The Queen and King of Soul Food

Harr_0471374725_c01.qxd 10/3/00 9:03 AM Page 1 1 SYLVIA AND HERBERT WOODS SYLVIA’S RESTAURANT The Queen and King of Soul Food I don’t stay still long enough to relax. Even when I’m in bed, I’m thinking. It had only been 30 minutes since the doors to the world-famous Sylvia’s Restaurant opened, but, as usual, the place was already packed. Scores of family, friends, fans, and some of the biggest names in Harlem had come to help Sylvia Woods celebrate the release of her second cookbook, Sylvia’s Family Soul Food Cook- book. Under slightly dimmed lights, flashbulbs flickered, cam- corders rolled, and nearly 400 guests shared “Remember when . .” stories. The bluesy sounds of a live jazz band filtered through the quaint and cozy quarters of this Harlem-based restaurant that has become a historic landmark and a revered tourist attraction. Not one person was without a plate. Some diners had piled- high portions of smothered pork chops, fried catfish, crisp col- lard greens, golden-brown macaroni and cheese, and sugary candied yams. Others were working their way through barbe- cued ribs, southern fried chicken, potato salad, black-eyed peas, and fluffy squares of cornbread. These are just a few of the soul food favorites for which the down-home restaurant has become known over the past three decades. (The recipes are in the cookbooks.) Then there is the “Queen of Soul Food” herself: Sylvia. She is just as popular as the home-style Southern cui- sine she serves. 1 Harr_0471374725_c01.qxd 10/3/00 9:03 AM Page 2 2 Against All Odds Dressed in an understated yet classic black dress, and greeting her diners with a motherly smile, Sylvia effortlessly made her way from table to table, exchanging hugs and kisses, posing for pictures, signing autographs, and chatting with guests. She even picked up some empty plates and cups along the way and deposited them in the kitchen. There is nothing pretentious about this 74-year-old restaurateur whose fame and fortune en- title her to a diva’s demeanor. Sylvia is just plain Sylvia, a simple and sagacious woman who has gone from picking beans in the fields of a small rural town in South Carolina to owning Man- hattan’s oldest—and world-respected—soul food restaurant. Sylvia’s Restaurant is a family-owned and operated business in which two younger generations now work. But, on most days, Sylvia strolls around the restaurant in a white laboratory coat that makes her look more like a professor than the Queen of Soul Food. If she’s not checking on the chef or going over menus and other day-to-day tasks, she’s greeting and talking with her customers. I don’t stay still long enough to relax. Even when I’m in bed, I’m thinking. Never too far from her side is her husband of 56 years Herbert. A soft-spoken man with a round, gentle face and piercing eyes, he helped turn the once small mom-and-pop outfit into a palace of Southern dining located just around the corner from the leg- endary Apollo Theater. He has contributed his specialties to the menu: Rise-and-Shine Salmon and Bacon with Grits, Honey- Grilled Yellow Squash, and “Hot As You Like It” Fried Corn. If Sylvia is the queen of soul food, Herbert is definitely the king. Both come from a community of great cooks, which explains their passion and penchant for getting behind the grill. But it took a lot more than culinary genius to make Sylvia’s a success. Starting the restaurant was not easy for this couple. Neither came from affluence. They recall being raised where few families had indoor plumbing and electricity, and a kitchen wasn’t neces- sarily a room in most houses. Drawing on a family nest egg was out of the question; the nest egg didn’t exist. But, together, Sylvia and Herbert worked, scrimped, and saved to buy every table and chair, every knife and fork needed in their establishment. They Harr_0471374725_c01.qxd 10/3/00 9:03 AM Page 3 Sylvia and Herbert Woods: Sylvia’s Restaurant 3 weathered turbulent economies, devastating riots, and the com- petition. They maintained and grew their restaurant, which today generates around $3.5 million in annual revenue and feeds mil- lions of people around the globe every year. In any part of the United States, people who know good food have either heard about or eaten at Sylvia’s. The mere mention of the name conjures up mouthwatering descriptions of its suc- culent salmon croquettes, flaky butter-filled biscuits, and creamy mashed potatoes. But Sylvia’s soul food lovers are not confined to the United States. They can also be found through- out Europe (even Finland!) and Japan. Several international tourist groups