Father-Daughter Duo Opens Vegan Bed-Stuy Restaurant

BED-STUY, NY — A new vegan spot moved into Bed-Stuy over the weekend, serving its Harlem flagship store's favorites including a smoothie and salad bar.

Father-daughter co-owners Jasmine Myrick and Davie Simmons opened the long-awaited third location of Uptown Veg, a Harlem-favorite with two other locations, at SOLA's Lewis Ave Block Party Saturday.

With wine, vegan ice cream, extra menu items, grab-and-go service and a larger seating area, the Bed-Stuy restaurant will be an expanded version of Uptown Veg's original Harlem spot that opened on 125th Street. in the 1990's.

For Myrick, Saturday's opening on Lewis Avenue between Halsey and Macomb streets is a homecoming.

"I'm born and raised in Brooklyn and of course wanted a vegan restaurant to be in Brooklyn," Myrick said.

Myrick grew up in Brownsville and her father went to high school in Bed-Stuy — so a Brooklyn location of the eatery has been a dream since Myrick teamed up with her father in 2011, she said.

Alongside the restaurant's staple smoothie and salad bars, menu items span from around $6-$11 for salads, $8.50-$9.50 for wraps and veggie burgers for $6. Vegan proteins are sold at $10 per pound alongside veggie sides by the pound, like candied yams, collard greens and mashed potatoes.

The Lewis Avenue location was a complete remodel — Myrick and her father bought the place in 2020 without a kitchen, refrigerator or office area.

"We had to renovate from the bottom to the top," Myrick said.

Now thanks to a $200,000 remodel, the restaurant's exposed-brick, subway tiles and spacious backyard make it the perfect spot for Myrick and Simmons' family-oriented spot.

"I want it to be a 'Cheers'-vibe," Myrick said. "I want people to be comfortable. ... Everybody knows everybody."

It's the duo's second attempt to move into Brooklyn — in 2015, Myrick rented a smaller storefront that was ultimately knocked down to make space for condos.

But Myrick gained Brooklyn-bound momentum again in 2020 and has been working on the Bed-Stuy spot ever since.

Myrick wants the spot to be a community staple, and she's planning to host poetry nights, open mics and monthly brunches at the new eatery.

Myrick said her Harlem-based customers, loved ones in Brooklyn and local organizations like the Bridge Street Development Corporation and IMPACCT helped her keep going despite many challenges.

"Being in the Bed-Stuy community has been wonderful, the support that has been given," Myrick said. "There's a family."

For Myrick and her father, working in the industry together has been incredibly bonding.

"[I have] more of an appreciation for my father and what he has done, and the legacy that he's created," Myrick said.