Vacation procuring in Harlem is greater than a seasonal errand. It’s an expertise woven with tradition, creativity, and group. As Thanksgiving ends and December descends, the neighborhood transforms right into a vibrant market the place native artisans, iconic establishments, and longtime small companies shine. Whether or not you’re trying to find handcrafted presents, trend with aptitude, holiday-themed experiences, or significant methods to help Black-owned outlets, Harlem presents a festive mix of custom and development that makes each buy really feel like a celebration.
Listed here are a couple of profiles of the numerous Black entrepreneurs round Harlem who’re welcoming consumers and diners into their companies.
Store
The Unique Cake Man Raven201 W one hundred and thirty fifth St.(917) 202-7273IG: @cakemanraven
The story of many cooks and bakers begins of their mother’s or grandma’s kitchen. It’s no completely different for Raven P.D. Dennis III, higher recognized to New Yorkers and everybody as “Cake Man Raven,” who is thought worldwide for his well-known Purple Velvet Cake. Dwelling in Lynchburg, South Carolina, he watched his grandmother bake muffins for Sunday dinner. “And my query was, why have been they by no means adorned? And he or she stated, “as a result of y’all don’t let the cake sit on the counter lengthy sufficient to embellish it,” shared Raven.
“I used to inform lots of people that my grandmother was the one which did the muffins and never me, as a result of, you understand, most occasions boys didn’t do muffins again then,” defined Dennis.
At 15 years previous, Dennis gained his first blue ribbon for getting into a nine-tier wedding ceremony cake. When his identify was known as, the key was out, and the native paper printed his identify. He then acquired the identify ‘Cake Boy.’ In eleventh grade, Raven entered a contest that required him to write down a marketing strategy. He wrote a marketing strategy for a bakery and gained the native competitors. He then went on to win on the state stage in South Carolina and the nationwide stage in San Francisco.
After finding out at Johnson & Wales College, he made his method again to New York, the place he ultimately began his personal catering enterprise on Riverside Drive in Harlem. He ultimately opened a store in Brooklyn, the place he entered the Guinness Guide of World Data in 2011 for the world’s largest sculpted cake. He closed that retailer in 2012 and after a brief stint in South Carolina, he introduced a brand new flagship retailer in Harlem, which opened in 2015.
Dennis attributes a lot of his success to being an lively a part of the group. He’s deliberate about adorning for Christmas and never having shutters on his home windows. “You stroll down fifth Ave at night time and there aren’t any shutters and bars. Every part is open so that you can see. Why ought to or not it’s completely different in our neighborhood?” says Dennis. Although he’s recognized for his muffins, the group additionally is aware of him for the time he places into mentoring and coaching younger males. This weekend he plans to start out adorning his storefront. He’s inviting everybody to cease by and see and be part of it. “It’s all about group and giving again.”
NiLu Present Store
191 Malcolm X Blvd.
(646) 964-4926shopnilu.com/
A pair, Mark Pinn and Katrina Parris, who’ve lived in Harlem for the reason that Nineteen Nineties, have been bored with the inconvenience of getting to go downtown once they wanted a pleasant present. “We have been a younger household with two boys, and each time we would have liked one thing, or acquired invited to anyone’s home for a birthday, or no matter, we all the time must go downtown to get good issues,” shared Pinn. The couple had not too long ago bought their florist enterprise and had the empty store house. The household’s want and that of the group birthed the thought of NiLu Present Store, named for the couple’s boys, Nigel and Luke.
The present store sells objects from candles to playing cards to home items. What’s particular about NiLu is that they prioritize promoting items made by native artists, utilizing a consignment mannequin, in order that each the present store and the distributors profit. Fashionable objects in retailer are the Grace Jones decoration, the pine scented candles, and the Harlem Renaissance calendar. The couple makes an effort to combine with the group and showcase Harlem. “Many of the issues that we promote are rooted in group, that means that we’re supporting a number of native makers of merchandise,” says Pinn. “Our retailer is Harlem, not all the things, however we attempt to do our greatest.”
