Bama’s Bar-B-Q was a barbecue restaurant owned by James H. James on Cedar Avenue near East 86th Street in the 1930s-40s. James seems to have gotten his nickname because he was originally from Alabama, as was his wife Nellie. The couple lived on Cedar, less than a block away from the restaurant. In 1941 James gave up half of his space for Yee’s Chop Suey and became solely a takeout spot. Bama’s moved in 1942 to a location one block west of where it started. By the postwar years Bama’s also manufactured and sold its hot sauce to local grocers.
Additional information coming soon.
