Born and raised in Hamilton, Ohio, Donald Sullivan’s first memories of food coincide with his memories of family gatherings.

“I loved watching my mom, grandma, and aunts cooking for fifty or sixty people (big catholic family). I can’t recall an occasion when we ever had the family together without food. It just wasn’t done,” says Sullivan, or “Sully” as he prefers to be called both in and out of the kitchen. “So I think I’ve always seen food, and the act of sharing a meal, as a powerful medium for bringing folks together.”

It wasn’t long before Sully found his way into the industry. “My first steady job was washing dishes at Skyline. I think I was probably 17 or 18. Eventually I worked pretty much every spot in the restaurant, but I had a particular affinity for slinging conies.” 

After high school, Sully pursued and achieved his Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Miami University. Even so, food was in his blood.

“During my last couple years of college, and then for some time after, I was a cook at a local bowling alley. It was a popular spot and we did mostly hoagies, chicken wings, and flatbreads but on the weekends they would let me run specials. I would be doing parmesan crusted filet or seared scallops without ever considering that someone could be wary of ordering shellfish at a bowling alley. But we usually sold enough of the specials so they would let me keep trying new things and the idea of cooking professionally really set its hooks into me.”

In 2014, the plan was to find a kitchen job in Cincinnati and set his sights on culinary school, but his path would change direction when he received a call from Nada’s Brendan Martin.

“I must’ve applied at 30 or 40 different places,” recalls Sullivan. “He (Martin) hired me the next day.”

Sully spent the next six years between Nada locations in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, eventually earning the title of Chef de Cuisine at both.

“I had the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the smartest, most talented, passionate people in the business.”