Sharon N. Muhammad is the owner of Sister Muhammad’s Kitchen, a family owned and operated restaurant, home of “the best fish hoagie in Philadelphia,” located at 4441 Germantown Avenue.
Sister Muhammad’s Kitchen first opened in 1999 by Abdul Rahim Muhammad and his wife, Sharon Muhammad, in determination to adhere to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s instructions to, “Do for Self.”
The restaurant is a coveted staple on Germantown Avenue, as they have employed many residents, and no one is denied a meal based on their ability or inability to pay.
In 2011 the city of Philadelphia redeveloped the area where the restaurant is located and wanted to enforce imminent domain. The Muhammads were able to make an agreement with the city; at that time, the couple and their family lived above the restaurant. The city paid for their temporary housing during reconstruction of the area and designed and outfitted the restaurant at the direction of the Muhammads.
“Cooking is my passion, people think I’m a professional cook, but no. Once I learned how to cook in MGT Class, I was so excited, I started selling dinners out of my house,” stated Sharon Muhammad, speaking on the special all-women classes of the Nation of Islam (NOI). MGT and GCC (Muslim Girls Training and General Civilization Class) are the Muslim women of the NOI.
Abdul Rahim Muhammad passed away on March 6, 2021, from cancer, and in honor of her husband, a second restaurant location is in the works. It will be called “Mr. Muhammad.”
“At the beginning of the pandemic we did well. Everyone had stimulus money, and when that money ran out, then you can actually see business start to dwindle. We had to cut some employees, and we did pretty good until Thanksgiving through the New Year, which caused business to become super slow, and about to take us under,” shared Sharon Muhammad.
“Our best seller is the fish hoagie. We’re pretty well known for our fish. We won the Best of Philly for our salmon steak,” she added. Other menu items include chicken steak, salmon burgers, veggie burgers, navy bean soup and much more.
Due to current social issues, restaurants are experiencing extreme price hikes on certain food items. Sharon Muhammad shared with The Final Call how a case of chicken wings went from $40 to $225 a case. She was able to make a deal and get them for $125.
She also stated that some restaurant supplies have doubled and tripled in price, which caused her to go up $1 on her menu items.
Despite the challenges, she is continuing to work hard to keep the business open and servicing the community.
“Anyone that comes to our walk-up window, even if they don’t have money, if they want to eat, we’re giving them food. We participate in community give aways; back- packs for school, coat drives, and food give aways,” she said.
For more information visit Sister Muhammad’s Kitchen on Facebook and visit sismuhammadskitchen.com.
Shawntell Muhammad is a Contributing Writer for The Final Call newspaper and can be contacted at [email protected].
