‘The business is all we have’
Bay Ridge residents rally behind beloved restaurant facing eviction
BY JESSICA PARKS
The owners of a beloved
German restaurant in Bay
Ridge are asking for their
community’s help as they
attempt to stave off eviction
— and pay thousands of dollars
in back-rent racked up
during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have spent the past
few months attempting to negotiate
with our landlord but
we have been unable to negotiate
anything positive,”
wrote business owner Fred
Urban on a GoFundMe page
for his 13-year-old family
restaurant, Schnitzel Haus.
Urban and his wife, Amber,
launched the online
fundraiser on July 22 after
months of back-and-forth
with the establishment’s
landlord — and the unexpected
loss of their 26-yearold
son in April.
“The business is all we
have, we wiped out our bank
account already. I wiped out
my 401K to try to keep the
doors open,” said Urban,
who set a goal of $30,000.
“If we were able to get the
$30,000 we are going for, we
would be able to hand the
landlord all the arrears at
one time.”
Since then, do-gooders
have poured close to $10,000
into the campaign as of Aug.
6 — many of the donations accompanied
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by well wishes to
the Urban family, who have
given back to their community
on countless occasions.
“Please help support a local
family business who have
been tirelessly there for many
people in our community
when in need,” wrote Bay
Ridge resident Thomas Bata.
“Freddie and Amber are one
of our neighborhood’s warmest
and generous hearts in
community service and it’s
our turn to support and give
back to them!”
At the height of the coronavirus
pandemic in March,
the Urban family was recognized
by the New York Post
as “Heroes of the Day” for
their efforts to feed the elderly
and the homeless —
something, Urban said, felt
like instinct.
“I’ve been doing it for
years, so when COVID hit,
I felt bad and thought, let’s
bring them some food,” Urban
told Brooklyn Paper.
But, shortly after, tragedy
struck the Urbans when
their son, Ritchie, died unexpectedly
from a seizure.
“It is unfortunate, you
can always say ‘my life is
going well’ and then in one
fell swoop…” Urban said.
“Ritchie was there for day
one, from the day we opened.
When he turned 21, the first
drink we ever had was in
the restaurant. We did little
mini projects, painting this
and fixing this. Everything
we did together.”
After such an insurmountable
loss, Urban is
hopeful he will be able to
save his family business —
one, he said, meant so much
to his son — with the help of
his community.
“This is not just a business
that we open that we
could care less if they close,”
Urban said. “It is everything
to me and my family.”
Schnitzel Haus is open for
outdoor dining on weeknights
from 4 pm to 9 pm, and until 10
pm on Friday. The German tavern
is also open on Saturdays
from noon to 10 pm, and on Sundays
from 2 pm and 9 pm.
The owners of Schnitzel Haus are hoping to raise $30,000 via GoFundMe
to help pay months of accrued rent. Schnitzel Haus
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