New Worker-Owned Cocktail Restaurant To Be Reborn In West Village

WEST VILLAGE, NY — In 2020, a great many beloved restaurants and cocktail bars shuttered in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

One of those spots, Donna Brooklyn, shuttered after nearly a decade of acclaim in South Williamsburg. But in just a few weeks, it will be reborn in the West Village as a worker-owned cooperative cocktail restaurant.

Donna, at 7 Cornelia St., will serve a pan-Latin menu with Mediterranean influences and a Filipino-inspired cocktail program when it opens May 17.

Menu items include small plates like a Nappa cabbage salad with chili cumin vinaigrette and candied pepitas, Pork Shoulder and Charred Onion Pupusas, and Roasted Carrot Tostadas, as well as entrees that include a za’atar pork shoulder and a whole roasted fish with harissa and pickled vegetables.

With original founder Leif Young Huckman still on board as an advisor and supporter, the new Donna will offer all of its new workers a pathway to ownership as it attempts to serve as a model for how the hospitality industry could move towards a less hierarchal system.

Huckman told Eater NY last fall that he was interested in pursuing this model because it helps “everyone participate in the equity of the business.”

To learn more about Donna, click here for their website.