Melba Wilson
James Beard nominee, Melba Wilson was “born, bred and buttered inHarlem.” Today she proudly represents her New York neighborhoodas one of the most successful African-Americanwomen in therestaurant and catering businesses. Her achievements are countlessand her reputation stellar. Her style, poise and love of entertaininghave made Melba’s Restaurant a New York landmark frequented bymusic, TV, movie stars, New York City’s elite, locals and travelers fromaround the world.
James Beard nominee, Melba Wilson was “born, bred and buttered inHarlem.” Today she proudly represents her New York neighborhoodas one of the most successful African-Americanwomen in therestaurant and catering businesses. Her achievements are countlessand her reputation stellar. Her style, poise and love of entertaininghave made Melba’s Restaurant a New York landmark frequented bymusic, TV, movie stars, New York City’s elite, locals and travelers fromaround the world.Melba’s drive to succeed started at an early age with a sharp eye andimpeccable insight. Her first opportunity to learn about therestaurant business was at Harlem’s famous Sylvia’s Restaurant,where she held a variety of service and managerial positions. It wasMelba who conceptualized and launched the popular Sunday GospelBrunch, which was so successful that the restaurant industry’s elitequickly came calling
Michael Lomanco, former Executive Chef of21 Club and ExecutiveChef of Windows on the World Restaurant contacted Melba toproduce and manage a weekly Sunday brunch. In less than six monthsthe Champagne Gospel Brunch generated a sixty-five percentincrease in revenue. This experience combined with her ability toorganize, produce and execute promotional events led topartnerships with renowned restaurateurs, Drew Nieporent andRobert DeNiro of the Tribeca Grill and the Nobu empire, as well asthe late Artie Cutler and Godfrey Polistina of Carmine’s, Virgil’s, andQuest Restaurants.
In 2004, Melba decided to strike out on her own. Today she is theproud sole owner ofseveralbusinesses: Melba’s Restaurant, Melba’sCatering,andMelba’s in Central Park,Melba’s at the US Open,Melbas at the Prudential Centerwith Melba’s at Grand Central and Melba’s Newark coming soon. Melba’s has received rave reviewsfrom New York Magazine, Time Out, The New Yorker, The DailyNews, Zagat and Interview Magazine. The restaurant was also namedBest Brunch for Kids byTime Out New York, Best Soul Food by Zagatand NewYork.com and has featured recipes in the “Go Green EastHarlem” Cookbook as well as “Bobby Flay’s Throwdown” cookbook.Melba’s Catering has an extensive list of clientele including Target,Nike, American Express, Pfizer, Time Warner, Bank of America, NFL,NBA, Transport Workers Union, Universal Records, The Archdioceseof New York and several recording artists including DJ Khaled, Jay-Z,the Zac Brown Band and Katy Perry. Most recently the Duke andDuchessof Sussex; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, visited Melba’sRestaurant. Other celebrity guests at Melba’s include Zendaya, TomHolland, Michael Strahan, Sherri Shepherd,Nick Cannon, D-Nice, andKendrick Lamar.
Melba appears regularly on national news and talk shows such as Livewith Kelly and Ryan, Good Morning America,GMA3,60 Minutes, TheView, The Today Show, CBS Mornings, The Drew Barrymore showandGood Day New York. She was a lead judge on OWN’s The Great SoulFood Cook-Off, Netflix’s Cook at all Costs and has been a guest judgeon Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, Worst Cooks in America andSavoring Harlem (which Melba narrated) and The Best Thing I EverAte. Melba is featured in the documentary,Turning Tables whichpremiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Designer Isaac Mizrahi handpicked Melba as one of his Favorite ladiesto represent his Liz Claiborne line in a series of nationaladvertisements entitled, REAL Women.
The proud mother of a 23 year-old son, Melba has a cookbookpublished by Simon & Schuster and was honored twice by Ebony Magazine with their Taste of Ebony Award. Melba is the recipient ofthe South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Westside Spirit Award, TheEntrepreneur Award, The Greater Harlem Chamber of CommerceAward, The Thurgood Marshall Prestige Award, The “Shero Award”and the Heritage Award, to name a few. Melba was also recentlyhonored by the AKA Sorority, Google, Chase, inducted into Crain’sHall of Fame and named one of Crain’s 50 Most Influential Women.Asthe first female and first person of color to be elected as Presidentof the NYC Hospitality Alliance, she is currently serving a second term.Melba is a member of the Board of Directors of Opportunity CharterSchool,Harlem VillageAcademy,NYC & Company and God’s Love WeDeliver. Melba donates to and supports many causes includingAlzheimer’s, The Girl Scouts of America, NY Women’s Foundation,The Doe Fund, The Harlem Community Fridge and several seniorcitizens causes. She has consistently taken time to help community-based organizations in Harlem and throughout New York City.
Melba celebrates 19years in business after having served over 6million meal.
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