Ruth West Brought Soul to DeKalb

Ruth West brought a lot of soul to DeKalb Avenue with her delicious southern food restaurant, Ruthie’s.

The smothered turkey wings, catfish, collard greens and yams were all popular from the moment West opened her eatery on DeKalb Avenue in 1997.

But perhaps more importantly, Ruthie’s came to be closely associated with the revitalization of Fort Greene as it emerged from the days of “Murder Avenue” (the nickname given to the once crime-ridden Myrtle Avenue). West's business set a strong example to competitors nearby as a quality eatery with close ties to the community on the burgeoning restaurant row on DeKalb Avenue.

West died in 2009 of pancreatic cancer at 76, but her family carries on her legacy of delicious food.

“Everything that we’re doing here in the restaurant, all the recipes, all the bakes came directly from her, and so does the quality and high expectations,” said Yanya Foster, West’s youngest daughter.

Indeed, those that knew West remember her as much for her tasty soul food as they do for her unwavering commitment to excellence.

“She was a stickler for perfection,” Foster said, adding with a chuckle, “She was really good at telling us exactly how she wanted things done.”

West came to Fort Greene in 1954 after a brief stay in Harlem. She brought with her all her knowledge about southern food, which she had learned from her mother while growing up in the tiny coastal town of Bayboro, N.C.

It took many years before she opened the restaurant that bears her name between Ashland and Rockwell places — but it was a hit from the start.

“We didn’t have a southern food restaurant at all on this side of the neighborhood,” said Foster. “It’s still all the buzz after 13 years.”

So successful, in fact, that West opened another location nearby on Myrtle Avenue between Classon Avenue and Emerson Place, which is now run by one of her sons.

That location, like the original Ruthie’s, came to be linked with the surrounding neighborhood as it underwent an economic boom.