It appears that there might finally be some light at the end of the tunnel. When the East Village icon Odessa Diner shut its doors last year after after 26 years of operation, it was a concerning portent for the neighborhood. Odessa was an East Village staple that everyone recognized, and the neighborhood just didn’t seem the same with those windows boarded up. Thankfully, it’s not going to remain that way for much longer.
Superiority Burger, the popular vegan burger restaurant that opened up in 2015, is now gearing up to swap its old location on East 9th for the new space left vacant by Odessa’s closure at 119 Avenue A. Right across the street from Tompkins park, Odessa occupied a highly competitive spot that will certainly help elevate Superiority Burger to its next level of success.
Superiority Burger was founded in 2015 by famed chef Brooks Headley, who also runs the popular Short Stories restaurant. Serving up flavorful vegan dishes with a New American vibe, Superiority Burger was one of the earliest vegan burgers to seize NY’s consciousness. Teaming up with Sheryl Heefner and Ashwin Deshmukh, the team have formed a new restaurant group called Nonplussed Legerdemain LLC.
While locals are sad to say goodbye to Odessa, Headley knows how important Odessa was to the neighborhood and wants to preserve as much of its legacy as he can. He wants to keep as much of the original architecture as possible, including a soda bar from the 50’s and a satellite counter, describing the space as “beautiful,” and affirming his intention to preserve it.
Unfortunately for eager fans of superiority burger, you’re going to have to remain patient for a little bit longer. The Superiority team is transferring their entire operation to the new space, so they have steadily been reducing their hours at their original location to make time for the transfer.
Eventually when the new restaurant is up and running, they will be able to seat far more people then they were able to previously, up to 82 people according to their filing. At the moment, Headley and the team are preparing to accept public comments from the community board on October 18th, so be sure to make your voice heard if you want to make sure they’re able to open in your neighborhood.
