Photograph courtesy Garden of Joy
When a slew of Frisch’s Big Boys shuttered in late 2024, many wondered what would happen to those iconic red-and-white structures populating the tri-state. While some of those buildings suffered through the ensuing Dolly’s debacle, the abandoned Central Parkway site in Clifton found a meaningful second life as Garden of Joy Culinary Academy. It’s more than a place to learn how to cook a burger. The organization leverages food literacy to teach kids powerful messages about nonviolence and restorative practices.
Photograph courtesy Garden of Joy
“Our goal is to get students to become successful, safe adults who graduate from high school,” says Ali Rizvi, executive director of programs and nonviolence education. “We want kids to leave our program knowing how to cook, how to garden, and how to live a more sustainable life.”
The idea for the program grew out of a friendship between Rizvi and Rev. Todd E. O’Neal, pastor at House of Joy Christian Ministries and a music educator for Cincinnati Public Schools. Rizvi, a social worker at Hayes Porter Elementary School, organized the Walk to End Gun Violence event with O’Neal in 2024. Following that, O’Neal had an idea, telling Rizvi he wanted to buy the vacant Frisch’s next to his church.
“He said, ‘Let’s turn it into a culinary school,’ ” recalls Rizvi. “I said, ‘Rev, you can’t cook. How’s this going to work?’ But Rev is such a dreamer that you don’t even question it. I basically just told him, ‘Whatever help you need, I’ll help.’ ”
Garden of Joy started small but quickly evolved, and Rizvi soon found himself buying a pickup truck on Marketplace to fetch food orders. The pair dreamed up a gardening program to teach kids garden-to-table concepts, soon realized via student-built raised beds along the front of the building.
Photograph courtesy Garden of Joy
O’Neal introduced the idea of implementing arts and music education into the mix. “We wanted to create this multidimensional program that’s a safe space after school where we’ll find something to make sure we grab every kid’s attention,” he says.
Following months of preparation, the summer-long pilot program kicked off last year, inviting kids to tend gardens, learn about nutrition, and cook delicious meals.
During the school year, the program serves as free after-school education open to students ages 12 to 20 or kids enrolled in grades 7 through 12. Each day concludes with a group meal they call “family dinner.” This summer, Garden of Joy also ran two sessions structured around rotating learning stations designed to build practical skills, confidence, and community.
Photograph courtesy Garden of Joy
“Having a base knowledge of food and foodways is one of the most important life skills a person can have,” says Dominic Bley, director of culinary arts education. “We call this food literacy, a term educators use to describe a combination of competencies that properly equip someone to navigate our modern food system.”
Bley came to the program while earning his master’s degree in art education, stumbling across a flyer while working on his thesis. He reached out to learn more and realized Garden of Joy’s mission deeply aligned with his own beliefs. “I knew I wanted to teach kids about the power of food,” he says. “Now I finally have a place to make that happen.”
Photograph courtesy Garden of Joy
Bley reached out to an old friend, Nicole Curley, who was in D.C. finishing studies in elementary education, about helping him develop materials and lesson plans that tackled large topics through fun and engaging classroom activities. Eventually, Curley joined Garden of Joy as director of curriculum and instruction to lead the program’s classroom component.
“The time in the classroom consists of several units where students learn about food and its importance,” she explains. “We have lessons where students evaluate how food builds community identity, where students learn about different vitamins and macronutrients, and where students learn about the history and value of free food.”
Photograph courtesy Garden of Joy
Writing these lessons is Curley’s responsibility, with Bley providing input to bridge the classroom to the kitchen. “In our last program, students spent the first week learning about what the body needs, different places to source food, and how to shop for value,” she says.
“When a student suggested Chipotle-style bowls, we worked it into our mock grocery shopping lesson and then made the bowls together,” Bley notes, “Suddenly, budgeting and sourcing ingredients became a lot more fun and delicious for everyone.”
Photograph courtesy Garden of Joy
At the end of the day, Garden of Joy’s imperative is creating and maintaining an interest in food to keep students engaged with the curriculum. And that requires a creative culinary approach that’s both challenging and accessible.
“We want to cook things that excite kids,” Rizvi says. “It has to be not only practical but also feel relevant to them.”
Supported by volunteer gardening and culinary instructors as well as visits from chefs and other industry professionals, Garden of Joy is dedicated to sharing the joy of cooking with area students. Individual stories emerging from the program’s early days prove that Garden of Joy is already impacting lives.
“We had a kid, I remember the first day he walked up to our culinary instructor and said, ‘I’m not a chef. I don’t want to be here,’ ” recalls Rizvi. “He ended up being the most involved person in the kitchen.”
“One of our students even brought in a potato he grew to show the rest of the class how he was taking our garden-to-table practices home with him,” Bley adds. “We love watching our students strengthen their unique skills and interests. Food always has been, and always will be, the single greatest tool for creating human connection.”
Photograph courtesy Garden of Joy
