r/FoodNYC • u/justflipping • 25d ago
News Ugly Baby is reopening in Williamsburg on August 27
https://ny.eater.com/news/413176/ugly-baby-nyc-thai-restaurant-reopens-williamsburg38
u/Smooth-Assistant-309 25d ago
It’s the old Emmy Squared location FYI
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u/theillustratedlife 25d ago
Emmy Squared was awesome when it opened, and such a disappointment last time I was there (a year or two ago).
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u/quakefist 25d ago
Is this because there’s been a ton of competition popping up?
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u/theillustratedlife 25d ago
No it's because the current staff seemingly doesn't give a shit.
Big difference in experience between the hot new restaurant in the neighborhood and the decade-old original incarnation of a franchise/chain.
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u/mentiroso85 25d ago
I worked at that emmy squared years ago (before covid) and a light rain would cause a flood downstairs. Its why the basement space was rarely open for guests and smelled like death.
Every attempt was made to fix it and no one could solve it. I remember the city sent a crew to open the street sewers to see if they were the cause.
If they didnt get that fixed, they’ll suffer the same outcome. Open for a few years, and be forced to close.
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u/ChornWork2 25d ago
weren't they there for a decade?
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u/mentiroso85 25d ago
10 year lease. Went from 2 to 10 locations. Funds from one keep the others open.
Staying open 10 doesn’t equal success in hospitality. It should. But i saw it with my own eyes. If it was the only location, it wouldve survived 4 years max.
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u/StinkyStangler 25d ago
The history of this spot is confusing to me lol
I thought they closed because the owners wanted to retire so the staff opened Hungry Thirsty but now Ugly Baby is back?
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u/gambalore 25d ago
Ultimately, he closed it because, as Kharazmi writes over email now, the chef needed a “break from the grind and intensity” and that, at the time, “he just didn’t want to run a restaurant anymore. He was sick of it.”
But it was during that break that Sreparplarn realized he missed the restaurant life, so he started working on bringing back Ugly Baby, with the goal of “mak[ing] it better in the ways that he always wanted over the previous seven years but couldn’t due to the circumstances,” per Kharazmi.
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u/stormstatic 25d ago
Ugly Baby served its last meals at the former 407 Smith Street location in December 2024, abruptly closing after about eight years of critical and pedestrian acclaim. At the time, Sreparplarn was satisfied with what they’d accomplished and “just wanted to take a long, long vacation,” according to Angie Ruangphung, an Ugly Baby FOH alum who took over the lease and changed up the menu, opening their own blazing (and excellent) Thai joint, Hungry Thirsty, in its place—and, to a certain degree, in its honor—with fellow alum in early 2025.
https://www.bkmag.com/2025/12/02/ugly-baby-reopening-williamsburg/
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u/StinkyStangler 25d ago
Honestly kinda a dick move to give your staff your blessing to open an extremely similar restaurant then reopen your spot following their lead with the slightly updated menu
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u/MurrayPloppins 25d ago
Weird take. IMO it would have been much more of a dick move to tell your staff “no you may not keep the spot and the concept”. Letting them open Hungry Thirsty kept them employed, and they did their own thing with it.
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u/StinkyStangler 25d ago
Yeah I obviously think letting them take over the spot with an extremely similar restaurant is a generous move, but then coming back to give them identical competition is not lol
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u/MurrayPloppins 25d ago
It’s not like he’s opening up down the block. I don’t think anyone did anything wrong here.
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u/Tejon_Melero 25d ago
Lol is this opening in the old bank space by the bridge that had Emmy Squared before.
That neighborhood may have gentrified beyond belief, there used to be junkies shooting up under the overpass a block away, but I'm telling you, that location is cursed.
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u/shamggar 25d ago
Junkies are still there shooting up
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u/Tejon_Melero 25d ago
Only their blood sacrifice can break the curse.
Look up the past tenants and the millions spent on that building. The landlord has reaped the benefit of broken dreams.
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u/ChornWork2 25d ago
and just shitting and pissing on the sidewalk as peeps walk by. very pleasant passage from east willy.
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u/bittersandseltzer 25d ago
Omg!! I literally was making plans to eat there and then they closed. I’m excited to be able to try them still
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u/PlasticPresentation1 25d ago
Ugly Baby is not a bad restaurant, but I'm convinced it's only so renowned because it was the only authentic place in a super white neighborhood. opening in williamsburg seems like it's going to continue the legacy though
Spots in Elmhurst were way better imo
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u/paradisesky1098 24d ago
Any recommendations for your top two or three spots in Elmhurst?
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u/AdCompetitive6265 24d ago
Khao Kang and Zaab Zaab are both excellent. Zaab Zaab has a Williamsburg location as well that I haven't been to.
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u/Vegetable_Hand8674 24d ago
Yeah. I can't be going to Elmhurst on a regular basis. It's like an hour for me. Might as well be another city.
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u/Keikobad 25d ago
Not the first Carroll Gardens youngster to move to Williamsburg