Stories

Feature Story Office manager Judith Currin drops a client off at home after a busy day at daycare. A ride in the custom bus is a favorite activity for the dogs. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

Doggy daycare on Summer Avenue is (adorable) sign of new investment

The Doghouse opened in July, and it’s growing fast alongside hopes for Summer Avenue's future.

Feature Story Supported by a $3.9 million Aging Initiative Grant, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis completed 374 aging-in-place home repairs for Shelby County seniors. (Submitted)

Plough Foundation's $12 million Aging Initiative finds success in supporting Memphis seniors

Programs funded with $12 million in Aging Initiative grants from the Plough Foundation have garnered state and national attention for the impact they’ve had on the lives of Shelby County seniors.


Feature Story A first-grade student peeks around the corner at a pop-up performance held at Treadwell Elementary School as his classmates line up behind him. (Renier Otto)

In photos: The Heights celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Take a tour through Spain and Latin America with the students of Treadwell Elementary School to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Feature Story A first-grade student peeks around the corner at a pop-up performance held at Treadwell Elementary School as his classmates line up behind him. (Renier Otto)

De fotos: The Heights celebra la herencia hispana mes

Toma un tour a través de América Latina y España con los estudiantes de treadwell la escuela primaria para celebrar la herencia hispana mes.

Feature Story Muddy's Bake Shop founder Kat Gordon speaks to the Rising Tide Society at a February 2018 meeting, held at Memphis College of Art. (Kristen Archer)

Memphis College of Art is closing to students, opening its classes to creative entrepreneurs

Through its community education, Memphis College of Art is building a framework for continued learning opportunities made by and for creative entrepreneurs — even once campus doors close in 2020. 


Feature Story Sidney Johnson, president of the Mitchell Heights Neighborhood Association, poses in front of the hoop house at the Mitchell Heights Landscape Garden and Nursery. (Cole Bradley)

Small but mighty: Resident-led development improves Mitchell Heights

From gang relations to gardening, the Mitchell Heights Neighborhood Association is taking ownership of its 40-block neighborhood. Grown from that grassroots effort is a commercial nursery that recently secured a contract to plant flowers at Memphis City Hall.

Feature Story Sidney Johnson, presidente de la Asociación de Vecinos de Mitchell Heights, posa frente a la casa de aro en el Jardín y Vivero de Mitchell Heights. (Cole Bradley)

Pequeño pero poderoso: El movimiento en Mitchell Heights

Mitchell Heights es una sección de 40 cuadras de “The Heights” que recibe un poco de amor muy necesario de parte de unos pocos residentes dedicados. También es el hogar de un vivero de flores que recientemente obtuvo un contrato para plantar flores en el Ayuntamiento de Memphis.

Feature Story Children play at Pursuit of God Church while their parents attend class next door. The new program teaches about language and brain development for children zero to 30 months. (Agape)

Gift of gab: Frayser children reach for kindergarten readiness before they learn to talk

A new program in Frayser is using technology to build kids' conversation skills before they’ve even learned to talk. Partners at Agape and University of Memphis say talking is critical to healthy growth and kindergarten readiness and helps underprivileged families level the educational playing field.

Feature Story Cynthia Daniels

Talking business: Local event planner shares her story and those of women like her in a new podcast

Cynthia Daniels moved to Memphis ten years ago and changed the Memphis' small business landscape with events like Memphis Black Restaurant Week. She's partnering with entrepreneur support organization Epicenter to produce a podcast that highlights the journeys of other women- and minority-owned entrepreneurs. 

Feature Story Suzanne Carlson, transportation and sustainability program manager for the nonprofit Innovate Memphis.

Innovate Memphis pushes to revamp Memphis bus system from the ground up

Officials with Innovate Memphis are working behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for implementation of a reimagined Memphis Area Transit Authority network which would rejuvenate public transport in Memphis.

Feature Story Ardent recordings opened in 1966 at the intersection of National and Bayliss, catty corner from the Sweden Kream that still stands today.

