Get to Know Grand: Grand Morelos

Get to know Grand Morelos! Grand Morelos is a Mexican Diner that’s been at 727 Grand Street since 1996. Grand Morelos was at first a Greek restaurant, until Co-owner Raul Gonzalez stepped in to bring flavors from Morelos, Mexico to the neighborhood. Serving traditional Mexican food alongside American diner classics, Raul’s key to success is by “keeping every customer happy”. From chilaquiles to cheeseburgers, Grand Morelos has been serving up delicious meals on Grand Street for 28 years. Raul Gonzalez caught up with us to talk about his time on Grand Street and what Grand Morelos has to offer:

Produced by the Grand Street BID in partnership with OWLEY Studios.

Kaew Jao Jorm has arrived to 800 Grand Street

Chor Muang, or Royal Flower Dumplings

Kaew Jao Jorm has arrived at 800 Grand Street! Kaew Jao Jorm is a new Thai restaurant on Grand Street focusing on Royal Thai cuisine, inspired by the cuisine served to King Rama V who ruled from 1868 - 1910. Royal Thai cuisine is seldom found in NYC, and some dishes are rare even in Bangkok. Kaew Jao Jorm prides itself on these dishes, offering Royal Thai dishes like its Chor Muang, or Royal Flower dumplings, made with tender rice-based dough that is naturally dyed blue with a sweet-savory chicken and peanut filling. Other dishes include its Run Juan Curry, a Royal Thai coconut milk free curry with beef, lemongrass, shallot, shrimp paste, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, and basil leaves and elevated versions of Thai classics such as Pad Thai.

Sam, co-owner, wants his customers to feel like “they’re entering into another world” when they step into Kaew Jao Jorm - more specifically, the royal dining hall of the Thai Palace in the late 19th century. Yellow floral chandeliers hang from the ceilings, surrounded by a lime green brick wall on one side and a brown wooden paneled wall on the other. A shrine to King Rama V sits inside one of the walls, with his portrait centered and draped with colorful multi-patterned curtains. All of the art and decor comes from Thailand, and all of the ceramics are handmade.

Co-owner Sam isn’t new to the industry; he’s been working in Thai restaurants for over five years, and owns another location in Westchester. He opened Kaew Jao Jorm to introduce Royal Thai cuisine to the neighborhood, noting that it's much different than what most Thai restaurants offer. He opened on Grand Street because of its proximity to different modes of transportation and its welcoming community. He says he already is starting to get regulars from folks in the neighborhood and feels supported. He loves the challenge of running a restaurant, including all the problem solving it comes with. From ordering kitchen supplies to planning a large backyard structure, Sam finds joy in all of it.

Swing by Kaew Jao Jorm on 800 Grand Street to try their Royal Thai cuisine!

Get to Know Grand: La Chacra

Get to know La Chacra! La Chacra is a Peruvian restaurant that’s been on 613 Grand Street since 2020. Owner, Ricky, opened the original restaurant in Bath Beach in 2011. La Chacra offers traditional Peruvian dishes, inspired by a mix of Peruvian street food and home-cooking. All of the spices are imported from Peru, a fact Ricky takes pride in. Ricky wants his customers to “feel like they are in Peru” with every aspect of La Chacra; from offering dishes like Ceviche and Anticuchos, to the Incan craftsmanship adorning the walls. Ricky himself built out most of the bar’s interior from the ground up, from the kitchen to the bar.

La Chacra is a family run restaurant, with Ricky’s son and wife doing their part in supporting the business. When their original location burned down in 2012, the entire family came together to build it back up. Opening a restaurant had been a dream Ricky inherited from his father, who comes from a lineage of farmers back in Peru. La Chacra translates to “The Farm” in Spanish, a callback to Ricky’s family’s history of farming. Originally from Peru, Ricky came to New York at 19 years old. He worked in construction initially, transitioning to the restaurant industry and then eventually opening his own restaurant.

Swing by La Chacra on 613 Grand Street to try their delicious Peruvian cuisine and finish your meal with some Helado de Lucuma!

Grand Street Passport

The Grand Street BID is proud to announce the Grand Street Passport: a passport book that offers freebies & deals at select restaurants, nightlife businesses, and other eateries in the BID. Participants will use their passport when shopping at participating businesses to get the passport deal and get a stamp in their passport. When passport holders accumulate stamps, they’ll unlock prizes! 

The Grand Street Passport is on sale now. Deals will be active from 2/15 - 4/30. Passports cost $40 and offer over $200+ worth of value in freebies and discounts! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to North Brooklyn Angels, a volunteer-driven, hyper-local nonprofit that organizes direct action projects to address the needs of a rapidly changing community. Its small staff, supported by scores of daily neighborhood volunteers, serves up to 1,800 hot, healthy meals per week at various locations in the area, engaging over 500 unique volunteers annually.

22 participating businesses are joining in on offering discounts, including Grand Street favorites like  Ammazzacaffè, Blinky’s Bar and BK Jani to name a few. Scroll down below for the full list of participants and deals! Click the button below to purchase a passport.

You can only get the deal at each business once per passport. Deals do not include tax or tip. Please don't forget to tip! Participating businesses may choose not to honor Passport deals on March 17. Passports will be delivered a week before the start date.

