Zaytoon opened in the summer of 2005 and the people swooned. For Aysha Ghazoul, owner and general manager of Zaytoon, starting a new business was personal. To her, true success meant building and operating an establishment that exuded history, character and purpose, and respected the bustling spirit of diversity for which Northeast Portland is known.
Raised in Mosul (Iraq), Aysha melded pieces of her past with her present until the aesthetic, menu and spirit of Zaytoon best mirrored her cultural upbringing. On a visit to Zaytoon, you can follow the winding staircase to the second story loft, illuminated by magnificent wall-size photographs of old Bagdad, snapped by Aysha's grandfather. Bite into the infamous Baba's Burger—a secret recipe inherited from her father—and salivate over the spices of refined Middle Eastern cuisine.
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Aysha and her family left Iraq in 1980, at the start of the Iran-Iraq war, and settled in England where Aysha completed school and pursued a business and finance degree in Manchester. Blessed also with a gift for storytelling and a growing passion for film studies, Aysha took a leap of faith and moved to Oregon to attend the Northwest Film Center in downtown Portland. Here she completed her thesis documentary “My American Grandmother”—a personal introspection that explores the relationship between an Iraqi filmmaker and her Texan grandmother. The film was well received at festivals across the country, culminating in a one-year broadcasting contract with the Oxygen Media Channel.
Barely past the age of 30, Aysha's career path veered again in a new direction. Interested in putting her business and finance degree to work, Zaytoon began taking shape. Promoting diversity and filling a culinary niche, Zaytoon has achieved considerable success in its fledgling first year. Alongside a stellar staff, Aysha continues to grow her big city bar in a cozy neighborhood, and looks forward to many successful years ahead.
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