How Melba Wilson Built a Company with Tradition | Black Made

Melba Wilson’s love of connecting people through food and investing in local communities has resulted in top-of-the-line restaurants in New York City.

Wilson is the owner and founding father of Melba’s in Harlem. The restaurant opened in 2005, and Wilson didn’t stop there. Melba’s has expanded beyond Harlem: Melba’s at Wollman Rink in Central Park opened in 2022; Melba’s at Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center opened in 2023; Melba’s Grand Central will open in October 2024; and a second location in Newark will open in 2025.

In this episode of “Black Made,” Wilson delves into her journey as a restaurateur in town where she was “born, bred, and raised.”

If you told me in 2004 that I could be the only owner of 4 businesses, I might have said, ‘No,’” Wilson tells theGrio. “I never would have imagined that this may all occur.

It’s definitely considered one of the toughest things, if not the toughest thing, I’ve ever done,” Melba continues. “First of all, working in a restaurant is one thing. Owning a restaurant in Harlem is a whole other thing, and being a black woman in a restaurant in Harlem is a whole other thing.”

Wilson, who opened her Harlem restaurant after saving $312,000, opened up about among the challenges she faced.

You think it’s enough until you recognize it isn’t enough,” Wilson explains. “Being undercapitalized, attempting to hire individuals who buy into your vision, your vision of comfort, your vision of hospitality. People are going to are available here and think, ‘OK, you are a black girl from Harlem, where’s the cornbread?’ I even have one oven. There’s no cornbread.”

“Or if you do, why are you charging that amount,” Wilson adds. “To me, the game is different. If you go to Red Lobster and those cookies aren’t the same, guess what? You’ll be back next month.”

“But if you come to Melba’s and my fried chicken doesn’t fly, I’ll get that review. So my life isn’t the same. It’s not (equal) law, but you know what? I don’t complain, because I’m not here to complain. I’m here to always give my all.”

Watch the total video and click on here to see more episodes of “Black Made.”