Ursula Brooklyn has a new home!

Eric See is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hi!

(took this campaign down while we finished the search...but we have a new home now!)

As many of you know, Ursula was opened during the start of the pandemic in September of 2020. Nobody knew what lie ahead in NYC, how it was going to affect the restaurant industry, or how long it would last. So Ursula opened at 724 Sterling Pl in Crown Heights, without a lot of expectations, or knowing if we would make it, but with the hope that we'd at least get to have a little fun, make some good food and provide a few jobs for the year ahead.

We launched this campaign at the beginning of 2022 just as we began the search for a new location. We had lots of ups and downs on the year-long hunt for a new home, with the rug being pulled out from underneath us multiple times, forcing us to restart the search.

We were able to sign a new lease in BedStuy this week and are optimistically aiming to shift our operations from Crown Heights to BedStuy in March. The initial donations from you all helped make signing the lease a reality and now the next stage of development begins.

Changes we are looking forward to include; eventually rolling out a small cocktail program (created by cocktail expert John DeBary) and wine selection (from sommelier Peter Redmond) with an emphasis on LGBTQ+-owned, distilleries and other makers — an extension of the inclusive ethos at the restaurant, making the breakfast burrito side of things a bit more efficient, experimenting with a preordering system, separate from those interested in eating them to stay, to help alleviate the wait. Sit-down brunch will also be a first (think: blue corn pancakes with pine nuts and whipped sage butter, burritos smothered with green chile stew, and carne adovada), and continuing the legacy of opening Ursula’s doors to pop-ups and other events supporting the LGBTQ+ community at the new location with movie and music nights curated by our staff.

This new location is an entirely electric kitchen, which is the future of all new NYC commercial developments and an idea looking forward to a more sustainable energy source. However, that means we need all new kitchen equipment that differs from our current gas-operated setup. A new electric range and flat-top is going to run us $20,000! And having opted out of traditional restaurant investment structures that may interfere with operational and community ethos, the new location is completely self-funded.

We welcome any helpful resources or services that would assist in this relocation and if you are unable to donate, please consider sharing. Thank you!!