Long-time restaurateur Josephine “Mother” Wade is holding an 11 a.m. press conference Thursday, January 20th, at the McCormick Square, 2301 S. Jean Baptiste DuSable Lake Shore Drive, where she will be honored by Savor Our World for her decades of culinary cuisine.
Mrs. Wade will be joined by Rev. Dr. Byron T. Brazier and his son, J. Byron Brazier, officials from McCormick Quarter, Savor Our World and the University of Chicago. They have partnered to bring diversity to McCormick Quarter.
In the restaurant business since the age of 21, Mrs. Wade will be the only African American chef included in a cookbook that Savor Our World and the McCormick Quarter are showcasing to display the diversity of their culinary talents and being a vendor.
“I am proud to be included in this book, “Savor Our World,” that shows the diversity of chefs from around the world,” said Mrs. Wade who is nearly 80-years old. “I am proud of their partnering with me as it opens the door of opportunity for other diverse entrepreneurs.
“For years, African Americans have been shut out of the vendor business, but Savor Our World, McCormick Quarter and the University of Chicago have fast become the guiding light to diversity and have opened the doors to African Americans and other entrepreneurs to showcase their diverse cuisines,” Mrs. Wade said.
Mrs. Wade will be accompanied by Rev. Dr. Brazier, who is a vendor with the McCormick Quarter, and his son, who has developed the historic Woodlawn Central Master Plan led by his father, that is located less than a mile from the Obama Presidential Center site in Jackson Park.
His son’s plan will include a hotel, residential housing, a theater, a food court, a parking structure, office and retail space and greenhouse gardens with Woodlawn and McCormick. The area is 80 percent African American, and Brazier’s plan is estimated to bring in from $300 million to $600 million in investments.