Musical Heights: A neighborhood's forgotten role in the history of one of pop's most famous studios

In a nondescript store front on National Street, some of the 20th century's biggest music stars once worked. Discover the one-time Heights recording studio that played a major role in garage rock, soul, and heavy metal and laid the groundwork for one of Memphis' most enduring musical legacies.

Feature Story Zan 'Z' Dogan watches his son play in a football game at Treadwell Middle School. Treadwell is the area’s oldest school and opened in 1915. (Ziggy Mack)

Big Star, basketball stars, and five star eats: More fascinating facts from The Heights

It’s produced legendary music, three basketball legends including Penny Hardaway, and some of the city’s best food. Here are four more things you probably didn’t know about The Heights.  

Feature Story Daria Meeks, 27, works at Lucy J's Bakery. (Natalie Eddings)

Living wage means more for a working mother at a Memphis bakery

In February, Daria Meeks left a barely-above minimum wage position to work at a new Memphis bakery that pays employees a living wage.

Feature Story Lucas Trautman, top left, practices grappling technique with students, from top, Kelan Branch, 10, Keyveyoun Chandler, 14, and Eric Booker, 11, at his Stardust Jiu-Jitsu studio in Binghampton. The business is next door to the future site of his wife

Family opens side-by-side Binghampton businesses

Lucas Trautman runs nonprofit Stardust Jiu-Jitsu studio. Kristin Fox-Trautman is soon to open a cafe that pays employees a living wage. Together, they're brightening a high-traffic corner of Binghampton.

Feature Story Wendell and Adrena Jackson show the progress of renovations to their restaurant Eggxactly Breakfast and Deli in Whitehaven. (Brandon Dill)

Whitehaven breakfast spot and deli builds on family legacy

Wendell Jackson's father was a staple to the Whitehaven area as a deli and grocery owner. The younger Jackson is taking on that charge by opening his own shop, Eggxactly Breakfast and Deli, at a former barber shop in Whitehaven.

Feature Story Leslie Lynn Smith, Epicenter president and CEO.

Epicenter raises $40 million, sprints toward the next phase of Memphis' entrepreneurial movement

Having raised $30 million in philanthropy and individual donations, Epicenter has unlocked a $10 million challenge grant from FedEx. Memphis entrepreneurs could benefit from new programs born out of the $40 million fund as early as the first quarter of next year. 

Feature Story The Stepherson's store at 3942 Macon Road opened in 1960. (Tamara Williamson)

Family-owned groceries are hallmark of The Heights

Stepherson's Food Store and Montesi's Supermarket are living pieces of Memphis history, but for residents of The Heights, they're just great places to get groceries. 

Feature Story Yvonne Thomas' kindergarteners dance to a song about fruit  in one of Treadwell Elementary School's dual language classes on September 21, 2018. Treadwell's dual language program immerses kids in both Spanish and English for full fluency by fifth gra

The state’s only dual-language program grows with Memphis’ Latino population

Several of Treadwell Elementary’s dual-language immersion classes are at or near capacity. Supporters say side-by-side English and Spanish instruction builds skills and cross-cultural connections, and the program is critical to future success in one of Memphis’ most diverse neighborhoods. 

Feature Story Los niños de kínder de Yvonne Thomas bailan una canción sobre vacas en una de las clases de doble idioma de la Escuela Primaria Treadwell el 21 de septiembre de 2018. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)

El único programa bilingüe del estado que se adapta a una población latina que está creciendo

Varias clases en el programa de inmersión en dos idiomas de “Treadwell Elementary” están a su capacidad o se están acercando a ella. Los partidarios del programa creen que la enseñanza simultánea de inglés y español construye la comprensión intercultural en uno de los barrios más diversos de Memphis.

Feature Story Trinette Johnson-Williams in her Midtown workshop. (Darius B. Williams)

"Hustle mentality" led Johnson-Williams to open her contracting and woodworking firm

“I don’t have time to wait on anybody to tell me that I’m good enough. Women can do just as much if not more. Anything that’s out there, we can do it."