NYC Ukranian eatery celebrating 1-year anniversary of country’s resistance to Russian invasion

Veselka Restaurant says they have created a $36 pre-fixed menu, with all proceeds will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief efforts.

News 12 Staff

Feb 24, 2023, 3:34 AM

Updated 651 days ago

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A New York City Ukrainian eatery is honoring their homeland’s resistance to Russia’s invasion of the country in a special way.
Veselka Restaurant says they have created a $36 pre-fixed menu, with all proceeds will go to Ukrainian humanitarian relief efforts.
"America was a land of opportunity and Veselka means rainbow,” says Veselka's third generation proprietor Jason Birchard.
Birchard’s grandfather, Wylodimyr, immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine in the late 1940's, fleeing Russian persecution.
"At the end of his rainbow, he would find his pot of gold, here in the U.S.”, Birchard added.
The New York-metropolitan area has the highest population of Ukrainians in the U.S, with many of them calling the East Village in Manhattan and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. And over the past year, the beloved Veselka restaurant became a place to support Ukraine, one cup of borscht at a time.
To date, more than $300,000 has been raised and donated to a variety of nonprofits, according to Birchard.
"I’m very thankful for the support that we received during the course of the war and even to now, to this date that we're marking the one-year anniversary,” he said It's important that people remember and keep the awareness alive that Ukraine is fighting a battle for democracy."