Lisa Tracy, Assistant Director Clinic Operations at Southern College of Optometry and Administrator of Operations at the new U of M location, discusses what all the new campus eye clinic has to offer as far as services, spec brands and more for to students, faculty and the general public.
By Natalie Cole Lisa Tracy, Assistant Director Clinic Operations at Southern College of Optometry and Administrator of Operations at the new U of M location, discusses what all the new campus eye clinic has to offer as far as services, spec brands and more for to students, faculty and the general public.
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By Margot Pera
Calorie conscious students at the University of Memphis may be able to have their cake and eat it too, or at least their popcorn. Kay and Mike Gellar, “POPrietors” for the franchise Doc Popcorn, are looking to expand their client base, and U of M is one of their target locations. “If I was a college student, I would love the idea of sitting down and studying while munching on a bag of yummy popcorn,” Kay said. Doc Popcorn was started by Robert and Renee Israel in 2003 as a healthy snack alternative to the typical calorie-laden popcorn sold at festivals, concerts and other venues. The couple made the popcorn in the kitchen of their New York City apartment, and then moved to the more health conscious climate of Boulder, Colo., where they opened up stands in sports arenas, shopping malls and various Whole Foods Markets throughout the state. “They both worked for Fortune 500 companies in New York and just got tired of the rat race,” Mike said. “When they moved to Boulder, they spent six years perfecting their flavoring formulas." By Meagan Nichols
With seven locations and an eighth scheduled to open in Germantown in February, Huey’s restaurants have served the greater Memphis area for over 40 years. The newest and busiest of the seven-restaurant fleet, located less than three miles from the University of Memphis, is the Huey’s on Poplar Avenue, which will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this December. Shannon Little, the marketing and events coordinator for Huey’s, said of the 400 employees that comprise the staff she estimated roughly 100 are either current U of M students or Tiger alumni. Little, who has worked at Huey’s for seven and a half years, falls into the latter of the two categories. Little graduated from the U of M in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in communication with a focus in business management. In 2011, she earned a masters degree from the U of M in communication with a focus in community relations. “I actually started as a food runner and expo at this location in Poplar in 2006 and then after a year was promoted to server and then two and a half years ago I started going into the office,” Little said. “I was a marketing intern and then I got promoted to assistant, and then last year I quit working tables and became the full on marketing and events coordinator.” Little said when the company hires people they look for individuals who will stay in Memphis for a long time and said college students generally fit this profile. “We have a very low turnover here,” she said. “The average years of employment for someone who works at Huey’s is seven years. I started my sophomore year of college and pretty much have worked through ever since.” By Kylcye Bolden
Next month, a decision will be made about the fate of the building on the corner of Southern and Highland. Each of the remaining businesses in the building have made plans to change locations or close shop to pursue other endeavors. Looking back, owners of Whatever Novelty Shop, Southern Meat Market and Sharri’s Discount Art Supply are questioning why there was so little communication from the landlord once the decision was made to sell the property. The lack of communication has become a bigger issue since nothing has been finalized with McDonald's. The two other businesses that used to occupy the property, Super Submarine Sandwich Shop and Safeway Wholesale & Supply, have moved to a new locations. The sandwich shop, passionately called the Chinese Sub Shop by Memphians, is now at 3316 Summer Ave. Safeway Wholesale & Supply relocated less than a block away. Pending the decisions made at the city council meeting on Dec. 17, both moves could be proven to have been made vainly.
Brother Juniper’s restaurant housed at 3519 Walker Ave., just steps from the University of Memphis’s main campus, plans to open a second location in the Forrest Hill Irene Road/ Poplar Avenue area as early as spring of 2014.
