Sylvia Woods, the “Queen of Soulfood,” is the founder and owner of the world famous Sylvia’s Restaurant, located in the historical village of Harlem, since 1962. Sylvia, young and determined received her beautician license at night while attending junior High School during the day. Sylvia opened the first farmhouse salon in her hometown of Hemingway,
Sylvia Woods, the “Queen of Soulfood,” is the founder and owner of the world famous Sylvia’s Restaurant, located in the historical village of Harlem, since 1962. Sylvia, young and determined received her beautician license at night while attending junior High School during the day. Sylvia opened the first farmhouse salon in her hometown of Hemingway, South Carolina. Sylvia, born and raised on her mother’s South Carolina farm had dreams at a very young age of marrying her childhood sweet heart Herbert, (whom she meet when she was eleven and he was twelve, of New York City. In 1944, Sylvia married Herbert and started her journey towards a brighter future. Harlem called, and Sylvia answered, as she became a waitress at Johnson’s luncheonette. while picking beans after school), and of one day trading in the cotton fields for the bright lights In 1962, after several years of dedicated service to her employer, Mr. Johnson recognized Sylvia’s entrepreneurial spirit and sold her the luncheonette. Julia Pressley, Sylvia’s mother, whom was a farmer and mid-wife, mortgaged her farm to loan her the money for the purchase. The than small luncheonette consisted of a counter and a few booths, has now flourished into a family owned enterprise which consist of: Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, Sylvia’s Also, a full- service catering hall, Sylvia’s Catering Corp., a nation-wide line of Sylvia’s Food Products, two deliciously amazing cookbooks, and ATOC, Inc., a real estate firm. Sylvia’s unwavering vision, hard work, and determination was shared by her late husband Herbert Woods, and was instilled in their four children, Van, Bedelia, Kenneth, and Crizette, who together with their children manage this family enterprise. To-date there are three generations of the Woods family working tirelessly, to ensure that their family’s business continues to make strides over the next forty-three years.
