Sylvia Woods (February 2, 1926 – July 19, 2012) was an American

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

who founded the restaurant Sylvia's in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

Lenox Avenue Lenox Avenue – also named Malcolm X Boulevard; both names are officially recognized – is the primary north–south route through Harlem in the upper portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. This two-way street runs from F ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with her husband, Herbert Woods, in 1962. The

soul food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

eatery is a popular gathering place for Harlem residents and tourists not far from the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

Life

Sylvia was born to Julia and Van Pressley in

Hemingway, South Carolina Hemingway is a town in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 459 at the 2010 census. History Hemingway was created from a crossroads community named Lamberts in 1911 by Dr. W. C. Hemingway, in an effort to secure ...

. Her father, Van Pressley, died when she was just three days old from complications of injuries he received during combat in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. By April 10, 1930, she had lived in

Williamsburg County, South Carolina Williamsburg County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census its population was 31,026. The county seat and largest city is Kingstree. After a previous incarnation of Williamsburg County, the current count ...

, with her grandmother Sylvia Johnson, the woman she was named after. Johnson had worked as a farmer, a trade that Pressley would get into when she got a little older. In 1930, Sylvia's mother took the rest of her family to New York so she could better provide for her family, leaving her grandmother, Sylvia Johnson to raise three-year-old Sylvia. Woods met her future husband, Herbert, in a bean field when she was 11 years old and he was 12. They married in 1944 after he followed her to New York.Sylvia Woods, Soul-Food Restaurateur, Is Dead at 86
by Margalit Fox. ''New York Times'', July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012 They had four children together: Van, Bedelia, Kenneth, and Crizette. Woods graduated from high school in her hometown of Hemingway, South Carolina. She trained to become a

beautician Cosmetology (from Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''-logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures, non-permanent hair removal such as ...

in New York, and also ran a beauty shop in South Carolina. Woods also worked in a hat factory, and as a waitress at a restaurant called Johnson’s Luncheonette in Harlem from 1954 to 1962. Woods worked at Johnson's for about seven or eight years. When the owner wanted to sell, he offered the place to Woods for $20,000. During the early 1990s, the business expanded and now seats up to 450 people. It also has a catering business. Organized and started by her son Van in 1992, Sylvia came out with her own line of

products that are sold nationally. Woods' products include many of her special sauces, vegetables, spices, syrup, and

cornbread Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are st ...

and pancake mixes. Woods produced two cookbooks: ''Sylvia’s Soul Food Cookbook,'' published in 1992; and ''Sylvia’s Family Soul Food Cookbook,'' published in 1999, both by

William Morrow and Company William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation News Corporation (abbrev ...

. The restaurant remains owned and operated by the Woods family. In August 2011, they celebrated 50 years in Harlem. Guests have included

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

, and

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

. Sylvia Woods stepped down from the day-to-day operations of the restaurant when she was 80 years old. Sylvia's is currently owned and operated by her children and grandchildren. Her husband Herbert predeceased her, dying in 2001. Woods died on July 19, 2012, at her home in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of t ...

, at the age of 86. She had suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

for several years. In 2014, the corner of W.126th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem was co-named "Sylvia P. Woods Way."

Awards and recognition

Due to the immense popularity of her soul-food staples, Woods was known as "the Queen of Soul Food."

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

used Sylvia's restaurant as a location for his 1991 film,

Jungle Fever ''Jungle Fever'' is a 1991 American romantic drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Lee, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Lonette McKee, John Turturro, Frank Vincent, ...

. New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was due to present Woods with an award at a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Sylvia’s Restaurant shortly after she died; a family friend accepted it on her behalf. Former President of the United States Bill Clinton was one of many who spoke in her memory at a two-hour-long memorial on July 24, 2012."Soul Food Queen Sylvia Woods Remembered in NYC"
by Karen matthews and Verena Dobnik. Associated Press, NEW YORK July 24, 2012 (reprinted by ''the Miami Herald'')

Bibliography

* ''Sylvia’s Soul Food: Recipes From Harlem’s World Famous Restaurant'', with Christopher Styler (1992, William Morrow and Company) * ''Sylvia’s Family Soul Food Cookbook: From Hemingway, South Carolina, to Harlem'', with Melissa Clark (1999, William Morrow and Company)

References

External links

* Alkalimat, Abdul (2004). The African American Experience in Cyberspace. Pluto Press. *http://www.sylviasrestaurant.com/ *Sylvia Woods. nlinevailable http://www.answers.com/topic/sylvia-woods *Sylvia Woods. nlinevailable http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/19104/Sylvia_Woods/index.aspx *Sylvia's. nlinevailable http://www.sylviassoulfood.com/about.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Sylvia 1926 births 2012 deaths American women restaurateurs Beauticians People from Hemingway, South Carolina People from Mount Vernon, New York Businesspeople from New York City Deaths from dementia in New York (state) Deaths from Alzheimer's disease 20th-century American businesspeople African-American women in business 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American businesspeople