16/08/2022
Inside Veselka - New York’s staple Ukrainian restaurant.
Since 1954, Veselka - meaning rainbow - has been a New York staple. The restaurant was opened by a Ukrainian immigrant as a small coffee shop in East Village. For more than six decades now, the Veselka restaurant in Manhattan has provided New Yorkers with a taste of Ukraine. After the February 24th Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Veselka became a community hub for Ukrainians in New York.
A poster in front of Veselka reads “Eat Borscht, Stand With Ukraine.” With Ukraine needing aid following the Russian invasion, Veselka’s owner Jason Birchard - himself a son of a Ukrainian immigrant - decided to donate the funds he raises from borscht sales to Ukraine relief effort through the New York-based NGO "Razom for Ukraine". The restaurant also converted its warehouse into a donation center.
