There is visibility, and then there is sustainability. That distinction became clear to me during a recent evening at The Edge Harlem, where Mastercard gathered small business owners, food creators, and community members to celebrate a social series designed to bring attention — and resources — to independent restaurants.
For me, the location made the conversation particularly meaningful. I knew sisters Juliet and Justine Masters before they opened The Edge Harlem at 101 Edgecombe Avenue, and I remember when their Jamaican-and-British-inspired restaurant first became part of the Harlem landscape. Returning years later to see their business celebrated and supported in its next stage of growth felt full circle. And who better to bring as my plus-one than another Harlem restaurateur, Melba Wilson?
The evening brought chef and television personality Carla Hall together with the Masters sisters, while NYC-based food creator Nicolas Nuvan was there in support of Lorena Jorge and her family, owners of Morena’s Kitchen & Bar in Corona, Queens. Mastercard’s initiative pairs creator amplification with grants, mentorship, educational tools, and other resources for small businesses.
But I kept coming back to one question: What happens after the post? What is the conversion from visibility to sustainability?
From left: Mastercard’s Amber Dawkins, Juliet Masters, Carla Hall, and Justine Masters. (Kysha Harris photo) 
From left: AmNewsFOOD Editor Kysha Harris, Juliet Masters, Justine Masters, and Melba Wilson. (Kysha Harris photo) 
Melba Wilson and AmNewsFOOD Editor Kysha Harris before heading to The Edge. (Kysha Harris photo) 
Carla Hall and AmNewsFOOD Editor Kysha Harris at The Edge in Harlem. (Kysha Harris photo) 
The Edge’s signature dishes served during the evening. (Kysha Harris photo) 
Food content creator Nicolas Nuvan with members of the family that owns and operates Morena’s Kitchen & Bar. (Kysha Harris photo)
For Nuvan, visibility starts with something that can’t be manufactured. “I think just being yourself — there’s nobody like you,” he said. “Try to figure out who you are first before you try to go sell something. So that way, when people show up, they can see that you truly love yourself, and they want to enjoy that with you.”
Carla Hall understands why that kind of first-person storytelling connects. “[Customers] may not know food, but they know an experience,” she said. Attention alone does not keep the doors open.
“Visibility is really important. But sustainability is a very different thing,” said Amber Dawkins, vice president of small business product management at Mastercard. “Sustainability is around having access to capital — the funds businesses need to operate on a daily basis, but also to grow and expand.”
Carla knows that distinction firsthand from her own entrepreneurial journey. “I had support — I had moral support,” she said. She continued, “I didn’t have financial support, and I don’t think I realized what tools I really needed. And I gathered those along the way.”
At The Edge, those resources have a tangible destination. Juliet and Justine used the Mastercard grant funds to expand the restaurant’s outdoor space and welcome more of the community. This support arrives after 12 years of the less glamorous work of simply staying open. Justine described the recognition and grant as a reminder to keep going — a particularly meaningful one after more than a decade of the daily grind.
The visibility-to-sustainability question looks different at Morena’s Kitchen & Bar. Lorena describes the ongoing tension in their family business. “One of the biggest hassles was the cost of food and also the ability to make a profit, because we also want to make it accessible to our community,” she said.
Mastercard’s support has helped Morena’s invest in the business, while mentorship has helped them examine costs and opportunities for growth. The details matter. Sustainability isn’t always a splashy expansion. Sometimes it is equipment that makes service faster, the ability to absorb rising ingredient costs, or having the capital to make the next decision.
Of course, this was still a celebration, and The Edge fed us accordingly. My favorite codfish fritters were passed along with shrimp — which the kitchen was happy to give me some extra of — before dinner of jerk wings, plantains, festival, BBQ chicken, and more. I spent so much of the evening talking and interviewing that I barely ate dinner. In true Harlem fashion, I eventually asked Juliet whether I could take some food home. Containers appeared with a quickness, and their coconut curry chicken over white rice and those beautifully cooked plantains became lunch and dinner the next day.
Small acts of hospitality like this also get at what can disappear when a neighborhood restaurant closes: not simply a place to eat, but relationships, memories, and people taking care of people. As Juliet Masters said, “If you don’t support these businesses today, there’s no guarantee they’ll be here tomorrow.”
A creator can introduce thousands of people to a restaurant in one post. A post can get them to the door. But visibility is just the beginning. Turning visibility into sustainability takes fortitude, capital, tools, customers who return, and a strong community that decides the businesses it values are worth supporting.
Thanks for reading and happy eating!
Kysha Harris is a chef, culinary producer, and food editor for the NY Amsterdam News. As a consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for over 23 years, she remains on the hunt for the city’s next great bite. Follow her on Instagram and on Facebook, @SCHOPnyc.
Questions, comments, requests, feedback, invitations! Email us at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, @NYAmNewsFOOD.
