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.

By Hassan Allawi

Bhui is planning to produce his first album in February next year. 
The house in which he grew up, the place were his mother rests, and the Mississippi River, are places that inspire him.

By Melissa Wray

In this 4:42 interview, James Sexton, manager of the smoke shop Whatever, elaborates on how it got started, what he loves about running a "questionable" business and the perks of operating his business in an area full of people from differing backgrounds.

By Natalie Cole

The best things in life can often be the hardest to come by and just the same, the Tiger Bike shop is one of those things. Nestled behind the front parking lot on Southern Avenue at the end of campus and a parking lot adjacent to the Rec Center is one of the University's newest “green” programs.

Each semester the student body at the University of Memphis pays a required $10 green fee, which boasts a multitude of environmentally friendly programs on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods. The Tiger Bike program began March 2013 with the goal of allowing students access to a cost-efficient, eco-friendly means of transportation as well as health promotional implementation for exercise.

Along with providing students a means to meet the “Memphis Healthy U” recommendation for “daily exercise for good health,” it directly corresponds with the local government’s endeavors to “provide bike lanes along city streets and to build greenlines and other trails that connect parks and recreational areas throughout the city and the county," according to the U of M's website regarding the program.

"There are so many students who live within a two-mile radius of campus and don't have to drive their car to campus," said Amelia Mayahi, sustainability coordinator for the U of M. "They can ride their bike and go straight to the door where their classes are. And we also have a parking issue on our campus. I think this [program] could help with the limited amount of parking spaces.”

In its initial semester, the program did not get much student traffic, said Arthur Johnson, Tiger Bike shop coordinator. But this semester has shown more promise.

“In our opening semester we rented, maybe, six or seven bikes total," Johnson said. "Okay, maybe ten. Within two weeks of the opening of this semester, however, every single one of the Tiger Bikes was spoken for and remain so to this day.”

The U of M is proud to be amongst some of the top universities with sustainability programs. Before launching the Tiger Bike program, Mayahi visited universities such as Ole' Miss and Rhodes who have similar programs to do research and gauge their effectiveness.

By Grant Milner

With three-year starter Paulo Henriques graduating following the 2012 season, Memphis was in search of a kicker. It’s safe to say they found one.

Freshman Jake Elliott connected on his first 11 field goal attempts of his career, with his first miss coming last Saturday against Southern Methodist University.

“The first kick was definitely nerve wracking,” Elliott said. “I adjusted and I just block everything out and it feels like a high school game. I hope they have the confidence to send me out whenever they want. I’ll be up for it and I’ll be ready.”

Elliott took a different route to a college scholarship than most Division I athletes. He didn’t start playing football until his junior year of high school and was more focused on tennis. He had friends who played on the football team who informed the coaches that their search for a kicker needed to end with Elliott.

“I went to practice and kicked a few, and he told me to come back tomorrow if you want,” Elliott explained. “I thought it over, decided to come back and it turned out pretty good. It just came naturally to me.”

By Matthew Schwartz

Students, family and friends in the University District love Memphis basketball as basketball has been a part of the Memphis soul for decades .

One thing that gets lost in the shuffle of the on-court success is the people who do work behind the scenes.

Among this group is a gentleman named Kenneth “Bear” Harden.

Harden is a 42-year-old native of Brownsville, Tenn. He first came to the city of Memphis and the University of Memphis in 2000 as a student.

He graduated from the U of M in 2008 with a bachelor’s and professional studies degree in Sports Management.

“Bear,” as he is commonly called, was the Tiger men’s basketball team manager for six seasons from 2006-2012.

“Kenneth was a fantastic worker for me," Josh Pastner said. "Dedicated, reliable, countable, and dependable.  Plus, he was a very high character human being."

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 Horton

Montreal Bradley has style.  

“I would describe it (my style) as mine," he said. "It isn’t too different and it isn’t too plain.  It is versatile and totally mine." 

Inspired by designers such as Jonas Bevacqua, Ralph Lauren, Nicky Diamond, Calvin Klein and Benny Gold, Bradley, a 24-year-old south Memphis native, decided to make it his business to brand and sell his style to others.

He began his career as an entrepreneur, working with Built Together Clothing, mostly making T-shirts for men and women with an original logo drawn by him.

The logo features what appears to be a blindfolded angel with lion heads and snakes for wings.

“My logo means several things,” Bradley, a sophomore business administration major at the University of Memphis, added. “The angel means we all have some good in us. The snakes mean we all have some bad in us, and the lions mean that no matter what, we all have royalty within us.”

Priced at $15 each, Bradley’s designs are printed on fitted, crew neck T-shirts and jersey tanks in sizes ranging from extra small to 2XL on a variety of colors such as pink, white, red, cream and black.

Bradley sells his products in person and online. His items will soon be featured on Karmaloop, an urban and street wear website with other custom designs.

Karmaloop is one of many upcoming partnerships with Built Together clothing. In the upcoming months, Bradley plans to expand his clothing line to include scarves, hats and jackets for men and women.

Bradley said self-motivation and nurturing is the key to being a young, successful entrepreneur and that he wanted to work for himself for as long as he can remember.

“It is a great feeling to know that I built something from the ground up with hard work and support from the people who help me,” he said.

A solid example of Bradley’s style is his shoe collection. His monthly clothing budget fluctuates between $150 and $300 depending on the pair of shoes he will buy for an outfit.

Among the top five items in his wardrobe are a pair of grape Air Jordan 5’s, which can begin at $90 and price upwards of $300 online depending on where they are bought, as well as the condition and age of the shoe.

“Fashion is more than just what I’m wearing; it is an expression of my true personality,” he added.

A man of few words, when Bradley is not working on his line, he is working on himself with daily trips to the gym and hobbies such as skate boarding, basketball and flag football.

When he is not going to classes at the U of M, he works as a team leader—“basically ensuring all employees have what they need to work properly and effectively”—at night at the FedEx Memphis World Hub.

“My passion is people,” he said. “I truly believe in people, and I feel that we all are built together as equals.”

By John Martin/ MicroMemphis Reporter

Normal protocol for the University of Memphis men’s soccer team is as follows: The team practices around 3:30 in the afternoon, and depending on the week and the team’s class schedules, on Tuesday mornings between 6 and 7 a.m.

The women’s team, which has enjoyed vast success under coach Brooks Monaghan, comes in after the men and work its morning practices around them, as well.

But there’s a problem: The reason there is no set daily schedule is because there are no lights. Despite fielding nationally competitive men’s and women’s teams annually, the soccer facility on campus has no lighting.

“It limits the time we’re able to practice,” senior defender JJ Greer said. “Basically, we are limited from about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then you have to throw in there guys’ class times, which limits it even more.”

That the soccer programs on campus are forced to haggle over the use of the practice field so as to avoid the sun setting on them as they practice, makes the situation even more complicated. A new soccer facility, however, is part of the U of M’s master plan for the Park Avenue campus, which is just south of the University District. The goal is to have it ready by 2016.