NJ Monthly - October 2014

That’s what they did. Draxler met the suppliers in the spring of 2011 and in June relaunched the company as Solex (named for his two young daughters, Sophia and Alexia). In just over three years, Solex has grown from three employees and a van to 40 employees, a fleet of four trucks and two vans, a network of 30 suppliers and an upstate New York smokehouse, Catsmo, which he acquired in 2012. A third daughter, Briella, has him thinking about more expansion so he can name a division after her.

DRAXLER’S MANNER IS MODULATED

in every way, from his quiet, clipped speech to some surgically deft chopstick work on a lunchtime tray of take-out sushi. The only notable excess is his enthusiasm for bagging the next great product, even if most of his hunting these days, aside from the occasional foray for a New Jersey turkey or deer, is by computer or phone.

“I call my dairy farmer and ask for
recommendations of good, small farm-
ers,” he says. “Or a chef says, ‘I’m look-
ing for great buttermilk or yogurt,’ and
I do my research. I go here and there,
but mostly I have samples sent to me.”
A global network, however, means
global headaches. Bad weather in the
country of origin can keep a shipment
from taking off, bad weather here
can keep it from landing, and traffic
can delay its arrival at a restaurant. If