Posted on 07/23/2012 12:27:51 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Sylvia Woods, the owner of Harlem's famed Sylvia's restaurant, died Thursday at the age of 86.
The "Queen of Soul Food" battled Alzheimer's disease for years and was surrounded by her loved ones during her final days, her family said in a statement.
Elected officials from all over the nation expressed their condolences to Woods' kin, who still manage the 50-year-old restaurant.
"She exemplified the entrepreneurial spirit that is at the heart of our city's success," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.
Born in South Carolina, Woods and her husband Herbert moved to Harlem in the '40s and she began working at a local luncheonette. In 1962, she opened her own eatery with the help of her mother, who mortgaged her farm, and it became an instant success.
Woods was to receive an award commemorating the restaurant's anniversary at Gracie Mansion on Thursday. The mayor's office said it gave the award to a family friend and observed a moment of silence.
According to Obama, she didn't build that.
I wonder if during the eulogy they will thank the government for all the hard work they did for her restaurant?
bless the business angle, but it was a terrible, terrible restaurant. The food was an insult to Southern cooking.
LOL!! Good one. Wish somehow you could add that to the article!
RIP.
Dang! The thought of meeting Mayor Bloomberg killed her off. She was probably worried he was going to outlaw the food she served.
Was anybody in there?
He then fined them for serving oversized drinks,,,
Sorry Bloomy, you're not with the program. Didn't the President say, “If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. ”
So the accolades for Sylvia are misplaced.
You beat me too it.
Soul food? We just call it home cooking here in Alabama. The receipes were taught to slaves to cook for their masters. American Africans act like they invented “soul food” and brought it from Africa. If that were the case, then “soul food” would actually be bugs and monkey brains.
Dats Wacist!
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