In NYC, one of the places to start or end the night was The Cellar at 70 W. 95 Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. What’s your memory of The Cellar? Tell us about it and tag a friend who you met at this venue or an artist who you broke there!
When Howard Johnson became the owner of the popular nightspot in 1973, he turned it into a celebration of Black culture by displaying black and white photos of jazz luminaries throughout. It was a family affair and his wife Phyllis is shown here in front of the restaurant. His son Brad’s first job was washing dishes at the restaurant and he eventually grew into the role of operator, booking acts like Keith Sweat, Chris Rock, Meli’sa Morgan, Najee, Tommy Davidson, Johnny Kemp as entertainment. Record label execs brought their artists to the club to perform or just to be seen with the influencers of that era.At any time, you would find celebrities like Arthur Ashe, Muhammad Ali, Miles Davis, Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Diahann Carroll, Stevie Wonder, Ed Bradley, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and Susan Taylor of Essence magazine rubbing elbows with judges, teachers, blue collar workers.
Howard, who looked like a jazz artist, and Phyllis Hyman were favorite friends. He threw her a surprise party and packed the house!
And the food! The chef, Woo, added a Thai touch to the restaurant’s dishes and the chicken gai yung is still remembered fondly, as is the fried chicken. What do you remember?
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