Crown Heights Burrito, Pastry Spot Moving To Bed Stuy

BED STUY, NY — After raising over $25,000 to find a permanent home, Crown Heights New Mexican burritos and pastries staple Ursula is packing up and moving to Bed Stuy.

Ursula, which was a James Beard finalist in 2022, announced its move from Sterling Place and Bedford Avenue over the weekend. Starting April 12, the restaurant found a new home on Nostrand Avenue and Madison Street in Bed Stuy. The Crown Heights location will close on April 3.

"We are gonna miss Sterling Place, but can't wait to welcome you to our new location in Bed Stuy," the restaurant said in an Instagram post.

The Bed Stuy burrito spot will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 5 p.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Brunch times have not been announced yet for Saturday and Sunday.

The eatery opened in 2020 on a on-year sublet and raised over $25,000 over the last year to help relocate.

"We were able to sign a new lease in Bed Stuy this week," Ursula's management wrote in a GoFundMe update. "The initial donations from you all helped make signing the lease a reality and now the next stage of development begins."

Ursula will make a number of changes in its new spot, including adding a sit-down brunch, a small list of cocktails and wines and continuing Ursula's existing pop-ups and events to support the LQBTQ+ community, Ursula's management wrote on a GoFundMe page for its new location.

Sustainability was front-of-mind for Ursula's move, which will include a switch to an entirely electric kitchen.

The new location will have a hybrid counter and full service model with a waitlist for limited indoor seating — with outdoor seating eventually opening up on the property's backyard, according to Ursula's Instagram. Reservations will not be available.

Ursula will institute an upgraded service model to create a "more equitable house for staff" that allows for richer profit sharing and transparency, the restaurant said in an Instagram post.

"We will need your trust and participation to help make this sustainable for our team and hopefully help inspire more industry wide progress for hospitality workers," Ursula wrote on Instagram.

The road to a new home was difficult for the restaurant, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched just over a year ago.

"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," Ursula's management wrote on the GoFundMe.

The spot is known for its community service and standard-setting for the industry.

"The Ursula team is doing invaluable work for the queer community, the restaurant industry, and New York City at large. We are honored to know and work with them and look forward to doing so for many more years to come," Parlor Coffee wrote on the GoFundMe campaign.