have made Sylvia’s a “must see” on their New York itineraries. Celebrities, political figures, and some royalty have ventured uptown—Bentleys, chauffered limousines, and all—to 126th Street and Lenox Avenue for the experience of old- fashioned Southern hospitality. The walls of the four-room restaurant pronounce its popularity within the entertainment world and among the political and social elite. There hang pho- tographs of media mogul Quincy Jones, Oscar winner Denzel Washington, the late songstress Phyllis Hyman, former South Africa first lady Winnie Mandela, and former Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp. But this collage barely scrapes the surface concerning the number of stars who have experienced soul food—Sylvia’s style. Diana Ross asked for sec- onds of the sassy rice when she stopped by. Muhammad Ali used to fetch his own biscuits at the steam tables. Then there is Russell Simmons, Sidney Poitier, Richard Gere, Susan Saran- don, Don King, Barry White, Michael J. Fox, Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson, Liza Minelli, Teddy Pendergrass—the list goes on and on. Over the years, longtime Harlemite and business- man Percy Sutton held meetings here with Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Noted actor and director Spike Lee shot a scene from his 1991 film Jungle Fever in a corner of the restaurant, which is now memorialized with a large auto- graphed poster from the blockbuster movie. The Sylvia’s name is far reaching, and the menu is the main draw. But the food, which offers some baked and grilled dishes for the calorie-conscious, is not the only thing that keeps people coming back for more. The feelings of family, togetherness, love, and comfort are also important. Where else could you find Harr_0471374725_c01.qxd 10/3/00 9:03 AM Page 4 4 Against All Odds Secretary of State Madeline Albright and her Secret Service guardians dining just tables away from a working-class family of four, ten yuppies from midtown Manhattan, and a group of young urban males? There’s nothing stuffy about Sylvia’s. One does not have to tilt his or her head in embarrassment if a piece of silverware accidentally ends up on the floor. Behind the counter, Mama Mae serves up the special of the day. Regular customers come in and hug their waiters and waitresses, many of whom have worked at the restaurant for 10 to 15 years. And more often than not, Sylvia sweeps through, stopping at tables to talk and to tease. If a person is not eating the food, she wants to know why. And don’t give her that old excuse, “Well, I’m not hungry.” With a tough-love look that only a mother could give, she still gets diners to clean their plates. When you’re in the restaurant business, you have got to make people feel like they’re at home and feel like you ap- preciate them. That’s what we do here and I think that’s part of the reason for our success. In 1992, Sylvia and Herbert launched a canned soul-food line which has now birthed 33 items, including Sylvia’s Specially Cut Yams, Kicking Hot Sauce, Original Barbecue Sauce, and Spe- cially Seasoned Mustard Greens, all of which are available na- tionwide in such supermarkets as Pathmark, Bi-Lo, and Stop, Shop and Save. Five years later, the Woods family embarked on an expansion plan to place clones of the famed restaurant in var- ious cities across the map. In 1997, they opened their first branch with much fanfare—and, admittedly, a little disappoint- ment—in Atlanta, Georgia. Today, their total food empire generates nearly $13 million in yearly revenue, deservedly putting the Woods at the top of the food chain. But, to understand how long and hard the climb has been, one need only read the story of their rise. Rule 1: Save, Save, Save Theirs is truly a rags-to-riches, boy-meets-girl, happily-ever- after story. Harr_0471374725_c01.qxd 10/3/00 9:03 AM Page 5 Sylvia and Herbert Woods: Sylvia’s Restaurant 5 Sylvia Woods was born in 1926 in the small Southern town of Hemingway, South Carolina. The only child, she was raised on a farm by her mother, Julia Pressley, and her grandmother. They were the town’s only midwives. Her father, Van, died just three days after she was born. Her grandfather had been lynched some 20 years earlier, so the women ran the house and the family farm. They grew everything they ate. They bartered skills with their male neighbors—a typical practice at that time. The women would do matronly tasks, such as washing, mending, and cook- ing. In exchange, the men would handle the heavy-duty chores such as plowing and barn raising.

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