Opened in 1925 on Seventh Avenue, Small's Paradise was one of the few Harlem Renaissance-era nightclubs owned and operated by a Black entrepreneur, Ed Smalls, and one of the rare clubs of its time that welcomed both Black and white patrons together on the dance floor rather than segregating its audience. The club featured dancing waiters and top jazz acts and remained a Harlem institution for decades. Malcolm X worked there as a waiter in the early 1940s before later purchasing a stake in the business, and the club continued operating under his part-ownership into the 1960s.