Adenah Bayoh embodies the American dream. At age 13, she escaped the civil war in her native country of Liberia, immigrated to the United States, and is now one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the state of New Jersey.

Inspired by her grandmother, who owned a restaurant in Liberia, Adenah is now the owner of 10 restaurants including 4 IHOP franchises in northern New Jersey. She opened her first IHOP in Irvington Township, New Jersey at the age of 27, making her one of the youngest franchisees in the country at that time. In late 2017, Adenah launched Cornbread, her first independent fast casual, farm-to-table, soul food restaurant, which she co-founded with fellow entrepreneur, Zadie B. Smith.

They recently opened their second location in downtown Newark, a third in Brooklyn, NY, and their fourth and newest location in Montclair in October 2023. Additionally, in keeping with Adenah’s mission of bringing high-quality food and services to urban communities, in the summer of 2021 she launched her latest restaurant concept, Brick City Vegan, in downtown Newark, and more recently, a second Brick City Vegan in Montclair.

In addition to her restaurants, Adenah is a successful real estate developer with a portfolio of several major residential and mixed-use urban redevelopment projects across northern New Jersey, including the former Irvington General Hospital site, and several other urban locations. In 2023, she was awarded a 9% NJHMFA affordable housing credit for her 100% affordable, 40-unit property located in Newark’s Southward, making her the first black woman developer in the US to accomplish the feat.

Despite her numerous successes as a restaurateur and real estate developer, Adenah’s proudest achievement is being able to give back to her community.

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