---

Participating businesses

Medusa Slithers On To 618 Grand Street

Medusa Brooklyn slithers on to 618 Grand Street! Medusa Brooklyn is a gastropub, offering a variety of cocktails and other alcoholic beverages alongside small bites. They’re owned by seven different people, some from the acclaimed Our Wicked Lady in Bushwick. Medusa’s dishes take inspiration from Greek and Western cuisine, with a full menu to come soon. A wide variety of drinks at different price points are offered at Medusa, inclusive of everyone’s different tastes.

The interior is beautifully designed with a mixture of art-deco and greek motifs, inspired by the Greek mythological figure Medusa. A snake-scale diamond shaped wallpaper adorns most of the walls. Underneath the bar is the same snake-scale pattern in a neon-green lit LED light fixture. The rest of the interior includes an exposed brick wall, stone tiles, and a ceiling that are all remnants of the original Bushwick Country Club (which used to call this space a home). The backyard gives off a cozy vibe that emanates from the solar powered lighting adorned on top of the various New York perennials that they’ve planted outside

The owners of Medusa explain that they take inspiration from Medusa as a strong and resilient woman who’s a stoic survivor. They see Medusa as an empowering feminine figure, not as a monster in the way much of Greek mythology paints her. Medusa has seven different owners, all who played a part in the design and building process - Xandra, Hugh, Harlan, Jimmy, Zach, Ramsey and Keith. Their decor was designed and built by Max Graves, Chris Cornwell, Chris Perme, Keith Thomas, AJ Jankins and Alex Amini. Swing by Medusa at 618 Grand Street for a drink and a bite!

Lucy's Vietnamese Arrives to 649A Grand Street

Brisket Pho (Photo courtesy of Lucy’s Vietnamese)

Lucy’s Vietnamese has arrived at 649A Grand Street! Owner, Johnny Huynh, named Lucy’s after his grandmother Lucy, who’s original recipes from her home country of Vietnam serve as the foundation for Lucy’s menu. Lucy raised Johnny on her own, working three jobs to do so. This work ethic inspired Johnny, leading him to start working in restaurants at 19 years old. He eventually opened a stall at Smorgasborg centered around Vietnamese street food and brisket. In 2015, Johnny opened Lucy’s Vietnamese’s first location in Bushwick. Then, with the help of partners Don, Kyle, Mike and Ryan, the team opened locations in Williamsburg, Bedford Stuyvesant, and now here on Grand Street! At the core of Lucy’s dishes is its brisket which is smoked for 14 hours. This can be had in Pho, Banh Mi, or a Vermicelli Bowl. They also offer other proteins including chicken, vegan chicken, and tofu.

Owners Don, Kyle, Mike and Ryan don’t describe themselves as restaurateurs. They all have different backgrounds in various industries including computer science, engineering, small business management, and real estate investment. Don describes these backgrounds as unique advantages, allowing the team to think outside of the box. Before Lucy’s, Don worked in server maintenance in an IT department; he calls the two industries very similar, saying the end goal of both is to make your product/service as efficient as possible. In both industries, you’re constantly working to fix new problems that arise and make sure the ship stays afloat. Although Lucy’s menu is founded on traditional Vietnamese comfort food, they tweak original recipes with their own flair and are constantly trying to innovate with different ingredient and flavor combinations.

(Photo courtesy of Lucy’s Vietnamese)

During the earlier days of the pandemic, Lucy’s partnered with local hospitals to donate food to frontline workers. This line of work continues in the way owner Don carries himself. He’s most passionate about building relationships with customers and the community around him, using food as the connector that bridges people together. He and his partners chose Grand Street as their newest location “because the neighborhood has a lot of charm and character”. We can’t help but agree! Stop by Lucy’s Vietnamese on 649A Grand Street to say hi to Don and try some of their delicious Vietnamese comfort food!

From left to right: Kyle, Chu, Don, Ryan, Alvin and Benny

Welcome Café Zouave to 759 Grand Street

Welcome Café Zouave to 759 Grand Street! Owner, Jeremie Carrier, is bringing his vision of a French Bistro to Williamsburg with this new restaurant. Café Zouave aims to be a neighborhood restaurant open to all: a place where you can enjoy a French pastry and coffee in the mornings, and a steak dinner later in the day. Alongside Jeremie are his partners George and Sammy. The three met while working at a French brasserie over 20 years ago. They dreamed of partnering up one day to open up a restaurant together; two decades later their dream has finally come true.

Jeremie has been involved in restaurants his entire life. His family back in Evian, France has run restaurants and hotels for several generations. This shows in the way the bistro is decorated: the walls are adorned with ornaments from his homeland and family. Above the foosball table in the lounge area are 60 year old lights taken from his grandmother’s hotel. Alongside the walls are paintings his father painted, artwork from all over France, and even his father’s old smoking pipes hang in the back.

Running a restaurant “doesn’t feel like work” to Jeremie. He says that he “loves the freedom of running a restaurant” and “loves to speak to customers and see their critique of my dishes in real time”. It’s in these interactions Jeremie has found his passion; sharing food with people and enjoying conversation brings him joy. That’s been the case so far with Café Zouave, with Jeremie claiming the neighborhood has been very welcoming and community oriented. Stop by Café Zouave to check out their newly renovated space and try Grand Street's very own slice of France!

Sammy, George, and Jeremie