Northside restaurant has Cincy State ties

(Article by Richard Curtis, Cincinnati State Media Coordinator)

The opening of Dean’s Mediterranean Table in Northside, in March 2026, highlighted a successful bridge between Cincinnati State and the local business community.

The restaurant team features talent from two Cincinnati State programs: Head Chef Alex Boland, a former Culinary Arts student, and Marketing Director/Floor Manager Breezy Redden, a 2025 graduate of the Marketing Management program.

Located at 4024 Hamilton Ave., the full service, all-day café has 25 seats and serves freshly made mezzes (small dishes), wraps, flatbreads, and full entrees. The concept evolved from the carry-out offerings at Dean’s Mediterranean Imports, the Findlay Market grocery store and anchor for the restaurant.

“It’s been an amazing transition and learning experience to open the restaurant,” said Boland, who began at the Findlay Market location 11 years ago, and where she worked while attending MCI.

She considers MCI professors Chef Meg Galvin and Chef Greg Skibinski as primary inspirations.

“Alex worked very hard at MCI,” Galvin said. “She’s the student everyone dreams of—she’s all in.”

Galvin dined at the restaurant during its opening week.

“It’s probably one of the best places we’ve been to in a long time,” Galvin said. “The food is really good, and the aesthetics of the restaurant are gorgeous. It’s very European. It’s open. You felt like you were going to someone’s home.”

Owner Kate Zaidan also owns Dean’s Mediterranean Imports, which she took over from her father, Dean Zaidan, a Lebanese immigrant who started the store in 1985.

“We carry all these amazing ingredients in the store, and I thought it would be very cool to use those ingredients in some kind of culinary situation,” Zaidan said.

What started as a carry-out menu at the Findlay Market location became so popular that it grew into the concept for the separate Northside sit-down restaurant.

Still, Zaidan knew that moving away from the high-traffic market would require a dedicated marketing strategy. She reached out to four local colleges about the possibility of hiring a marketing co-op.

“Cincinnati State was the only co-op program that got back to me,” said Zaidan. “I give Co-op Coordinator Brian Hooten props because he said, ‘I know just the person for you.’”

That student was Redden, who completed a co-op with Dean’s in Spring 2025. After Redden’s graduation in August 2025, Zaidan hired her full time as the marketing director for both the store and the restaurant, where she also serves as floor manager.

“I am inspired by my job every day—that’s what you aim for in college,” said Redden, a first-generation, non-traditional student who also performs stand-up comedy regionally.

Hooten called placing Redden with Dean’s “a no-brainer.”

“To do this job, you have to have a Rolodex of the students you are working with. Breezy resides in Northside, so she knows the culture. She’s a self-starter and a performer. She also worked in the restaurant business for years.”

Zaidan said she is looking forward to hiring more co-ops in the future, most likely from the College’s culinary programs.

Because of the restaurant’s intimate scale of 25 seats, reservations are suggested. A planned outdoor patio area will add another 25 seats.

For more information, including the full menu and reservation links, visit the Dean’s Mediterranean website or Instagram.