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“We’re finally moving back to the street where we started,” says Akin Alafin, owner of Soul Republic United Restaurants. “A lot of people don’t know that that’s where Angie started at, in the Carnegie Hotel.”

Alafin is referring to Angie’s Soul Cafe originator Angie Jeter, who began her professional cooking career at the Carnegie Hotel at E. 69th Street. Jeter went on to open soul food restaurants after the hotel closed. Today, Alafin’s restaurant group also includes Zanzibar Soul Fusion, which has one location at Shaker Square and a new, second location downtown, in the former home of Stonetown.

Next up for Alafin is to renovate the former Hot Sauce Williams building at Carnegie and E. 79th in advance of a new Angie’s Soul Café location. Crews already have started work on the interior, which is being stripped to the studs, says Alafin.

“Everything inside will be brand-spanking new.”

The exterior, too, will receive plenty of love in an attempt to make the building appear completely new. When the dust finally settles in late summer, the company will shutter the Midtown location (3400 St. Clair Ave.) and reopen the following day on Carnegie. Diners can look forward to a soul food menu populated by baked and fried chicken dinners, fried fish plates, and comfort food dishes like braised oxtails, meatloaf and Salisbury steak.

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This article appears in Apr 25 – May 1, 2018.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

2 replies on “Angie’s Soul Cafe to Open in Renovated Hot Sauce Williams Building on Carnegie”

  1. Throw the whole franchise away. I’ve never had a good experience at any of these establishments. From the rude staff to the lack luster flavoring in the foods. I won’t be breaking my neck to make it down there.

  2. I remember when Angies was on 55th street, It served the best Soul food that I have had outside my Grandmas kitchen, The Sunday chicken and Dressing was soooo good. When that location closed I lost touch for a while and found them again on Cedar but it was no longer good, I kind of followed it around after that buying something every now and then but it seems the food was mediocre at best. I will buy something out of the new location to check it out because I still live with the hope that it will attain the superior Soul Food it had on East 55th.

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