How I Made It: Brooklyn Restaurateur Craig Samuels

Craig Samuels is one of the best known entrepreneurs in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood. After honing his skills as a professional chef in Manhattan, he returned to his stomping grounds to open up several eateries including Peaches, Peaches Hot House, and The Smoke Joint in neighboring Fort Greene. The Bed-Stuy area is becoming more and more gentrified but many African-American entrepreneurs like Samuels are fueling the neighborhood’s rebirth as a burgeoning New York locus.  TAP talked to Samuels, who works with business partner Ben Grossman, about his experience in the restaurant business.