Jim's Place East finds new home on Perkins

Spot news story for The Memphis Daily News

(with Eric Smith)

July 15, 2010

Jim’s Place East – a Memphis tradition since its founding nearly 90 years ago – is opening a location at Poplar Avenue and Perkins Road, having signed a 10-year lease for the 5,900-square-foot space that recently housed Harold’s women’s boutique.

The restaurant, a popular site for events such as wedding receptions, parties, business meetings and intimate dinners, has operated at 5560 Shelby Oaks Drive since 1976.

The move is a relocation from Shelby Oaks, yet the current location will remain open until the doors open this fall at 518 Perkins Road Extended.

“We want people with special memories to know that we’ll continue to operate the current location and that people should come back and visit,” said Sam Taras, son of co-owner, Dimitri Taras ... (read more)

Development partners reunite on Midtown project

Spot news story for The Memphis Daily News

July 13, 2010

Community Capital and Architecture Inc. have teamed up again, this time to build Community Capital’s new headquarters at 1708 Monroe Ave. between South Belvedere Boulevard and South Evergreen Street.

Located just behind Outdoors Inc. and half a block from Idlewild Presbyterian Church, the area is zoned commercial, although the new office space of Community Capital is designed to look like homes in the area and will keep the integrity and feel of the Midtown neighborhood.

“It’s primarily commercial use in there, but many of the buildings are converted residential structures, so in talking to OPD (the city-county Office of Planning and Development), they felt that going into that area with an office-type building would be inappropriate and they asked us to design a building that would be more residential in appearance, so that’s what we did,” said David Schuermann, lead architect on the project and co-owner of Architecture Inc.

Community Capital, whose president is Archie Willis III, is a boutique firm offering real estate financing, development prospectus packages, financial and affordable housing advising to municipalities and private companies alike. The firm also develops real estate ... (read more)

Health partnership sights poor

Spot business news for The Commercial Appeal

May 22, 2010

Baptist Memorial Healthcare Corp. kicked off its partnership with one of America's leading vision benefits companies, Davis Vision of Plainview, N.Y., to provide eye screenings to the homeless and underserved of Memphis.

"The Focus on America program targets children and adults underinsured or not insured at all," said Laura Dyer of Davis Vision. "This is not a one-time thing. This is the kickoff of a partnership that will provide glasses on a monthly basis."

Those who failed eye exams were either given vouchers for reduced-cost eyeglasses from any local retailers who work with Davis Vision, or free glasses in cases of homelessness. An average pair of glasses, according to George Yanoshik Jr. of Davis Vision, is $293.

"If you can't see, it's hard to fill out a job application or find your way out in the community," said Baptist Memorial Healthcare president and CEO Stephen Reynolds ... (read more)

Technology takes Ridgeway Middle music to new level

Spot news story for The Memphis Daily News

May 21, 2010

The walls of a cinderblock city school classroom in East Memphis are hung with posters of John Coltrane, King Oliver, Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday and a 78-inch interactive whiteboard called an ActivBoard.

In a medium whose foundation is built on the bar chords of the blues and sound of the sax, technology has been introduced to engage children and introduce them to those a world away in Ken Greene’s music class.

Greene, music teacher and choir director at Ridgeway Middle School, recently demonstrated how technology is used to teach students and connect with other programs.

“Do you mind if we jam with you?” Greene asked his counterpart from Weyanoke Elementary School in Fairfax, Va ... (read more)

'Change is inevitable'

Spot news reporting for The Memphis Daily News

May 14, 2010

Expo encourages job seekers to adapt -- even when discouraged

“They aren’t making buggy whips anymore.”

That’s what Tom Wilson, career counselor for careerhands.com, tells people who have lost or left jobs and are looking for something else in the workplace.

He then brings it around to the 21st century: “They aren’t making electric typewriters anymore, either.”

The message he conveyed at Thursday’s Second Annual Opportunity Expo at The Pink Palace Museum was one conveyed throughout the day-long event’s seminars and by speakers and company representatives on hand to talk to job seekers about potential opportunities.

OppCity.com, a job-listing site for the Memphis area currently attracting 250,000 hits a week from all over the country, put on the expo, which was sponsored by the local Talent Trust Foundation ... (read more)

Economist to address influence of big banks

Business news story for The Commercial Appeal

April 10, 2010

Is a financial system dominated by giant banking institutions good for business?

Dr. Paul Merski says that's a question that deserves an answer, and he plans to offer his insights next week in Memphis.

The Rhodes Chapter of the Financial Management Association and the Department of Economics and Business will host Merski's lecture, "Financial and Economic Outlook: A View from Washington," on Wednesday.

