For almost a century, New Yorkers who crave authentic Ukrainian soul food have only had one obvious option: to head straight to the East Village's Veselka.
However, lucky for Brooklynites, now you can skip crossing the East River, because Veselka has officially arrived in Brooklyn.
The iconic pierogi purveyor of Manhattan’s Little Ukraine neighborhood is renowned for its traditional, home-cooked soul food and its casual, diner-esque ethos. Its newest location opens in Williamsburg on Wednesday, June 5.
Veselka, which means “rainbow” in Ukrainian, has been owned by the same family for three generations. Founder Volodymyr Darmochwal first opened it in 1954 as a small newsstand; Tom Birchard, his American son-in-law, took over in 1975 and fought to convince Ukrainian customers to trust an American running the business; now, Tom’s son Jason Birchard has been in charge of daily operations since 2000.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, Veselka was immediately flooded with customers who recognized it as a Ukrainian symbol in New York; according to the New York Post, hundreds of people lined up, many of them wearing Ukrainian clothing and flags, to support the institution. Birchard says that business essentially doubled overnight.
Shortly after the beginning of the war, borscht was designated as a UNESCO endangered cultural heritage dish of Ukraine. In light of this, Birchard decided to donate all the money from borscht sales to humanitarian aid — that’s over $600,000 to date.
“Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World,” a documentary about the history of the restaurant and its response to the war, came out on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion.
“It's about the history of the restaurant, and what it means to me to be a Ukrainian American in these times of conflict,” said Birchard. “And [it’s about] the staff, more importantly, of Ukrainian roots that have family there, and their trials and tribulations."
Veselka Williamsburg will feel immediately familiar to customers.
The mural on the wall of the new location, which premiered at Veselka’s short-lived Essex Market location, is done in the same style as the mural outside the original Second Avenue restaurant. It depicts scenes at the original Veselka: chefs rolling pierogi dough, customers sipping borscht, and the building on the corner itself, depicted at the end of a rainbow.
Under the guidance of chief operating officer and cousin Justin Birchard, the new location was built intentionally as a commissary kitchen. The dining room is intimate, but behind closed doors lurks a massive kitchen facility, large enough to supply other Veselka locations and online orders.
The menu at the new Veselka will remain largely the same, featuring all of the classic Ukrainian dishes that earned this place its reputation: Ukrainian borscht, of course, along with dishes like veal goulash in a thick herby sauce, and creamy chicken paprikash served over egg noodles.
As always, customers can mix and match different types of pierogies, which come boiled or fried.
In addition to the classics, Veselka recently partnered with Katz’s Delicatessen to create pastrami pierogies, or "pastrogies," best eaten fried. They are served with mustard instead of the traditional sour cream.
Despite welcoming some innovations, Birchard isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel now that he's in Brooklyn.
“It's Ukrainian,” Birchard said. “That's who we are. We are a traditional counter, at Second Avenue. We're not a Michelin-rated restaurant. We're, you know, a grandma, peasant, stick-to-your-ribs kind of [place].”
In other words, you can expect Veselka Williamsburg to bring the exact same homey feeling you get in Little Ukraine.
“Our tagline is Ukrainian soul food in the heart of the East Village," said Birchard. "Now, we're in the heart of Williamsburg.”
Veselka Williamsburg is located at 646 Lorimer St., and open Wed–Sun, 5–10pm.
