Ms. Tootsies restaurant owner: Local Black restaurant pioneer Keven Parker has died at 57 – WPVI-TV

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A pioneer in the Black restaurant community died Friday.

Keven Parker owned Ms. Tootsie’s Restaurant on South Street and another location at the Reading Terminal Market.

Parker was known for his soul food, and particularly his mac and cheese.

Last year in an interview with Action News, he said he makes “the best southern food in the City of Philadelphia.”

Former President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, and Patti Labelle have sampled Parker’s winning cuisine.

Parker’s successful South Street restaurant name came in honor of his mother and her famous penchant for tootsie’s rolls.

Parker was 57 years old.