Merski is the senior vice president and chief economist for the Independent Community Bankers of America, an organization representing 5,000 community banks of all sizes throughout the United States.

"I'll be looking at where we've come from in the past few years with the large financial crisis and the meltdown in the financial sector largely caused by the too-big-to-fail Wall Street banks," Merski said recently by phone from his office in Washington ... (read more)

Carpenter finds new creative life with latest venture

New small business profile for The Daily News

February 26, 2010

Seven months after leaving the advertising agency that bore his name, Doug Carpenter has quietly hung out the shingle for his new venture, Doug Carpenter & Associates.

Devoted to advertising, public relations and consulting, Carpenter used social media to get the word out.

“My coming out was in the form of an e-mail to my database and a Facebook page,” he said. “And the response has been overwhelming.”

Carpenter in July sold his interest in the advertising firm carpenter | sullivan | sossaman – now known as CS2 – to fellow managing principal Brian Sullivan ... (read more)

Bombing scenario preps Memphis' first responders for coordinated response

Business news feature story for The Commercial Appeal

December 18, 2009

Chaos reigned in Midtown Thursday as emergency personnel rushed into an office strewn with desks, cables, computers, insulation and filled with smoke after a suicide bomber attack took out six city blocks.

Paramedics quickly assessed the situation and worked to stabilize and remove the injured -- many moaning and bleeding.

As realistic as the scene was, it was actually just the first of six scheduled training sessions being held by the Medical Education and Research Institute at Cleveland and Monroe.

"The training is impressive and invaluable," said Gary Ludwig, deputy fire chief for the Memphis Fire Department. "On the job is not the time to train, and this is about as close to the reality of a bomb blast as you can get." ... (read more)

Perfect partners: Toymaker right at home in Children's Museum at fairgrounds

Business news story for The Commercial Appeal

December 6, 2009

In a move that officials say could help efforts to redevelop the Mid-South Fairgrounds, the Village Toymaker has opened a new store in The Children's Museum of Memphis.

The specialty toy store, which has three other area locations, celebrated its grand opening Saturday.

"Our customers have been asking for a Midtown location but nothing was ever a good fit, and then (Children's Museum CEO) Dick Hackett started talking to us just a few weeks ago and it sounded like this could be a good fit," said store owner Pat Monz.

The store is a welcomed addition to the fairgrounds, which is undergoing a $175 million redevelopment ... (read more)

Coffee's on again along Poplar at Perkins

Business news feature for The Commercial Appeal

December 3, 2009

Espresso and chatter are flowing once again in the cream and coffee-colored building at Poplar and Perkins.

Poplar Perk'N has opened in the space formerly occupied by High Point Coffee, which closed the store and another one on Union in Midtown in September.

"I knew the area and couldn't understand why it had closed," said Poplar Perk'N owner Jimmy Whidden, who received a message on Facebook from a disgruntled friend the day High Point closed.

Whidden called High Point owner Thomas Blanche, who agreed to sell his fixtures and equipment, and landlord Stan Graber, who agreed to lease him the building.

With start-up costs in hand and no debt to service, Whidden faced no major obstacles -- other than repairing a leak in the roof -- to open ... (read more)

Mid-South Minority Business Council awards honor institutional diversity

Daily business news story for The Commercial Appeal

November 21, 2009

Methodist Healthcare president Gary Shorb received top honors Friday at the Mid-South Minority Business Council Robert R. Church Sr. Achievement awards.

Shorb was named the Model Diversity Corporation CEO of the Year at a luncheon at the Holiday Inn at University of Memphis.

"This is a team effort," Shorb said. "Driving from the top is important, but it takes a team to make it work."

The award is in recognition of the council's program to institutionalize diversity and inclusion, applying it from the top down, in corporations around Memphis and, eventually, nationally.

"CEOs gather their team around and they embrace diversity," said Luke Yancy III, council president and CEO. "They're passionate about it." ... (read more)

Competition reminds Memphians who's keeping area hotel rooms looking sharp

Daily Business news story for The Commercial Appeal

October 27, 2009

Even as the Phillies and Yankees prepare to meet in the World Series, 12 other teams spent Monday afternoon making beds in this year's World Series of Housekeeping.

The sponsoring Metropolitan Memphis Hotel & Lodging Association will use the teams' $100 registration fees on a scholarship endowment for the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management at the University of Memphis.

"Housekeepers are stuck in the trenches, so this event gets them out," said Peggy Callahan, executive director of the hotel association. "It's fun for them, and it's team building." ... (read more)