Cyndii Jo Hartley, owner of Henny Penny Mobile Boutique
Inspired by best practices in Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas, this innovative new pilot program from the City of Memphis, the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team, and alt.Consulting aspires to give Memphians more diverse retail options, test mobile retail as a business model, and promote locally-owned businesses. MEMMobile contributes up to $15,000 in forgivable loans to five mobile businesses. In order to be eligible for this funding opportunity, successful applicants have equity of 25% of total costs. These five forgivable loans help local entrepreneurs launch their business ideas, develop a mobile business model, and enhance vibrancy in Memphis.
MEMMobile couldn’t have picked a better day to launch with its “Roll Out” event today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the plaza in front of City Hall. Mobile shops and food trucks lined up to serve up the best they had to offer. Vendors included K’Presha Haul of Fashion, Thigh High Jeans, the Bikesmith Truck, Sache T-Shirt Truck, and Henny Penny Mobile Boutique.
Patrons could browse the selections from the “Screw Calm and Grind On” shirts at Sache to the repurposed blue jeans at Thigh High Jeans and grab a quick bite to eat on the Main Street mall.
MEMMobile follows in the success of popular programs such as MEMFix and MEMShop that have revived vacant properties and brought new businesses to neighborhoods like Crosstown, Broad Avenue, Soulsville, and Overton Square over the past few years.
