If you sit down to dine at one of Melba Wilson’s restaurants across New York City, don’t be surprised if owner Melba Wilson pops by your table. The James Beard-nominated chef can be found on a given night walking through her flagship in Harlem, New York, greeting customers, leading a birthday sing-along or giving her attentive staff helpful hints on staying on top of the customer service game.

The night Wilson invited me and my guest to dine, the queen of American comfort food sat down to break her delicious cornbread with us and reveal how she turned a dream into a restaurant empire.

“I started my business in what I consider the heart of Harlem—114th Street between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Powell,” she shared as we started with Melba’s spring rolls and country catfish strips

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