HARLEM - Melba Wilson says she’s come full-circle.
The famed Harlem chef and restaurateur celebrated 10 years of her renowned restaurant Wednesday at a book signing of her first cookbook at the bank whose loan made her business possible.
Since its opening on 114th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Wilson’s restaurant has become an essential stop for locals and visitors.
Wilson said Carver Federal Savings Bank on 117th and Malcolm X Boulevard granted her the money to expand and was an essential part of growing her business.
“Having a bank that understands the journey of small businesses was very important to me,” she said.
Dozens of community members lined up to get copies of Wilson’s first cookbook, “Melba’s American Comfort,” which she said was two years in the making. The book offers the kind of comfort food diners would expect at Melba’s.
“I wanted people to have the opportunity to take a piece of Melba’s home with them,” she said.
