While Bayoh loves the restaurant
business, she says her passion is redevelopment.
“I love to take old buildings
and turn them into something new.” For
example, she purchased a rundown building
in an economically distressed section
of Irvington and turned it into a successful
mortgage company.
Her penchant for buying property
began soon after college, when she purchased
a three-family home in Irvington,
where she still resides. “My getting into
real estate had everything to do with being
a resident assistant at Fairleigh Dickinson.
When you’re a resident assistant, it’s just
like taking care of property, and the students
are your tenants. I loved it.”
Serving as a resident assistant was just
one of many campus activities for Bayoh.
She especially became involved with the
organization Nubian Ladies Making Vital
Progress and became its president in her
sophomore year. “It was a group where
black women could share ideas and talk
about our aspirations. And we were heavily
involved in community service.”
Bayoh relished the fact that the University
provided an “intimate setting where all the
professors knew you by name” and where
she made many close friends. “FDU was my
home away from home.” She advises college
students to “enjoy the moment. Once you
leave college, it’s a different world.”
Bayoh is very familiar with different
worlds. In Liberia, for example, there were
no school buses, and she would walk five
miles to school. “We didn’t have much,
but my parents always made sure we knew
that school was important.”
When she arrived in America, she says
she was stunned that elementary and secondary
education were free and that she
could get a free lunch at school. “I appreciated
those things so much, and I was so
excited about going to school.”
During college, Bayoh was employed as
a bank teller. After graduation she worked in
management in several branches that eventually
became Bank of America. She later became
an executive at PNC Bank in Newark.
“I loved banking and always did well.”
For her professional and community
development efforts, Bayoh has been honored
by the Essex County Board of Chosen
Freeholders and the Township of Irvington.
While such accolades are gratifying, she
doesn’t consider herself a success. “I’ve
had some accomplishments, but there is so
much more I want to do. I’ve still got a long
way to go.”
She hopes to open more restaurants, and
she wants to focus more heavily on redevelopment
efforts that help low-income families.
She knows that there may be challenges
ahead, but she is determined to stay true to
her goals and values. “You have to always
work hard and stick to your dream.”