Veselka Keeps Making Pierogis As Bombs Fall In Ukraine

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this week sent East Villagers searching for the only comfort food that would taste right: pierogis from Veselka.

The owner of the East Village's iconic Ukrainian restaurant, Jason Birchard, told Patch that a line into the restaurant stretched out the door and down the block the day after Russia dropped bombs and deployed its military.

"I’m very grateful, loyal to the support of the neighborhood and the people that are coming, and asking how everybody is doing," Birchard told Patch. "But it has been difficult. It has been heavy-hearted.”

Nestled in the heart of East Village's Little Ukraine, Veselka has been serving the country's cuisine in Lower Manhattan since 1954.

A plaque commemorating its 50th anniversary still hangs on the wall to honor the restaurant's transformation from a "small candy store" to an East Village institution.

Pierogis, goulash, stroganoff, paprikash, meatballs, bigos and potato pancakes are just part of the Ukrainian selection that Veselka serves up every night at 144 2nd Ave.

Thursday night's dinner service did not feel ordinary, though.

With a sense of support in mind, Veselka's dinner service on Thursday was flooded with New Yorkers looking to support the restaurant.

But not even the bustle of a busy day in a tiny East Village eatery could distract from the crisis occurring in a nation where many of the staff have family.

"The mood with my staff and me is that this is totally disheartening, sad, disgusting and frightening, all wrapped up in one," Birchard said. "We're all in a state of shock."

Veselka, much like most New York City restaurants, has a "melting pot" of different nationalities among its staff. But there is a core group of Ukrainian employees, Birchard told Patch.

"Everybody is supportive of the Ukrainian staff," Birchard said. "The Spanish, the Bangladesh, the Chinese, the Malaysians, everyone is supportive and doing what they can."

"The staff with family members in Ukraine are very concerned," Birchard added. "They're calling and texting about siren raids in all the major cities — it's frightening."

• Read More: 'Stop Putin': NYC Protests Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

Birchard has a distant aunt living in a small village in western Ukraine whom he plans to reach out to in the coming days.

"It's scary," Birchard said. "She's a woman in her 80s — what is she going to do besides hunker down?"

Birchard repeatedly emphasized the crisis was not one that would impact his community alone.

"This is totally unprovoked, a sovereign nation of 30 years being attacked by a tyrant man thinking that it's his land," he said.

"It's not just an attack on Ukraine — this is an attack on the free world."