Monday, December 2, 2024
The Ugly Duckling, located at 906 W. Beech St., is launching a limited time “Winter Wonderland” pop-up, an immersive dining experience designed to transport guests to the North Pole, beginning Nov. 21.
Known for past themed events like its Taylor Swift-inspired pop-up and a Halloween collaboration with NYC’s Blood Manor team to present Nightmare on Beech Street, the restaurant often transforms the space during the off-season to continue to attract customers to the restaurant and the West End. This year, the space becomes a winter wonderland with interactive elements to create a festive experience for guests of all ages. The focus is on being a North Pole experience rather than a holiday one.
“This year, we wanted to come up with something that could be exciting for families, not just in the Long Beach Community,” owner Max Feinberg said, “but in surrounding communities and beyond.”
The Winter Wonderland experience begins as guests enter through a “Beech Street Train Station” before boarding a simulated North Pole Express train. Upon arrival, visitors will find themselves in “Downtown North Pole,” complete with storefronts, holiday lights and Santa’s workshop, where elves are busy at work. The “Naughty and Nice” office, an area filled with holiday details and mechanical elements, leads to a life-sized, unfortunately non-edible, gingerbread house set up in the back of the restaurant.
“I think that this is really a great winter, early spring experience that people can enjoy, and we’ll also program it out along the way with Santa Claus and other winter characters,” Feinberg said. “I think that design of the room is just the start, and then how we program it, but I think the level to which we go; a lot of time, effort and money to make people believe that they’re going to the North Pole.”
Feinberg and his team collaborated with set designer Craig Banks, whose group has handled the complex set elements, decor and special effects to build out the environment.
Tickets are $40 per person and include an entree and dessert. While the full menu is still under finalization, they plan to offer seasonal treats such and a variety of holiday-themed cocktails as well as mocktails for the younger North Pole travelers. The menu will also feature a few seasonal dishes to enhance the experience, though The Ugly Duckling is balancing themed elements with classic menu items to maintain efficiency and quality.
“The level we go to really transport the guests into the experience, is a level that I don’t think your average experience goes to.” Feinberg said. “Which is not in any capacity to say or imply that the other experiences aren’t great, and I own the other restaurants that do some of those other experiences, but this, I think, is really transformative.”
Beyond the dining experience, the restaurant will host weekly themed trivia nights every Thursday, featuring questions on different holiday movies.
Tickets and additional information for The Ugly Duckling’s Winter Wonderland are available on WonderlandPopUp.com.
