B. Smith RIP

When I was a kid, the radio station WQXR not only played classical music but was also the official station of The New York Times. Since my dad was a culture and news junkie, he listened to it all the time. I remember that occasionally there would be commercials for various high-end products and restaurants -- and one of them was for B. Smith's restaurant.

I remember that, in the ads, this very friendly, inviting voice would come on the air and tell people about her great restaurant and why you should go to it. If I had been old enough and had had enough money, I would have. 

B. Smith was a trailblazing business woman, starting out as a model and later became a very successful cookbook author, home products line inventor, and restaurant owner. She even had her own TV show. In the 1980s and 1990s she was one of the most biggest names in NYC. Long before celebrities started their own product lines or opening their own restaurants, B. Smith was creating the model for it -- and, yes, she was a black woman, which made her success all the more impressive.

Sadly Ms. Smith was diagnosed with early onset Altheizmers in 2013, and now she has died, aged 70. It's a great loss but she leaves an amazing legacy.