IN THE DEN WITH URSA
Published in the Dec. 27, 2025 issue.
Ursa co-owner and executive chef Steve Shatkin is a warm, easygoing guy. Big smile. Forearm lined with tattoos, like a kitchen knife overlaying a meat fork, the chemical composition for coffee, and the ursa minor constellation.
Shatkin is guided by an unorthodox philosophy: unreasonable hospitality.
“[It means] giving more than what’s expected,” Shatkin said. “It applies to restaurants; it applies to relationships.”
Shatkin said he can’t take credit for the phrase. It belongs to Will Guidara, a Michelin Star chef and one of Shatkin’s idols. But it’s clear by the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon we shared over the course of our interview (Drinking on the job. Noted. -Ed.) that Shatkin brings an attitude of unreasonable hospitality to everything he does. He credits this mentality for the success of his restaurant.
Ursa is unique. The restaurant is only open Friday through Sunday and operates out of the same space as Mammoth Coffee Roasters, the coffee shop (at the corner of Old Mammoth and Meridian) also owned by Shatkin and his wife, Stacey.
The pair opened Mammoth Coffee Roasters in 2020. Five years later, in 2024, the Shatkins decided they wanted to expand.
“We generate most of our revenue between 6 in the morning and noon. The rest of the time, the place sits empty,” Shatkin said. “So we started talking about what else we could do.”
The couple brainstormed. The result? A boutique fine dining experience with a seasonal rotating menu, featuring items like handmade squid ink fettuccine with poached lobster and a citrus beurre blanc reduction.
“I think people are surprised,” Shatkin said. “We don’t pretend we’re not in a coffee shop.”
Shatkin didn’t grow up in the restaurant business. He never attended cooking school. He was a chemist by trade, raised by a mother who loved to cook. He gleaned everything he knew from her cookbooks, rummaging through the public library as a teenager, and later, followed chefs like Guidara on social media. Shatkin found commonalities between chemistry and cooking.
“It all just lends itself to food science,” he said.
Now, before anything goes on the restaurant menu, Shatkin makes it at home with his wife. Her ability to pick out the nuances in flavor allows the dish to be perfected, Shatkin explained. For a dish to make the cut, they both have to love it.
Food has always been a bonding point for the Shatkins. Their marriage is the second for both of them: Steve and Stacey had two children each from previous partners. When they blended families, it always centered around food.
“We used flavor to bring the families together,” he said. “One of the kids would get to cook with me. Everyone wanted to do it and they cooked whatever they wanted.”
If the kids wanted to make pasta, it was always from scratch. If they wanted to make sushi, they had to attend a sushi rolling class.
Raising their four kids together gave the Shatkins a nuanced perspective when hiring, Steve explained. They look towards hiring more marginalized people, sometimes even uplifting individuals who struggle with addiction through providing them with a job.
“We always consider our restaurant a house. We don’t say front of house, back of house. Instead its kitchen and dining room,” Shatkin said. “Because when you’re at home, you don’t say I’m going to the front of the house.”
It takes a village, he added. “I want to make sure everybody’s included in everyone else’s view of what the restaurant really is. I can’t do this alone.”
Above all, Shatkin prioritizes fun. For him, running Mammoth Coffee Roasters and Ursa with his wife is exactly that.
“I always tell people if you’re not having fun, change something,” he said.
Looking towards the future, Shatkin hopes to franchise Mammoth Coffee Roasters and open more locations throughout the state. Ursa will continue to only operate in Mammoth. Starting January 1, 2026, the restaurant will be open Thursdays, too.
On Christmas Day, Ursa will have a tasting menu and a wine pairing. Seats are still available online: ursakitchen.com.
