For the Kids of Cooper St. in Midtown, business as usual all in the family

Feature story for The Commercial Appeal

July 1, 2010

While many kids spend their summers vegging out poolside, at camp or in front of the television, a group of children, let’s call them the Kids of Cooper Street, are chopping vegetables, greeting customers and shelving inventory at some of Memphis’ favorite haunts.

At 4 years old, she will probably change her mind on careers dozens of times before adulthood, but right now Ayden Smith, daughter of Ben and Colleen Smith, owners of the Cooper-Young restaurant Tsunami, has a goal.

“Ayden has decided that she wants to be a chef,” Colleen said, “and with that Montessori upbringing, she’s very hands-on and literally can sit down with a very sharp knife and chop things up without cutting herself.”

She’s too young to run her own restaurant just yet, but the environment of a small business is a good one to spend time in, according to her mother. It keeps her engaged and entertained.

“She’s very interested in that (cooking), and when she’s here and just bored out of her mind, we can send her into the kitchen to peel some potatoes or slice bananas.” … (read more)