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photo by steed media service
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Founder, MoBay Uptown Restaurant and Barbeque
If you’re looking for the best food in Harlem, look no further than the
MoBay Uptown Restaurant and Barbeque. Founder and CEO Sheron
Chin-Barnes offers up “a little twist on that soul/Carribbean
somethin’-somethin,’ ” with an ambience that’s as warm and inviting as
the entrees. Chin-Barnes founded the restaurant six years ago in Fort
Greene, Brooklyn as an outlet for her mother to bake cakes.
“It
started with her famous Rummy Rum Cake; we got this little space and we
decided cakes alone [wouldn’t] pay the bills, so we started cooking,”
explains Chin-Barnes. “[The menu is] basically all of our family
recipes.”
Her multiethnic heritage, (she’s Jamaican-Chinese), contributes to that
‘little twist’ that MoBay is known for, and after exploding at the
Brooklyn location, she was compelled to move to larger accommodations
Uptown. “We just sold the Brooklyn location, but we were there for
almost six years before we outgrew that space,” she shares. “With all
of the changes in Harlem, we saw this as a unique opportunity for us to
move and also expand.” The expansion included a sister restaurant
called Baton Rouge, that specializes in Cajun andCreole fare.
“We cook for family, not because [I’ll] get a few dollars,” says
Chin-Barnes. “It’s not just a business, it’s our lives and our
customers are treated like extended family. There is no me without you
— if you don’t come in, I don’t have a business.”
Understanding that relationship is what keeps Sheron Chin-Barnes ahead
of the pack. “I don’t care if you’re the president or the man who
sweeps the street,” she continues. “You’re going to be treated the
same, knowing that is what’s important.” – todd williams
