• A native North Dakotan, Jess Harter moved to the Valley of the Sun in 1987 and worked for two decades as a newspaper reporter and editor.

• His food & drink coverage has appeared in the Arizona Republic, East Valley Tribune, Phoenix Magazine, Phoenix New Times, and other publications.

• In 2010, Jess launched Mouth by Southwest – MXSW for short – a blog about restaurants, breweries, and bars in the Phoenix metro area.

• Although originally intended to be just a fun hobby, MXSW quickly developed a large audience and restaurants began asking to advertise.

• Since 2010, MXSW has been a full-time job for Jess, who serves as writer, photographer, ad salesman, marketing rep, social media specialist, accountant, and IT person.

• More than two million unique users (aka, different people)  visit MXSW each year for information about local restaurants, breweries, and bars.

• MXSW has been named Best Valley Food Blog by Phoenix Magazine.