Hats by Bunn
2283 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd #1
(212) 694-3590
hatsbybunn.com/
“I’m only a hat maker.” That’s a typical phrase you’ll hear from the proprietor of Hats by Bunn in Harlem. Once you ask for a primary identify, he responds with fun, “I’m Bunn, similar to Prince. Nobody asks Prince for a primary identify.” Bunn has been within the hat-making enterprise for over 40 years. Earlier than proudly owning a store house, he used to arrange a desk on the sidewalks and frequent festivals to advertise his work. Like many start-ups, he labored in one other job and made hats on the facet. After going full-time, he shared a store house with a good friend in downtown Brooklyn for some time, however then moved as a result of he thought the surroundings modified.
“Harlem has a vibe and an power, actually anybody can stroll in on the lookout for a hat,” shared Bunn. Bunn credit his success to the shift from an industrial tradition to a extra particular person look, particularly in youthful adults. He makes hats of every type and for all seasons, and repeatedly creates customized seems. Bunn invitations everybody to cease by his store and check out on a hat. “A hat is probably the most private factor you may put on. It’s what you see within the mirror,” says Bunn.
Entertain
AGM Theater CompanyMost performances at:The Basement of Dreams130 Malcolm X Blvd. (917) 268-2590https://agmtheatercompany.org/
The AGM Theater Firm, a nonprofit based in 2017, focuses on telling the tales of African People, notably girls of colour, by means of academic, entertaining, and galvanizing theatrical performances. “Our focus and our imaginative and prescient is to supply alternatives for girls of colour within the subject of writing, directing, producing, [and] technical expertise,” shares Founder, Government Director, and Creative Director Janet Mitchell. The theater tells the tales of Black individuals however its purpose is to assist Black girls.
The corporate has produced 26 reveals since its inception, with a season operating from January to June. Most of their reveals are introduced at Basement of Desires, with ticket costs at $25. Additionally they give out free tickets to group members who can not afford to purchase tickets. After each present, they host a “talk-back” with the playwright to have a dialogue with the actors about their strategy of placing collectively reveals. “We’re a community-based group. We’re knowledgeable group theater,” explains Mitchell. AGM Theater needs the group to know, “in the event you’re a playwright who’s been writing performs, however by no means had a play produced, ship your work to us, ship a synopsis to us.”
Upcoming occasions embrace a digital efficiency of “The Christmas Blessing” on December 14, which will likely be out there on the corporate’s YouTube channel.
Dine
Melba’s
300 W. 114th St.,
Harlem, NY 10026
(212) 864-7777
melbasrestaurant.com
When individuals take into consideration Harlem, they consider Melba’s. And when they consider Melba’s, they consider the well-known Southern hospitality and luxury meals — and specifically, their fried rooster, which has been made well-known all around the world. Since 2005, this restaurant, within the coronary heart of Harlem, has been feeding the lots — not simply regionally, however globally. It has grown to change into a high native and vacationer vacation spot, in no small half resulting from proprietor and chef Melba Wilson.
Wilson has earned her flowers and, extra importantly, the respect of her group. Wilson was skilled in one of the well-known and equally illustrious soul meals eating places, Sylvia’s, and grinded for her dream, famously saving a bit over $300,000 in her mattress. From there, she snagged a James Beard Award nomination, authored the wildly fashionable cookbook “Melba’s American Consolation,” and has confirmed herself to be an ally to her neighbors by partnering with organizations like God’s Love We Ship and serving to information eating places all around the metropolis by means of the pandemic as the previous president of the New York Metropolis Hospitality Alliance. The very best factor about being a Black entrepreneur in Harlem in the course of the vacation season, she says, is being surrounded by her group.
“I’m born and bred in [the] village of Harlem so Harlem is house, it’s the epitome of Blackness so in the course of the vacation season it goes to the tenth energy. We stage up like no different individuals.”
