July was a sad month for soul food in the city with two venerable restaurants shutting their doors for the last time.

First to go was 9th Avenue mainstay Jezebel where owner Alberta Wright had been serving to theater crowds for over 24 years. Wright continues to dole out fried chicken at Piece of Chicken, a take-out window around the corner on West 45th Street (212-582-5973).

And then on Sunday Harlem said goodbye to 145th Street soul-food institution Copeland’s. The restaurant, owned by Calvin Copeland, had been in operation for fifty years.