'Top Chef' alums to open Young Buck Deli in Over-the-Rhine this week
Two "Top Chef" alums will soon open a brand-new deli in the former Holtman's Donuts space in Over-the-Rhine.
Young Buck Deli, at 1332 Vine Street, will celebrate its grand opening at 8 a.m. Friday. Once open, the deli, operated by husband-and-wife team Brian and Caitlin Young, will serve breakfast and lunch.
“We feel so fortunate to open Young Buck in the heart of OTR,” Caitlin Young said in a press release. “We are so proud and excited to be here and to bring the people of Cincinnati the sandwiches they deserve!”
According to the release, Young Buck’s menu will include a variety of savory sandwiches on house-made focaccia bread, like the Mortadella Sandwich, made with mortadella and stracciatella cheeses and pistachio cream, and the Boston 3-Way, made with rare roast beef, barbecue sauce, fried onions, white American cheese, and mayo. The deli will also offer an assortment of breakfast sandwiches, including the biscuit sandwich, made with all-butter biscuits, molasses, and black pepper bacon or sage breakfast sausage, pimento cheese, and a sunny-side-up egg.
The deli menu includes house and Caesar salads, pasta salad, potato salad, and pimento cheese.
Young Buck will offer sandwich specials or discounts five days a week, including items not typically available on the menu. This first slate of specials includes:
Monday: Industry day discount (includes sandwich, side, soda).
Tuesday: Tuna melt, made with olive oil-poached tuna, lemon, celery, oregano, provolone, focaccia and a kosher pickle.
Thursday: Chicago Italian beef, made with roast beef, giardiniera, provolone, and Italian bread.
Friday: Chicken parm, made with a crispy chicken cutlet, fresh mozzarella, basil and spicy marinara.
Saturday: Bagel-O-Rama (flavors change weekly).
Young Buck will have 14 seats along an L-shaped bar for people looking to dine in. To reduce its carbon footprint, the deli will not offer plates or silverware. Instead, it will package all food items to go.
Young Buck will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Breakfast sandwiches will be offered from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
The Youngs first met while competing on the Kentucky-themed 16th season of Bravo’s "Top Chef." Caitlin Young, who was well-known locally for her Cooking With Caitlin column in The Enquirer, later convinced Brian to leave Boston for Cincinnati, food and dining reporter Keith Pandolfi writes.
The couple briefly worked at Station Family + BBQ in Wyoming, owned by Caitlin and her sister, Kelly Trush, before joining Dear restaurant in Hyde Park. In 2023, Brian Young became executive chef of Crown Restaurant Group, owned by Anthony Sitek and Haley Nutter-Sitek.
Pandolfi reports that Sitek eventually decided to team up with the Youngs and sign a lease for the former Holtman’s property. After hours, the 1,100-square-foot space will double as the butchery and pasta commissary kitchen for all Crown Restaurant Group restaurants, both of which Young will oversee.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Young Buck Deli by 'Top Chef' alums opens in Over-the-Rhine this week
