Amber Steakhouse owner Lukasz Skrodzki. Photo courtesy of Amber Steakhouse.
Amber Steakhouse Owner Lukasz Skrodzki traces his family’s roots in rural Poland to one of Greenpoint’s finest restaurants.
BY BENJAMIN ZHURBIN
GREENPOINT – Among Brooklyn’s Polish community, there is a common saying: “From Warsaw, the first stop is Greenpoint.”
For Lukasz Skrodzki, the saying was more or less accurate— his father immigrated to Greenpoint from a rural Polish farm on October 16, 1993, and 3 days later, Skrodzki was born.
Now 33, Skrodzi runs Amber Steakhouse, a restaurant his father opened in 2010 that has since become a Greenpoint staple, noted for its white tablecloths, high-quality steaks, dim lighting, and rustic wood interior. But beneath this classy, upscale aesthetic hides a multi-generational immigrant story of dedication, tradition and adaptation to the neighborhood’s ever-shifting urban landscape.
The story begins on a distant farm in Poland, where Skrodzki’s father started working as a butcher at 13. His father did the same work, and so did his father’s father.
“There was no grocery shopping—that’s how they put food on the table for themselves,” said Lukasz Skrodzki.
As Skrodzki’s father got older, he looked to expand his work beyond serving his family. Eventually, he began serving local weddings, funerals, and family gatherings. The business grew considerably, and, along the way, the elder Skrodzki slowly honed his entrepreneurship and culinary skills.
A few years later, he opened his own butcher shop, and was quick to involve his young son in the family business.
Growing up in Greenpoint, Skrodzki was always outside and around the butcher shop.
“I’ve always been a kid that can never sit home,” he told the Greenpoint Star. “I don’t watch TV. People will be like, ‘oh, have you ever watched the Lord of the Rings?’ No, I never watched that. ‘You ever watched Seinfeld?’ No, I never watched that.”
“We were the stoop kids,” he continued. “It made us who we are now.”
Skrodzki described how he got more involved in the family business as he got older. His father made him work for everything he wanted. As Skrodzki worked at the butcher shop to get a new bike or a scooter, he mastered his culinary skills, so it was almost natural for him to continue working alongside his dad beyond childhood.
He was always—and continues to be—greatly involved in Greenpoint life, particularly in the Polish community. This year, he is the Marshal of Green Point for the Pulaski Day parade, following in his father’s footsteps who was the Greenpoint Marshal in 2015.
“That’s a big milestone for me,” he said.
His father continued to operate the butcher shop for over a decade, but he’d always dreamt of having an upscale restaurant, which he hoped could be a place for local people to celebrate their most special occasions.
At the same time, the neighborhood was changing. Many Poles moved back to Poland or were otherwise pushed out by rising prices. Skrodzki’s father opened Amber Steakhouse in 2010. Skrodzki describes the moment as the “perfect time to open it” because the neighborhood had not yet changed substantially, but would within the coming years. This “big 360” in the neighborhood, seems to have come with some positive effects for the business. The steakhouse has attracted high-profile customers, including celebrities like Anne Hathaway, soccer players, boxers, actors from Law & Order, former Polish President Andre Duda, and NBA champion Mikal Bridges just a few weeks ago.
“We don’t publicize it. We like it for them to be their own little private hidden gem.”
When Skrodzki turned 18-years-old, his father started giving him a lot more responsibility in the restaurant until Skrodzki eventually became his father’s right hand man. When COVID came, his father dedicated more time to a small farm he owns upstate. The elder Skrodzki spent his free time there as a hobby, “just for himself. ” After COVID, he passed the torch to his son.
Despite Amber Steakhouse’s success, the restaurant business requires constant innovation. Though a nationwide cattle shortage has brought high beef prices and restaurant customers have tended to drink less in recent years, which has affected profit margins, Skrodzki continues to adapt to keep the business running. During COVID, the steakhouse adapted by adding an outdoor seating area. Recently, they added a private room option, and now they are looking at possibly adding tableside food preparation to the guest experience.
