Thanks for the comments ....

The perspective on the first picture is a bit deceptive; the trays will be say 12-14" deep and about 9" wide, so definitely deeper than wide.

Do you still think running the grain sideways for the trays will look OK?  (I get the benefits in other respects - smoother front edge, wood movement etc).   Seems to me grain usually is run in the direction of the long side ....