BUFFALO, N.Y. — Friends and family gathered at True Bethel Baptist Church Tuesday morning to bid farewell to a woman Mayor Byron Brown called a Buffalo "legend."
Blondine Harvin was the owner of Gigi's Soul Food Restaurant on East Ferry Street. The restaurant served as staple in the community for more than 50 years and attracted patrons from all walks of life.
"Blondine Harvin created a unique multicultural, multi-generational dining experience," Mayor Byron Brown said at the service.
Brown described how he first began eating at Gigi's with friends while he was in college.
"Coming to Gigi’s was the closest thing to coming home that you could experience," he said.
The mayor was not the only city official to speak at the service. Mark J. F. Schroeder, the comptroller for the city of Buffalo, described in detail the kind acts Harvin performed for others in the community that went beyond the food she served.
"When I was cold and practically naked in the cold Buffalo winter you gave me some of Darryl’s sweaters and scarves and gloves. You did it discreetly so that people in the restaurant wouldn’t know that I was the poor one. When I was sick at Sister’s Hospital you brought me some peach cobbler and banana pudding," he said.
Condolences were also ready from New York State Senator Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Erie County Legislator April Baskin among others.
Harvin's son described that even towards the end of her life, his mother looked forward to the opening of the new location at the Northland Workforce Training Center. Work had already begun before her passing.
Darryl Harvin told 2 On Your Side that he hoped to have the new location open as early as the end of this month.