Chocolat Restaurant & Bar
2223 Fredrick Douglass Blvd. and one hundred and twentieth St.,
Harlem, NY 10026
(212) 222-4545
chocolatharlem.com
Indulgence is the theme at Chocolat Restaurant and Bar. For 15 years, Chocolat has occupied the nook of one hundred and twentieth and Fredrick Douglass Boulevard and has established itself amongst iconic Harlem eating places, standing out from a panorama saturated with soul meals choices by including a Caribbean twist and simply sufficient decadence. Menu objects like purple snapper, oxtails, and the well-known rooster and purple velvet waffles are a couple of of Founder Leon Ellis’ favorites. However he additionally provides that they’ve “one of the best shrimp and grits in New York Metropolis, fingers down,” he stated.
However their longevity isn’t simply defined away by good meals. Ellis attributes the longevity not simply to abiding by good enterprise practices but additionally to constructing and sustaining rapport with the group. “Our resilience and sustainability comes from the group. We’re linked to the individuals and the native organizations of our group, and we honor and respect that as elementary,” he stated. They rent from the group and provides again every time they’ll.
For Ellis, Chocolat is a part of a wealthy cultural and financial tapestry in Harlem that isn’t a lot about competitors, however about spirit and including new threads that enliven the neighborhood. “Harlem has a rhythm that’s actually unmatched in music, artwork, meals — all the things form of flows collectively,” stated Ellis. “We work very diligently to creating a robust group connection by means of an entrepreneurial spirit, which is a elementary a part of Harlem.”
The Nephew Supper Membership
219 West 119th St.
Harlem, NY 10026
(212) 280-2248
the-nephew.com
Adriane Ferguson, proprietor of the Nephew Supper Membership (as soon as Billie Black), might be the one bartender who can get a room stuffed with cocktail connoisseurs to drink their greens … effectively, not likely. However Ferguson’s signature ‘Received Kale’ cocktail did win the Uncle Nearest Mixologist Contest, which had fairly stiff competitors from bars like Sugar Monk, BIXI, and the Victoria. The cocktail, which will get its stunning inexperienced colour from matcha, is an modern mix of Bourbon, Adriatico Bianco, vanilla bean syrup, and oatmilk. Equally cool and dressed-up cocktails just like the ‘Duke’ and a traditional Corpse Reviver pair effectively with a contemporary African Creole menu, which incorporates objects like egusi hummus, gumbo, and Ferguson’s favourite, charbroiled oysters.
Since rebranding earlier this yr, Nephew Supper Membership has been leaning into the luxurious, historical past, and tradition of the Harlem Renaissance, all of the whereas encouraging regulars within the now to have a good time the richness of the previous. To Ferguson, Harlem is “the tradition that creates the heartbeat of the world.”
The very best half about being in enterprise in Harlem? “I get to assist develop and propel the tradition and variety. I AM HARLEM,” Ferguson stated.
Sylvia’s
328 Malcom X Blvd.,
New York, NY 10027
(212) 996-0660
sylviasrestaurant.com
In 1962, Sylvia Woods, a waitress with roots in South Carolina, purchased the identical luncheonette she had been working in from her boss. What got here out of the kitchen was greater than fried rooster and collards — though that’s undoubtedly nonetheless on the menu. Sylvia’s turned a generational household enterprise and beacon of Southern Hospitality within the fast-paced mid-Atlantic. As we speak, Sylvia’s stays the oldest restaurant in Harlem and a cornerstone for gathering and native historical past within the neighborhood. “My mom and father have been distinctive enterprise individuals,” stated present proprietor Kenneth Woods. “Hailing from the South, if you go to anybody, they’re gonna give you a seat and one thing to eat. We’ve saved true to that.”
The values have stayed true, however some issues have modified for the reason that ‘60s. They provide grilled fish choices, not simply fried anymore, they usually serve much more patrons. In actual fact, Woods stated they undergo so many collard greens, they’ve outsourced the majority of the cleansing again to their purveyor. “Again then, we used to actually scrub them,” Woods stated with fun. “It’s genuine, and we’ve superior some. However everybody who comes and eats right here feels prefer it’s theirs. And that’s vital.”
Particular because of the Better Harlem Chamber of Commercefor serving to to compile many of the entrepreneurs on this checklist.
