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)

Room to breathe: Joe’s Wine & Liquor expands for growing stock

Business news feature for The Commercial Appeal

November 30, 2009

When the Great Recession ends, Joe’s Wine & Liquor will be ready.

The Midtown store with the landmark Sputnik at Poplar and Belvedere is launching a 2,200-square-foot expansion by taking over the neighboring space formerly occupied by the Peter Pan Pantry.

The project is expected to be completed in the first quarter with the complete $400,000 renovation, funded through a loan with Independent Bank, wrapped up and his staff of 10 moved in by March of 2010.

“John Jones is the architect and they’ve put together a retro ’60s kind of feel to the store,” said store owner Brad Larson. “When it’s all said and done, the countertops will be stainless steel, we’ll have a light source at the top that will ring the building, a lot of metal and wood racking for the wines. It’s going to look real nice.” … (read more)

True meaning of thanks not lost on kids

“Because I Said So” column for The Commercial Appeal

November 25, 2009

I have fond memories of being a kid and traveling to relatives’ homes for the holidays. Any child of the 1970s will recall long road trips spent singing along with the static of The Eagles on the radio, staring out the window, fighting with territorial siblings over the back seat and watching the ornamental seatbelts flap in the wind blowing through windows cracked open to allow the cigarette smoke to escape.

This country was founded on travel and a poor sense of direction.

I asked my children recently about their knowledge of Thanksgiving, its history and meaning. Somerset, 7, was almost positive the Pilgrims came over with Columbus in 1942. Calvin, 11 and my oldest, figured the trip must have taken at least a week and that the children on board spent most of the time throwing up.

“Wait,” Somerset said, “the Pilgrims had kids?”

The throwing up, I was then told, was only one activity to pass the time, the other being one of my kids’ favorites: rock-paper-scissors … (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)

Buckley’s Fine Filet Grill and U.S. Foodservice

Corporate giving profile for The Commercial Appeal

Buckley’s Fine Filet Grill, U.S. Foodservice and the Ronald McDonald House

November 20, 2009

Buckley’s Fine Filet Grill, partnering with food distributor U.S. Foodservice, recently visited the Ronald McDonald House to help stock the kitchen and pantry.

“I read a story in the paper that the pantry was low, and we said ‘let’s just go fill it up,’ ” said Ken Dick, who founded the restaurant in 1993 with Jeff Fioranelli, his friend since the eighth grade.

U.S. Foodservice president Joe Campbell and vice president of sales Jimmy Cull see the donation as an extension of the work they already do with St. Jude, Grizzlies House and Target House.

“Jeff and Ken are good friends and good customers, and when they asked us to get involved, we said ‘absolutely,’ ” Cull said. “Joe Campbell gave us the OK to do whatever we have to do to help the patients of St. Jude. Even in tough times we have not backed off from helping St. Jude.” … (read more)

Goodwill Industries bookstore writes success story in recession

Business news feature for The Commercial Appeal

November 14, 2009

The Great Recession has hurt many businesses in the past two years, but one benefactor appears to be GoodBooks, the used bookstore operated by Goodwill Industries.

The store at 6063 Park in Park Place Centre was launched in February 2008 and has experienced such strong success that it was expanded earlier this year.

The bookstore recorded $78,000 in sales by the end of September. By comparison, the area’s only other Goodwill bookstore, on Goodman Road in Southaven and open since 2006, had sales of $101,000 in the same time frame.

“The economy has helped the bookstore business where people who may not have shopped here before have tried it out and those who had shopped here may shop here more,” said Goodwill vice president of operations Dave Leutwyler. “It’s all about being in the right place with the right product.” … (read more)

Weekend with family serves ravioli, savored time

“Because I Said So” column for The Commercial Appeal

November 12, 2009

What is the recipe for family?

Each person’s idea of what family is can be as personal and cherished as favorite recipes of ancestors, brought here by boat, plane or covered chuck wagon. Mother and father, sure, plus brothers and sisters and all manner of blood relations. Sprinkle in neighbors and a healthy helping of friends and that family can become large enough to fill any dining table.

I spent the weekend wrapped in family. A family that grew each time I turned and satisfied a hunger for closeness and community.

On Sunday afternoon, we had friends and family into our home for the yearly making of my family’s ravioli recipe. The Zanone recipe has been handed down through generations; pages filled with handwriting of those long gone, recent notations scrawled over stains from ages past … (read more)

Edward Felsenthal tames Web ‘Wild West’ for readers as news site’s editor

Feature story for the Lifestyle section of The Commercial Appeal

November 8, 2009

The World Wide Web, with its seemingly unlimited information and eternal reach, is a beast. For the average surfer, any attempt to keep up with it all — every news stream and nugget of gossip — is mere folly.

It is native Memphian Edward Felsenthal’s job as executive editor of The Daily Beast to rein that monster in and make it manageable, even useful, for readers on the year-old site at thedailybeast.com.

As Web site co-founder Tina Brown put it, “the Internet is the Wild West, in a way, and would become feral if there were no circus trainer to manage it.”

To that end, she hired Felsenthal to work with his team collecting news from around the world and throughout cyberspace to aggregate under one governable and easily-traversed URL.

“There are a lot of assets you can grow, but time isn’t one of them,” the 43-year-old Felsenthal said. “We’re giving busy people a quick and engaging fix on the day’s happenings.” … (read more)

One little stitch can put a hitch in morning

“Because I Said So” column for The Commercial Appeal

October 29, 2009

When I was a boy, we got our shoes at Youngtown behind the Lowenstein’s Department Store in Poplar Plaza.

I would perch up on a tall booth with my socked feet on the metal pegs while a salesman slipped a pair of creamy Buster Browns on me. I was then made to stand while my mother and the salesman took turns pushing down on my toes, squeezing the sides and sliding my heel in and out.

“Is this too tight? … Too loose? … Does this pinch? … Is there room? …” they asked.

I gave them half answers: “Pretty good. Not too. Sorta,'” knowing that whatever the next day brought, cramped toes or blistered heel, I wouldn’t complain. The questioning I went through at the time of purchase had been too rigorous for me to dare speak up 24 hours later.

Our kids’ shoes come from Target now. I guess. Shoe buying isn’t really my department. Some are handed down from friends’ kids, I’m pretty sure. For all I know, my children are taking shoes from classmates … (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)