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Despite publicly signaling support for Ukraine in the ongoing invasion, Russian restaurants in Manhattan are getting hit with vandalism, canceled reservations, and negative online reviews, the New York Times reports.
West Village Russian restaurant Sveta, owned by Ukrainian Sveta Savchitz, received an onslaught of negative emails after Russia invaded Ukraine. The restaurant has since changed its online presence from “Russian” to “Eastern European” to distance itself from association with Russia. In Midtown, Russian Samovar — which is hosting a fundraiser for Ukraine this week, and has posted an antiwar message at its entrance — had its door kicked in and people have called the restaurant’s staff “Nazis” over the phone. Owner Vlada Von Shats told the Times that reservations were down by 60 percent. At pelmeni shop Daa! Dumplings, owner Raphael Nieto says that people have been leaving negative reviews online because the restaurant is Russian. The spot posted an antiwar message to Instagram after the Russian invasion began.
Other shops outside of Manhattan are taking further steps to dissociate from Russia. In Brighton Beach, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Ukrainian community, grocery store Taste of Russia is in the process of changing its name in solidarity with Ukraine, Brooklyn Paper reports.
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The Times Square bar scene is slowly recovering
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