Which Harlem restaurant did Sylvia Woods found in 1962 and develop into a soul-food landmark?

Sylvia Woods founded Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem in 1962.

Woods began with a small luncheonette on Lenox Avenue and expanded it into a well-known family restaurant serving Southern and soul-food dishes. The business became associated with Harlem’s cultural and political life as well as with its food.

Sylvia’s became known for dishes such as fried chicken, barbecue, collard greens, and cornbread. Woods was widely called the “Queen of Soul Food,” and her family continued the restaurant’s operation after her death.

The restaurant is sometimes described simply as a Harlem diner, but its significance is broader: it became an institution representing Black entrepreneurship, migration, hospitality, and Southern culinary traditions in New York.