the trade show failure that changed the business – what people misunderstand about manufacturing and food production – why Tucson entrepreneurs are tougher than they think This conversation is about persistence, independence, and building something real over decades — not overnight.

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  Episode #3

  How Pivot Produce Built Tucson’s Local Food Network

  Apr 30, 202625 minS3

  <p>When chefs in Tucson wanted true farmers-market quality ingredients, the big distributors couldn’t deliver.</p><p>Erik Stanford saw the problem firsthand while working in restaurant kitchens. In 2015, he started Pivot Produce to connect local farms directly with restaurants across Southern Arizona. What began with just four farms and four restaurants has grown into a regional food hub supplying kitchens, schools, and households.</p><p>In this conversation, Erik explains how Pivot started, how the business survived when restaurants shut down during COVID, and why building a local food system is far more complicated than most people realize.</p>...

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