Photos from May 31
Reporting by Stacie Joy
A refurbished Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen reopened last Friday in the basement space it has used for the past 50 years at 33 E. Seventh St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.
Several people were waiting in line to enter before the announced 11 a.m. opening time.
Rev. Father Johan Lubiv, the administrator of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church for the past four years, greeted me inside.
In the days before the reopening, the space received a deep clean and fresh coat of paint. While a new volunteer staff runs operations, Streecha features the same menu items and prices, with funds going to St. George down the block. (Streecha has long served as a fundraising arm for the church.)
Ahead of the reopening, there was some confusion over Streecha's future.
On May 23, Dima Kovalenko, who the church hired to be its chef and run the kitchen nine years ago, announced on Instagram that Streecha had permanently closed and that the "property owner" had other plans for the basement space. (Kovalenko, meanwhile, found a backer and will be opening a pop-up space under a new name nearby offering a similar fare.)
In a previous interview, Father Johan explained some of the misunderstandings. "I said to Dima to say, 'I am not working at Streecha, but Streecha continues to function.' This is misleading information that Streecha is closed."
Father Johan said St. George hired Kovalenko to run Streecha, though he claims he had "turned it into a private business, and that is not what this space is for."
Streecha will be open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
