Tina Lattouf Chamoun is building her own empire

Cleveland Magazine named Tina Lattouf Chamoun (JD '14) one of its most interesting people for 2025, but she’d made a name for herself well before then.

That’s because she’s passionate about her heritage as a first-generation Lebanese American. And she also wants to share that culture with the rest of world.

What initially began as a personal Instagram page to save ideas for places to visit when she made her regular trips to Lebanon has grown into Your Lebanon, a popular blog with authentic Middle Eastern recipes. This isn’t just shawarma, falafel and Fattoush. No, these are deep cuts like Arnabeet (baked cauliflower), chicken kabsa and Nammoura (Lebanese cake).

And before Your Lebanon, it’s likely you wouldn’t have been able to find these recipes in English.

In 2020, she launched Terranean, a brand selling Lebanese spices and snacks, particularly za’atar, a Middle Eastern herb akin to oregano and thyme but with a unique flavor.

She’d noticed local restaurants using their version, but it wasn’t like what she’d grown to love on her annual trips to Lebanon.

Today, she runs Terranean Spices, Spreads and Snacks out of a 5,000-square-foot facility with a 10-member, all-female management, fulfillment and production team.

The brand is now a national one in 500 grocery stores, 900 HomeGoods stores and available online in 26 states.

Chamoun herself is regarded as one of the world's premier Lebanese influencers, having amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and a slew of awards along the way.

She’s also a part of the family behind some of the area’s most popular Lebanese restaurants like Aladdin’s, Taza and Boaz.

But don’t think she rode on the coattails of the Chamoun name.

“I had to prove myself – there were no favors,” she said.

Indeed. Her success is all her own.