The restaurant, which is run on the principles of food, family, community and church, is owned and operated by Jonathan Koplin, his wife Pauline, daughter Sarah and son Patrick. The nationally recognized Memphis breakfast joint wants to take the current restaurant structure “another step” with the new site, Jonathan said. “It would be a restaurant, bakery, coffee roasting—might do some training out there again,” he said. The “training” is a reference to a nonprofit program Brother Juniper’s started in 2000 called Juniper Bakery, which taught at-risk youth how to make artisan breads. Jonathan said the program lasted three or four years, before they passed it along to another organization. Community service is and always has been at the forefront of the Brother Juniper’s business model. McDonald's uncompromising design intends to clog traffic and be an eyesore to the overlay10/18/2013 By Erica Holmes
Neighbors from the University District banded together at City Hall Tuesday, Oct. 15, to hold SR consulting firm accountable for stalling the vote and to keep a wrap around drive-thru loop out of the design plans. The University Neighborhoods Development Corporation (UNDC) explained to the council that McDonald's has no intention to let go of their design ideas that go against the flow of the overlay. Earlier that afternoon a couple of government relations’ workers including community liaison, Leah Dawkins, from the University of Memphis went before Chairman Harold Collins’ Land Use committee. "Collins told us that he is sending it downstairs to open session because there is a lot of public opposition," Dawkins said. "It is considered a hot-button issue." Clockwise from left: The mission statement of fellow dance company Zombi Commonidade Capoeira Angola pledges to spread the knowledge of Capoeira. The official logo of the same company depicts two lions standing on their hind legs on either side of a circle with a male silhouette holding a spear. The berimbau (pictured here) is a bow-like instrument commonly used in Capoeira sessions. A rectangular wooden counter displays various pieces of jewelry and lotions. By Melissa Wray
Sah Ankh Sa Maat always knew she wanted to study dancing. When she was 19 years old and first encountered the art of African dance at Hampton University, she knew that it was best suited for her. After graduating from Hampton, she admitted that her move to Memphis in 2003 merely started out as something new to do. That later evolved into the opening of a dance studio under the Abule Fan Music and Dance company located on 644 S. Highland St., dedicated to teaching people the different aspects of traditional African dance and other topics. “Aside from African dance, what we will be teaching people includes meditation classes on Saturday mornings, classes in Capoeira Angola, an Afro fitness class, and several holistic health services," Sa Maat said. By Meagan Nichols
To the unfamiliar eye, the Park Avenue strip that falls between Echles Street and Goodlett Street is nothing more than pawnshops and cash on the spot businesses. But the unfamiliar eye can be deceived. Tucked on the corner of Park Avenue and Graham Street is a Mexican restaurant with such authenticity that a person is liable to question what they have consumed at Mexican chains their entire lives. With three locations, the first Las Delicias Mexican Bar & Grill opened in January of 2003 on Shelby Drive by restaurant founder and owner, Antonio Martinez. The restaurant relocated to the current Mendenhall location a few years later. The Park Avenue location opened in September of 2009 and the newest Las Delicias, housed on Quince Road, opened in July of 2012. A native of Mexico, Martinez moved to Memphis from Mexico City in 1998 and worked in the IT department of a local business. After refusing the request of his employer to return to Mexico to perform equipment installation, he was fired. Faced with unemployment, Martinez and his wife decided to give the restaurant business a try. “When I was a young boy, like a thousand years ago, I used to work in a restaurant,” he said. “For some reason, I don’t know why, you go back to the basics. On top of it, while I was working at this company on Friday nights I was selling tacos in my garage so I kind of started before opening.” By Erica Horton
Kitty Boy the cream Tabby cat is king of Sharri’s Discount Art Supplies. He prowls, leaps and tiptoes over desks, canvases and demands belly rubs when customers enter the store by lying on his side and looking up expectantly. Sharri Schmidt, the 60-year-old owner of the approximately 4,200 square foot shop at 3517 Southern Ave., said Kitty Boy and his sister Kitty Girl, a Maine Coon, help her run the 25-year-old business with her husband, 60-year-old Sonny Schmidt. Because Sharri’s is closing on Oct. 31, pastels, charcoal, paper, paint and other art materials line the walls and shelves priced at half off. “We’re more than an art supply store,” she said. “We’re like a consumer guide to art materials. We teach you how to market and advertise your art, and we’re not going to sell you something that’s not going to do the job.” Sharri said the store is closing for a combination of reasons including the upcoming end of her lease, roof leaks, the possibility of a new McDonald’s being built beside her store and being sick. By Erica Holmes
McDonald’s is gearing up to pull a fast one on the Highland Strip by creating a sibling location, not exactly a twin, intending to prove to city council that they don’t have to build to code on the corner of South Highland St. Heirs to the Madison family’s real estate fortune, who own the shopping center, seem to be holding out for a buyer, and it appears McDonald’s may be the winner. The corporation is taking some curious steps to help the living wage and obesity endemic/epidemic in Memphis. The property appears to not adhere to any safety codes. James Sexton, the owner of Whatever located in the strip, said he believes this is because the family has managed to maintain historically complicated ownership rights to the land. They haven’t had to fix a leaking roof in quite some time. And the Madison heirs, Marion Madison, Harry Madison Jr. and Sally Walton, seem to be entangled in a family disagreement, Sexton said. If McDonald’s wants to build to code, the simple reality is that they have a right to come in, Sexton said. |