Harlem Soul Food Staple Sylvia's Now Delivers

HARLEM, NY — Harlemites and other residents of Upper Manhattan will now be able to enjoy soul food from long-time Harlem staple Sylvia's while sitting on their couches. The Lenox Avenue spot began a partnership with UberEats Tuesday to offer lunch and dinner delivery to Harlem and surrounding neighborhoods, a restaurant executive told Patch.

Sylvia's, which is still owned by the family of founder Sylvia Woods, debated offering delivery service "for a while," Sean Woods, a grandson of Sylvia Woods and vice president of the company that owns the restaurant, told Patch.

"People were always looking to see if we were offering delivery," Woods told Patch. "We were always being asked by people who had moved out of the neighborhood."

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Woods, 29, said that the restaurant debated between in-house delivery or partnering with a service such as UberEats, and he decided a service would be best for business. Woods told Patch that having Sylvia's on a service such as UberEats will bring the restaurant new customers, especially with the number of Millenial's moving into Harlem.

"We are engaging with people moving in who aren't familiar with the traditional Harlem restaurants," Woods told Patch.

Sylvia's will offer almost all of its menu items for delivery, except for breakfast, Woods said. While the soul food staple is considering offering breakfast in the future, the business is still "getting its feet wet." Popular breakfast options like chicken and waffles, and shrimp and grits will be offered for delivery.

Photos courtesy Sylvia's