Budd Dairy Food Hall chef partner creates Israeli dishes

First-ever hummusiya in Ohio

May 28, 2019

12:00 AM

Chris Casella

Fun Food (and Milk) Facts

110 applications were submitted for the eight chef partner positions. Those were narrowed down to 15 applicants, all of whom pitched their restaurant booth concept to a team at Cameron Mitchell Restaurants and Cameron Mitchell himself.

According to Steve Weis, Dara Schwartz was the closest to receiving a 100 percent by the CMR team that judged the applicants.

The Budd Dairy building was built in 1916 as a milk factory. By 1925, the company was booming and 25 percent of Columbus received their milk from the factory.

Back in 1913, Hallmark was one of the first industries to mass produce Valentine’s Day cards.

The factory was also a community space in the past. In the 1940s, a local dance was hosted on the second floor where a radio played big band music from a Pittsburgh-based station.
In college, Schwartz introduced many of her friends to hummus by bringing her homemade dips to parties.

Every Darista Dip is inspired by flavor memories, moments in Schwartz’s life when she ate delicious food with friends, family and strangers all over the world. Schwartz is now on a mission to share those flavors in and beyond Columbus.

For the past year or so, Columbus has buzzed about the new Cameron Mitchell Budd Dairy Food Hall in an old yet beautiful dairy factory in Italian Village. The structure is undergoing a major renovation, and even though it’s hit some bumps due to its classification as a historic building, don’t worry; the innovative food hall is expected to open late 2019.

The food hall will be located in the original factory and feature a couple of bars including a rooftop hangout, community tables, games and several booths serving a variety of food. Apart from the rotating booth that is incubator-style and will host up-and-coming chefs or local culinary students’ work, there are eight chef partners each bringing their unique flavors.

“It’s going to be this great community asset,” says Steve Weis, vice president of development for Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. “We’re trying to create this really great dining experience that is all about featuring our chef partners. And we wanted to create an environment where people are sharing tables and interacting with other folks.”

One chef partner, Dara Schwartz, is bringing some new flavors to Columbus with her first-ever restaurant, Darista. Inspired by her Jewish grandfather who owned a restaurant in Chicago, Schwartz wanted to incorporate her heritage into the menu by creating an Israeli hummusiya – a restaurant focused on hummus – with a Mediterranean twist.

“We’re really proud to say this will be the first hummusiya in Columbus and actually, as of right now, in Ohio,” Schwartz says. “We want to encourage people to try new flavors and eat in a different way by sharing, and it just happens to be healthy. … It’s all about being a memorable experience.”

Schwartz is already a pro to the food scene, though. After realizing the lack of authentic and tasty hummus in grocery stores, Schwartz set out and created Darista Dips in 2010. Incorporating ingredients such as beets, curry, peppers and chocolate, the pre-packaged dips are inspired by her world travels and sold in local grocery stores.

As for Darista in the food hall, the menu centers around the dips. Patrons can try lemon curry chicken, lamb meatballs with tzatziki sauce, roasted carrots with harissa honey sauce and more, all on a thick bed of creamy Jerusalem hummus. Darista will also sell baked goods and vegan shakes, all of which feature tahini, a sesame-based spice.

“I’m so thrilled and humbled to be a part of this,” Schwartz says. “The other chef partners and the support of Cameron Mitchell (Restaurants) is really energizing.”

For the CMR team, they knew Schwartz was a perfect fit since the beginning.

“She just has great food and is a great person, that’s the best way to describe it,” Weis says. “And ultimately, our goal is to help each of these (chef partners) to go on to something bigger and better if they want and can. … I’m really excited to see them succeed.”

Other confirmed chef partners include Ed Bisconti with Borgata Pizza Café, Jordan Lamatrice with Alphabetical Comfort Kitchen and Sadaya “Daisy” Lewis with Modern Southern Table. For additional information on the Budd Dairy Food Hall, visit budddairyfoodhall.com.