08/14/2026
Did you know that Odessa, Texas most likely got its name from Odesa, Ukraine — our hometown on the Black Sea?
Before we tell you why our restaurant carries that name, there is one question we are often asked:
Why Odesa with one “s,” when so many Americans know Odessa with two?
They are the same city.
For decades, Odessa was the familiar English spelling, reflecting the Russian-language form of the city’s name. Odesa is the official Ukrainian transliteration of Одеса — a spelling formally standardized by Ukraine years before the war.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, using the Ukrainian names of Ukrainian cities became especially meaningful to us.
So when it came time to name our restaurant, we chose Odesa.
Not because Odessa with two “s” means another city. It doesn’t. We simply wanted the name of our hometown to appear in its Ukrainian form — because this restaurant is being created by a Ukrainian family, and because this spelling gives our Odesa its own identity here in America.
And the name Odessa has traveled surprisingly far.
There is Odessa, Texas. Odessa, Delaware. Odessa, Washington. Odessa, Missouri. Odessa, Minnesota. And even here in Michigan, there is the village of Lake Odessa.
The name traveled across the Atlantic long before we did.
But for us, Odesa is much more than a name on a map.
Six generations of our family were born, raised, and rooted there.
It is the city where we grew up, met, fell in love, got married, and welcomed our son, Leon.
It is also where Sergey’s culinary journey began — peeling potatoes in a restaurant kitchen — and where, years later, he became the brand chef of a restaurant group, a restaurateur, and a well-known food blogger recognized by followers on the streets.
Much of that journey was built together — with Sergey leading restaurants and developing culinary concepts, while Christina shaped the marketing, media, and brands behind the projects they created together.
Christina’s grandfather even composed songs about Odesa.
This city is written into our family in more ways than we can count.
Odesa is one of Ukraine’s great Black Sea cities — known for its architecture, hidden courtyards, Opera House, bustling markets, long dinners, humor, hospitality, and, of course, the sea.
But what shaped Odesa perhaps more than anything was its position as a port city — a place where people, ideas, and cuisines continually met.
Ukrainian at its core, Odesa was also shaped by Jewish, Greek, Balkan, Mediterranean, and many other influences. Its food never fit neatly into one national category.
That same spirit is behind our menu.
We are not building Odesa around a narrow definition of traditional Ukrainian cuisine. We are building it around the kind of food people in Odesa actually grew up eating — comforting, generous food with Ukrainian roots and a distinctly European character.
So even if you have never tried Ukrainian cuisine before, much of the menu will feel surprisingly familiar.
You may discover new names and flavors, but you will never need to “learn” how to eat at Odesa.
That is the Odesa we want to share with Midland — not by recreating the past, but by carrying its spirit forward.
For most of our lives, we never imagined we would be building that story anywhere else.
Then 2022 changed everything.
War forced us to leave the city we loved and begin again thousands of miles away.
And that is where Midland became part of our story.
We did not find another Odesa here.
We found something different — a community that made a new place feel like home.
You welcomed our family. You encouraged us. You supported Chef Sergey’s Bakery. You have supported us from the beginning — coming through our doors, bringing your families and friends, sending us messages, telling us how glad you are that we’re here, and giving us the confidence to dream bigger again.
We will never forget that.
So Odesa by Chef Sergey is not meant to be a museum of the city we left behind.
It is a piece of what we carried with us — the generosity, the food, the beauty, the humor, and the belief that there should always be room for one more person at the table.
And now we are building it here, for the community that gave us the opportunity to begin again.
Odesa is the home that shaped us.
Midland is the home that welcomed us.
This restaurant is where those two stories meet.
Thank you, Midland.
We cannot wait to welcome you to our table.
Odesa by Chef Sergey — Opening Fall 2026
1716 W Wackerly St., Midland, MI
odesabychefsergey.com
