Who We Are

Dean Gold & Kay Zimmerman The most momentous day of Dean Gold’s life occurred February 10, 2002. Awaking from a nap, he realized he was experiencing a massive heart attack. July of that year, Gold underwent life saving quintuple bypass and quickly recovered. By October his wife Kay and he were traveling in Italy, enjoying the simple pleasures of eating incredible foods and enjoying life. It was on this trip that the idea of opening a restaurant came to life. Another year passed until he was fully ready to embark on the venture and in December 2003 the couple set out to open Dino. Five potential locations later, July 2005, Dino opened in Cleveland Park in Washington, D.C.

Over the years Dean Gold has been involved with the wine and food in various capacities. He began as a retail wine sales person and soon moved to the wholesale trade. When one of his clients was looking for a wine director, Gold made the move to the food service industry. From there, he moved to Angeli Caffe in Los Angeles, California where he met one of his most influential mentors, Chef/Owner Evan Kleiman. Her simple cooking is the basis of Gold’s love of all things Italian. At Angeli, his wine lists gained local and national recognition, winning praise from the Los Angeles Times and Wine Spectator. And while assisting Chef/Owner Fred Eric with the opening of Vida, Gold’s innovative wine lists, based on grouping wines by style, gained popular and press acclaim as well.

Later, Dean Gold was approached by Whole Foods Market to launch their wine program in Southern California. Between the time he interviewed and was hired, the job responsibility grew to encompass being the buyer and coordinator for wine, cheese and specialty foods. Gold took a small cheese business and grew it to an over seventeen million dollar business for Whole Foods Market.

It was during this time that he began his annual trips to Italy where he learned much about great food products. Gold’s trips afforded him the opportunity to dine at excellent restaurants and to visit the producers directly. He has had his hands in vats of parmigiano reggiano curds as they were being cut; stuck his fingers in barrels of 30-year-old Balsamico, and visited small prosciutto factories where the floors were still gravel, the racks wooden and the cooling achieved without refrigeration, by opening and closing windows. On these visits he made connections with incredible artisan producers with whom he still has relationships. Their products form the foundation for the menu at Dino that will be appreciated by dining patrons.

Gold’s partner is his wife of 19 years, Kay Zimmerman. In addition to their love of food, Kay and Dean are avid opera goers. This is a new passion and since 2001 they have seen over 60 live performances in Washington, Chicago and New York, as well as in Roma and Verona. They love Broadway and local theater with a particular fondness for Sondheim. They are also art collectors with a small but growing collection of contemporary Italian art (mostly watercolors, oils and Murano glass) and Japanese American art. Guests will enjoy their private collection displayed on the walls at Dino when dining.