Charlottesville locals may only have a few more months to sample Umma's unique dishes, such as Big Mac Dolsot Bokkeumbap and Kimchi Carbonara Tteokbokki.
The owners of the Korean-Japanese restaurant and bar recently announced that the Water Street business is for sale as the couple, Anna Gardner and Kelsey Naylor, leave Charlottesville in about six months. The next tenant will have to choose between purchasing the Ummas brand and recipes or bringing an entirely different culinary concept to the prime location just one block from Charlottesvilles Downtown Mall.
The decision could go either way, says broker Stu Rifkin.
It's 50-50 whether it will stay the same, Rifkin told the Daily Progress. It's a great venue, much of its appeal lying in its massive capacity, permanent outdoor tent, outdoor seating and stage.
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Ummas, a Japanese-Korean restaurant and bar in downtown Charlottesville, has become known for its Big Gay Dance Parties.
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Previously, the real estate was home to Mono Loco, a burrito barn known for its wild weekend dance parties, and Moes, a barbecue joint that still has a location on Ivy Road.
It even includes parking for staff, which is unheard of downtown, Rifkin added.
One thing that will disappear from the space for good is Ummas' iconic logo: a black-and-white rendering of Naylor's grandmother wearing square glasses and a sweet smile.
It's non-negotiable, Gardner told the Daily Progress. The logo should change.
The name of the restaurant, which means moms in Korean, is in honor of Naylor's mother, Jen, who initially went into the business with her daughter and Gardner, but left about a year ago. year to retire. Jen Mama Bird Naylor's retirement is different than most, her daughter said, as she continues to operate her 22-acre Sussex farm where she raises hundreds of birds and many of the products that come in in the composition of its famous kimchi, available for purchase both. at the restaurant and local farmers' market.
National Pride Month kicks off in Charlottesville with a not-so-old-fashioned tea dance
She's amazing, Gardner said. All that happens, she says, is not that you can't do it, it's that you don't have the will to do it. Nothing can stop her when she has something on her mind.
As for what the two owners of Ummas think: it's time to literally move on. Gardner and Naylor are considering moving to Charlotte, North Carolina or Philadelphia. Their business philosophy centers on opening up a place to stay for a period of time and then steadily increasing the money, said Gardner, who has lived in Charlottesville since he was 12 years old.
But the next adventure remains to be determined for the young couple. Naylor said she plans to stay in the culinary industry with dreams of opening a hole-in-the-wall business.
Regarding their time at Ummas, the couple expressed gratitude for the supportive community they found in Charlottesville, which came together in ways Gardner hadn't necessarily anticipated. This is something I will miss in Charlottesville and will probably get lost a lot more in a metropolitan area.
For example, the restaurant is hosting an event next week to benefit a staff member who is suffering from serious health issues. When one of the DJs who frequently perform at Ummas' dance parties heard about the employees' health concerns, he offered to print custom T-shirts at a significantly reduced price.
A sign depicting anime icon Sailor Moon welcomes guests to Umma's, a Japanese-Korean restaurant and bar located near the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.
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It's definitely bittersweet, Naylor told the Daily Progress. I'm excited about what's next, but I'm going to be sad because of everything we've built here, the people we've met and the community.
Before opening Ummas in 2022, Garner and Naylor had a history of on-the-go fusion restaurants. Their first idea was Pye Dog Pizza, a New York-style pizzeria located at the Ix Art Park Farmers Market with unconventional toppings such as bulgogi steak or smoked salmon with all the bagel seasoning. It was followed by a popular food truck, Basan, serving various bowls of ramen and Japanese-style karaage and katsu nuggets made from chicken and pork.
After Basan closed, the two professionally trained chefs moved into their first brick-and-mortar location on Water Street, introducing yet another creative menu featuring a fusion of Korean and Japanese flavors, inspired by both the Naylors' family recipes and the year spent as a couple in the Japanese countryside. .
In addition to offering a unique blend of cultures, Ummas also served as a bar and late-night dance venue with special bites and DJ-led parties, transforming into a haven for Charlottesville's LGBTQ+ community.
The restaurant partnered with LGBTQ+ event organizer Out and About to host a tea dance during Pride Month last June. The donations were intended to support Virginia Pride, which Ummas owners say they want to replicate in June.
Modern tea dances originated in the mid-1960s, when it was illegal for bars in New York to sell alcohol to people who were knowingly part of the gay community. Business allies were often subject to police raids. Such oppression led gay men in New York to begin holding Sunday tea dances, where members of the community would gather, dance, and drink tea in public places around the city.
Last Sunday, Ummas hosted a pop-up in collaboration with Beautiful Idea, a self-described anti-fascist bookstore and queer marketplace.
Despite their involvement in local LGBTQ+ events, Gardner said it catches her off guard when people express their appreciation for the restaurants' involvement and openness.
We're both the kind of people who keep our heads down and keep trudging forward, she said. So when people say: This is a place that means a lot to me or Thanks for what you've done, every time it's that feeling of being slapped with surprise like: Oh, thank you.
Until a new budding entrepreneur makes an offer, it will be business as usual for Ummas. Although they officially announced the sale on Ummas' Instagram page on April 17, the reality still hasn't sunk in for Gardner and Naylor, who say it's been our life for so long it doesn't seem still different.
In reality, we'll compartmentalize until the day after the last day, then probably go to bed for three days like Victorian ladies, Gardner joked.
