Like the change of seasons, Harlemites say the cultural fabric of the village is changing too: more fight, more white ... gentrification in full effect.

And with that change, as previously reported by the New York Amsterdam News, many longtime residents are losing their homes to new luxury condominiums beyond their reach.

Drummers can no longer echo the rhythm of the African Diaspora without harassment and complaints from brand-new white residents.

The police have gone “buck wild” against men of color, just because they can. And, businesses that have been a staple in the community are falling prey to franchises and insurmountable commercial leases. It’s sort of an ethnic cleansing—to the benefit of a handful of millionaires, according to the cries of the people.

The latest casualty is Copeland’s Restaurant.

It will be closing its doors after its last gospel brunch on Sunday July 29, 2007. Seatings are 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

For nearly five decades, restaurateur Calvin Copeland, owner of the historic eatery on West 145th Street, served up soul food in the once-predominantly Black neighborhood.

It was the meeting ground for political strategic planners and special events. It was the closest place where you could inhale “grandma’s country grub” with family and not be there. It was where you could get your gospel fix during Sunday brunch.

As touted in the New York Times, “Calvin Copeland was there when rioters burned and looted stores in 1964, when crack cocaine and AIDS tore families apart, when brownstones were for sale for $50,000 and few outsiders dared move in. He endured fire and financial ruin, yet each time he picked up the pieces and prospered, as bold and resilient as the neighborhood around him.”

This time Copeland, 82, tells the AmNews that he’s thankful for the years of patronage by the community and that it’s time he must move on. Copeland said that it is not a good feeling to say goodbye to some of his prized employees like Gertrude Clark (who’s worked with him for the past 48 years) or his waiter of 25 years or the cook of 24 years. “It’s not easy to part with people that have been like family,” said Copeland.

Declaring that gentrification played a huge role in his establishment’s demise, Copeland stated, “My people are not here. The neighborhood was once predominantly Black. Now, it’s mostly Latino and White. The Latinos pretty much patronize their own establishments, and the white people who live here now don’t eat the food I cook.” Copeland also complained that parking was always a big issue for his patrons. There is no nearby garage to facilitate parking and if someone were to pop in to grab a meal to go, when they got outside they were faced with a $115 ticket. “Who would want to come back after that?” Copeland asked.

After falling behind on rent and bills a year ago, Copeland tried to hold onto his business, investing more than $250,000 of his savings, he said. Finally, in May, he acquiesced to defeat.

“I just can’t do it anymore,” Copeland said.

Copeland started the business in 1958 as a catering service, one of Harlem’s first, in a modest storefront on Broadway north of 148th Street.

He had but one worker, Gertrude Clark, who still works for him. Copeland, who is Black, baked and decorated cakes; Clark, who is white and grew up on a farm in upstate New York, did whatever else was needed, which often included preparing Southern fare.

“I had never eaten collard greens in my life, and there I was making fried chicken and souse meat,” said Clark, 73. She is now Copeland’s banquet manager.

Copeland eventually rented the store next door, opened up a hole in the wall, expanded the kitchen and started serving breakfast and lunch, cafeteria style.

It was similar to the one in operation today next to the restaurant on 145th Street, which opened for business in 1980.

In 1981, the restaurant burned to the ground and the insurance company went bankrupt before it reimbursed Copeland for the losses.

“I lost everything, except for the liquor,” he said with a chuckle. “We had it in a separate room with concrete walls, and I guess the fire couldn’t get through.”

By the late ’80s Copeland had also jumped at the chance to open a restaurant on Harlem’s gateway, West 125th Street, believing the business forecast for booming enterprise along the commercial stretch—approximately two years before anyone had begun digging a ditch for the commercial development you see now, said Copeland.

The transition that had been discussed for years by Harlem businesses, the community boards and organizations, elected officials and potential investors was slowly beginning to eventuate by the mid ’90s.

Major Harlem business expansion on 125th Street, which included several large corporations, actually began about 1999-2000.

After Sept. 11th, Harlem real estate, particularly the residential market, began to climb through the roof, bringing in more and more consumers. Copeland took several loans to help jumpstart “Copeland’s Country Kitchen,” located only doors away from the Apollo Theatre.

However, a combination of very slow business and the late delivery of one of the loans needed to keep his business stable through the start-up period forced Copeland out of business in just one year.

Being a real “southern gentlemen,” he did not consider bankruptcy as an option, even though the situation warranted it as he faced several million dollars worth of debt.

With tremendous difficulty, Copeland repaid several loans as the extreme decline of his Reliable Catering/Copeland’s Restaurant on 145th Street progressed due to the changing demographics of the neighborhood and the absence of ample parking.

According to Michele March, legislative aide to Malcolm Smith, “Mr. Copeland always ran his business as a family, helping those in need and giving those who might need a second chance to be gainfully employed.”

Though Copeland is not ready to retire and would like partner with a Harlem church to provide some Sunday brunches, senior citizen and homeless dinners in return for the use of their kitchen for his catering business.

At 82 years of age, his current personal health issues and a wife with Alzheimer’s disease have forced him to accept the upcoming closing of his restaurant, but he vows that he will not retire. “I don’t believe in that,” he said. “I’ve got a plan in my head, but I don’t want to reveal it yet. All I can tell you is that I’ve got to have something going. I have to or I may as well not be here anymore. To me, idleness is worse than death.”

Meanwhile, a book about Copeland’s life written by Mary Ellen Gardner is slated for release later this year.

Born in Smithfield, Va., Copeland started working at age 13, washing dishes at a Greek restaurant in Newport News, Va., where his family lived at the time. He moved on to shuck oysters and prepare shellfish cocktails, but in his spare time, he watched the chefs at work. Soon, he was helping make breakfast: sausage, home fries, eggs and grits.

Copeland moved to New York in 1945, and was married within five years. His wife, Rita Copeland, an Irish immigrant, was a waitress and he was a cook at a restaurant in Paramus, N.J. They kept the relationship a secret at first; at a time of racial segregation, they were convinced that they would lose their jobs if the boss found out they were together.

Copeland devotes his afternoons to Rita, his wife of 57 years: feeding her and brushing her hair while he tells her the day’s news, even though she cannot respond. He hired two nurse’s aides to watch over her night and day at their home in Hamilton Heights. Copeland said he would be able to devote more time to his wife once the restaurant is closed. –(NNPA)