Diarmuid Graham, his wife and friend recently opened a Graze Craze Charcuteries Boards & Boxes franchise in Ponte Vedra Beach. In addition, Graham is a successful pilot. His story should inspire those who yearn to pursue the career of their dreams.
How long have you lived in this area? What brought you here?
I was born in Queens, New York, and lived in Ridgewood, New Jersey, until I was 10. My father’s job transferred him to Jax; he was an electrical engineer. He designed and built the Seminole Powerplant in Palatka. He was in the energy production business designing coal-fired and nuclear power plants.
Your family is from Ireland. Tell me a bit about that and how they came to America.
My father, Joseph, is from Limerick, and my mother, Gabrielle, was from Dublin (she passed away in 2020). My dad is still with us, just had his 89th birthday May 6. (He actually just got back from a wedding in Ireland; my cousin’s daughter got married.)
They left Ireland around 1961 for Scotland, where my older brother Paul was born. From there, they next landed in Switzerland, where my sister Denise was born. They arrived in the U.S. in, I believe, 1966 and me and my younger brother Rob were born in Queens and Staten Island, respectively.
My dad’s job as an engineer has taken him all around the world. My dad has a home on the farm where he was born. Brooklawn is the name of the farm and has been in our family since the 1840s but my family doesn’t work the farm anymore. Most of the land has sold off to developers, but they still have 20-30 acres that are leased out to local dairy farmers for their cows.
I don’t have any relatives in America, besides my immediate family. Everyone is back in Ireland, England and Australia.
Tell me about Graze Craze Charcuteries Boards & Boxes.
Graze Craze is a franchise and is based out of West Palm Beach, Florida. Our franchise is located at 254 Solana Road, Ponte Vedra Beach, in the Ponte Vedra Square shopping center. Winn Dixie is the anchor tenant.
We offer customizable charcuterie boards and boxes for one person or large events for a couple hundred. The concept is catering to businesses (B2B) and large events that they put on, but we have had quite a bit of direct-to-consumer sales. Walk-ins and referrals from other stores in the shopping center. Realtors have been a good portion of our business as well; lots of open houses.
We have several different styles of boards, from our Classic Gone Grazey, Keto Board, Vegegrazian and a Sweet Board. We also have a gluten-free option. This enables us to meet dietary needs of many people. We only use Boar’s Head meats and cheeses and source our produce and fruit several times a week to make sure we have the freshest ingredients available.
We offer take-away and delivery. We will also stage an event if requested.
How long has it been open?
We opened our doors on April 1, 2025.
Who else is involved in the business?
My friend of 20 years, Dan Mariotti (we also fly for the same private airline, FlexJet), is our partner. He is the reason we bought our franchise. My wife Rachael is the general manager, and she really runs the show.
Dan approached us about this opportunity last summer and after careful consideration, we decided to join Dan on this adventure. We actually purchased the St. Augustine territory in May and hope to open our second location by the end of the year somewhere in the S.R. 210 or World Golf Village area if all goes well!
Had you worked in the food service, catering or restaurant industries prior to this?
I have some experience in the restaurant and bar business. I actually bartended at the Brix and Ritz in Jax Beach while I was working on my pilot ratings from 2006 to 2012. Dan has owned and operated several restaurants back in his home state of Connecticut. Rachael also worked at Ponte Vedra Inn and Club and has always had a passion for food. We figured, between the three of us, we can figure this thing out.
How can people learn more about Graze Craze?
They can stop by the store — we are always happy to talk about our store — or they can go to www.grazecraze.com/ponte-vedra-beach-fl. I can be reached via email at diarmuid.graham@grazecraze.com. Store phone: 904-373-0336, or on my cell: 904-614-7996.
You’re also involved in aviation. Can you tell me about that?
Aviation is my passion! Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a pilot. One day I was sitting at my desk at Washington Mutual (I was a residential mortgage originator) and realized I was about to turn 40 and I was stuck in a job that I had no passion for. I knew I had to make a change and asked myself, if I could have any job in the world, what would it be? Well, it was too late to be a professional baseball player, so I told myself, “I am going to be an airline pilot!”
I decided right then to quit my job and start learning to fly. I spent a couple years flight-training during the day at Craig Field and bartending at night at the Brix and Ritz. I flew traffic watch in the mornings and afternoons reporting to the radio stations about the traffic for the commute to and from work and did some banner towing as well.
I got my first paying flying job in 2010 doing aerial survey work for an engineering company. We would fly all over the continental United States in a single engine airplane at 1,500 feet. The flying was great, but the pay was horrible! I was barely able to keep my mortgage paid.
Did that until 2012. I was trying to get a job at the airlines at that time but there was not a lot of hiring going on at that time. So, I was tired of being poor, so I went back to the mortgage business and did that until 2016.
That’s when I got hired at Express Jet Airlines (regional carrier for United). Worked there for about two years, then went to Envoy Air (regional carrier for American) for a year. In 2019, I got hired at FlexJet, a fractional airline, and have been there ever since! It’s a great place to work, and I couldn't be happier!
When I am not flying, I work at the store and help out with marketing/networking, building charcuterie boards, answering the phone, doing anything I can to help make our business a success! It’s been a lot of work, but with the support of our friends and families, we know Graze Craze will be a big success!
