Josephine Wade

Josephine "Mother" Wade-Smith is an American chef and restaurateur. Wade opened Captain's Hard Times in Chatham neighborhood in Chicago in 1986, along with her partner. Wade created the recipes, many of which were based on family recipes for the soul food menu. The restaurant she founded is now named Josephine's Cooking and was featured on Restaurant: Impossible in 2019. A street in Chicago was named after her in 2017.

Josephine Wade-Smith
Born
Arkansas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMother
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationChef
Restaurateur
Nonprofit administrator
Mortgage broker
Home townChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Culinary career
Cooking styleSoul food

Biography

Wade grew up in poverty in Arkansas and her parents worked as sharecroppers.[1]

In 1986, Wade and her husband opened a restaurant called Captain's Hard Times in the Chatham neighborhood.[1] The original idea was to name the restaurant "Josephine's," but she decided on a vacation to name the restaurant "hard times" instead after seeing the phrase printed on a matchbook.[2] Captain was her partner's nickname.[2] The restaurant featured "bayou decor" and Wade, the owner, served soul food.[3] Wade created the recipes used in the restaurant, some of which were based on her own mother's recipes.[4] Later, the restaurant was renamed to Josephine's Cooking.[4][5]

In addition to working in the restaurant, Wade is the head of a group, We Women Empowered, which works with young people.[6] Wade also hired teenagers from the community to work in the restaurant.[7] She also helped provide food and clothes for young people in the neighborhood.[8] Wade also earned money as a mortgage broker.[9] She worked to help elect Harold Washington as Mayor.[9]

In 2017, Wade was honored by the city of Chicago in having a road named after her called "Mother Josephine Wade Way."[10] The designation was presented on March 4 by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the deputy mayor, Andrea Zopp.[6] Wade and her restaurant were featured on Restaurant: Impossible in 2019.[11]

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References
  1. Materre, Micah (2018-09-14). "Mother Wade's love for community knows no bounds". WGN-TV. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  2. Mooney, Terri (24 May 2005). "Hungry for More?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Poe, Tracy (4 February 1998). "One Recent Chilly Morning". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 August 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Brown, Melanie L. (30 March 2016). "Josephine's Cooking restaurant: A pillar in Chicago". Rolling Out. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  5. "Josephine 'Mother' Wade honored at Evening of Honor and Love". ABC7 Chicago. 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  6. "A Son's Love Leads To Street Named After Mom". The Crusader Newspaper. 9 March 2017. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  7. Watson, Andrea V. (2 December 2015). "After 30 Years, Hard Times Could Force Capt.'s Hard Time Dining To Close". DNAinfo Chicago. Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  8. Golden, Jamie Nesbitt (1 May 2019). "Chatham Staple Josephine's Cooking Has Always Been There For The Community — Finally, It Got The Makeover It Deserved". Block Club Chicago. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  9. Holmes, Evelyn (2017-03-04). "South Side street renamed after Josephine 'Mother' Wade". ABC7 Chicago. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  10. "Restaurateur and Activist Josephine Wade to Get Street Named in Her Honor". The Chicago Citizen. 1 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
  11. Swartz, Tracy (29 April 2019). "'Restaurant: Impossible' to renovate South Side soul food restaurant". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
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