Stories

Development News Multicultural and International Career Expo

Upcoming Multicultural and International Career Expo touts diversity, inclusion

International professionals who live in Memphis will have the chance to connect with Mid-South businesses focused on creating a more diverse local workforce at the 5th Annual Multicultural and International Career Expo on March 19 at Hilton Memphis.


Feature Story Miles Tamboli

Opinion: If it’s food security you want, grow your own food. Seriously.

Urban farming is an underappreciated weapon in war on blight and poverty, writes Lee Eric Smith.

Feature Story Lizz Winstead, co-founder of The Daily Show and Lady Parts Justice, is headlining the 2018 Memphis Comedy Festival at TheatreWorks on Saturday, Mar. 10 at 9 p.m. (Lizz Winstead)

Why the co-creator of 'The Daily Show' says Memphis excels at crossing comedy with activism

Lizz Winstead is a fierce fighter for reproductive justice and intersectional activism, and she thinks Memphis is getting a lot of things right.

Development News Forum Flats

Affordable apartments to be built near FedEx Forum

“I think there’s room to grow for all sorts of income levels in housing for the entire Downtown area. The outlook is promising.”


Development News 431 S. Main St.

Historic South Main renovation lures new office tenant

“The building had never been renovated. It was original from when it was built in 1911."


Innovation & Job News Chris Peterson was hired as the farm manager for the Alpha Omega Veteran Services urban farm. Memphis Tilth will partner with AOVS for three years to get the farm up and running and to train veterans on managing the operation.

Former U.S. Army supply depot "reclaimed" as urban farm for veterans

A former munitions disposal site in South Memphis is being "reclaimed" as a two-acre farm that will bring healing, skills, and healthy food to Memphis veterans. 

Innovation & Job News Volunteers from SunTrust Bank were on hand to help students work through their personal finance scenarios of managing a budget, balancing a checking account and preparing for unseen expenses.

Melrose High School students make tough calls at financial education simulator

Melrose High School students had to make tough decisions about paying for housing, utilities and childcare during a financial simulator organized by SunTrust Bank and the University of Tennessee Extension.

Development News 7733 Winchester Road

New owners of Nineteenth Century Club plan another sushi restaurant

Restaurateurs Shon and Dana Lin, owners of three area Redfish Sushi Asian Bistro locations and the original local Kublai Khan Mongolian Stir Fry in Southaven, have purchased the building at 7733 Winchester Road in Southeast Memphis for their second area Kublai Khan location.


Development News DCA HQ

101-year-old Downtown building to be renovated as office and AirBnB

The former National Biscuit Company building at 11 West Huling Avenue in the South Main District is now the home of creative communications firm DCA. 


Feature Story Dryers and washing machines can be used at a reduced rate at the South Memphis Alliance laundromat. (Tamara Williamson)

Combination laundromat and community center keeps South Memphis fresh

South Memphians can take advantage of social services, like tax preparation or HIV testing, while they wait for their laundry to finish at the nonprofit-owned Social Suds Resource Center.

Feature Story A Rhodes College student visits the National Civil Rights Museum.

50 years after Dr. King's death, racial and economic disparities persist in Memphis, panelists say

While there have been gains in some areas, economic opportunities for black Memphians have not improved since 1968 -- and in some cases, have worsened. A five-person panel representing leaders in criminal justice reform, journalism, faith, nonprofit and social justice spoke about the inequalities Memphis faces considering the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination.

Feature Story Alex Greene, Yancy Villa Calvo, and Neili Jones at the Urban Art Commission offices. (Houston Cofield)

The intersection of art and urban planning makes Memphis 3.0 a multimedia strategy

Three Memphis-based artists are engaged in the comprehensive Memphis 3.0 planning process. Through art, they engage with residents and bring down to the earth lofty urban planning concepts such as livability, connectivity and sustainability. 

Feature Story Boys Squad

Video: This 12-year-old leader keeps the Whitehaven Boys Squad on the right path

"If we follow our Boys Squad rules, we'll be great men in life." Those are the words of 12-year-old Courtney, leader of the Whitehaven Boys Squad. The young men meet weekly at the Whitehaven Library to learn, set goals, and practice their secret handshake.

Feature Story Air Kingz Custom Airbrushing at the Southland Mall. (Brandon Dahlberg)

Flight of the Red Lobster: Whitehaven retail adapts to Mississippi migration

Once a suburb thriving with amenities, Whitehaven is saddled with outside perceptions that the neighborhood is poor because its demographics flipped from white to black. Its native retailers, like Southland Mall (the oldest operating mall in Memphis), know the advantage of adapting to a changing audience — even as big-box names are drawn across the border to Southaven, Mississippi. 

Development News Frase Protection

Memphis-based Frase Protection acquires competitor, plans to build Cordova headquarters

Frase Protection is planning to build a new headquarters in Cordova after recently acquired the remaining assets of Stop Alarms, a Memphis-based home and small business security company. Frase recently purchased land for a new building site off Walnut Run and Germantown Parkway in Cordova.


Development News Maciel's Highland

Maciel’s taco shop opening on Highland Strip

A Downtown favorite moves out east.


Development News Tailors' Union

Rizzo's Diner co-owner to open Downtown cocktail bar

A historic downtown building at 115 Union Avenue that was restored in 2012 for mixed use will finally utilize its ground-floor commercial space when a new cocktail club, Tailors’ Union, opens this spring.


Feature Story Dorothy Collier introduces Molly Farrell of Maggie Louise Bridal at an August meeting of the Rising Tide Society. (Kristen Archer)

Q&A: The Rising Tide Society serves a swell of creative entrepreneurs

The local chapter of San Francisco-based Rising Tide Society advocates for the local ecosystem and educates creative entrepreneurs. 

Feature Story A cardboard Elvis display in front of various signs at Boulevard Souvenirs. (Brandon Dahlberg)

In photos: Local Elvis purveyors combine tourist attraction and native flair

Locally-owned gift shops and tourist stops serve as ambassadors for the city along Elvis Presley Boulevard. Their atmosphere is certainly Elvis-centric, but these businesses also maintain a good deal of Memphis pride.

Feature Story Girls from Memphis Area Youth Association youth group, which is made up of students in 5th through 7th grade, perform one of their routines. (Brandon Dahlberg)

Whitehaven resident tumbles into 30 years of successful dance and cheer program

A cheer and dance squad formed in 1984 continues to shape young lives in Whitehaven.