ALBANY — At 14 years old, Kizzy “Allie B” Williams began selling food on the streets of Harlem. Her home-cooked collard greens, yams, rice and beans and ribs often sold out by noon.
Decades later, Williams continues to cook — and routinely sell out — of these same soul food favorites. But instead of a makeshift stand outside a local park, she spends her days at her very own restaurant, Allie B’s Cozy Kitchen, in downtown Albany.
Williams is one of three Albany business owners nominated for the Business Council of New York’s 2023 Minority and Women’s Business Award. Another woman entrepreneur, LaQuetta Alexander-Ellis of Practice 2 Perfect, is nominated, as well as businessman Shawn Moodie of CBM Business Solutions.
Named in honor of Williams’ mother, Allie B’s has grown a loyal following since opening at 353 Clinton Ave. nine years ago. While the eatery has become an emblem of community for Albany’s West Hill neighborhood, customers from across the city and greater Capital Region regularly line up to get a taste of Williams’ comfort food cooked with inspiration from her childhood and her mother’s South Carolina roots.
“Mom was always in the kitchen cooking,” Williams recalled. “Every day people showed up from the community to eat. She was this woman that everybody counted on.”
For Williams, being referred to by her brand’s namesake is a reminder of her driving mission: to serve good food, of course, but to serve the community while she’s at it. Customers greet Williams the same way they might welcome a family member, embracing her and catching her up on their lives. They often call her “mom” or “auntie,” even customers who are much older than her. “It’s all love,” she says in between conversations with patrons. The restaurant is staffed by family and friends, including Williams’ wife, Holly, and filled with the scent of barbecue ribs and sounds of…
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