High Point Terrace – Memphis Flyer

Taylor James

Rick James, CEO and owner of the local Castle Retail Group, chats outside High Point Grocery.

High Point Grocery has been purchased by Rick James, CEO and owner of the local Castle Retail Group, the company behind Cash Saver grocery stores.

The High Point Terrace store closed in April because of the coronavirus virus pandemic. Longtime operator C.D. Shirley decided to sell the store.

“We are excited to continue serving the High Point Terrace neighborhood and
community in the coming weeks after minor renovations are made,” James said in a statement.

James plans to have the store cleaned, stocked, and reopened by mid-August. A company official said Monday morning no major changes will be made. James said he hopes the former High Point Grocery employees will return to work at the store.

James has a connection to the High Point Grocery form early in his career. Shirley’s father, Charles, bought the store in 1971, and James became the wholesale
representative for the store and other many others in the 1980s.
[pullquote-1] “This store is similar to the store in which I started my career,” James said. “High Point Grocery is a treasure of the neighborhood, and we’re thrilled that C.D. is willing to allow us to continue its legacy,” James said.

James’ Castle Retail Group operates three Cash Saver grocery stores in the Memphis area. James has been in the grocery business for nearly 50 years, and he serves as the chairman of the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association and vice chairman for the Mid-South Food Bank.

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Community Table Food Bank Garden

The Community Table Food Bank Garden, an organic vegetable garden in Midtown, wants to add fruit to its crop.

The garden currently donates all of its vegetables to local food pantries and soup kitchens every week with the goal of “improving the quality of the food available for our most vulnerable neighbors.”

Now, organizers are seeking to raise $2,610 by the end of the year in order to add fruit trees, a row of blueberry bushes, and native pollinator plants to the garden.

“Our Community Food Bank Garden is a beautiful wildlife haven in the center of a bustling urban neighborhood that is also serving it’s neighbor’s in a major way,” the fund-raising page reads. “We currently harvest and drop off produce weekly to our local food pantry, which serves hundreds of families. And the more healthy, safe food we can grow, the more people we can serve!”

The garden is located at 1895 Madison.

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Rendering of Treadwell Natural Playground

Further east, a community group seeks to raise $20,635 to build the Treadwell Natural Playground.

The Treadwell Partners in Education group wants to provide a place to play that children in the neighborhood can easily access.

“Currently, the K-5 students at Treadwell have a pad of asphalt and an empty field to play on during recess,” the fund-raising page reads. “The closest playground that our neighborhood has access to is more than a mile away at Gaisman Park.”

The playground will use creative landscaping to “give kids an outdoor experience with some fun twists to enhance their innate curiosity and allow them to interact with nature.”

The preliminary plan for the playground includes a collection of vertical poles to “define the space, provide shape, and engage the imagination.” It also features climbing nets, crawling tunnels, balance beams, a sandbox, and seating areas.

Organizers said the need for a playground in the Heights neighborhood is great, citing a 2019 Trust for Public Land report showing that the residents there have some of the lowest access to park space in the city. The report includes an interactive map indicating the need for parks throughout the city ranging from “moderate” to “very high.” A large portion of the Heights neighborhood is colored red, indicating a very high need.

The goal is to have the playground up and running by the end of this school year. The fund-raiser ends December 7th.

Another community is looking to provide a safe space for kids to play by creating a pilot pocket park. Residents of High Point Terrace are looking to raise $8,799 by March 2020 for this project.

The park will be located on Highland and Mimosa, restricting vehicle access from Highland. The organizers anticipate this will cut down on cut-through traffic, as well as crimes in the neighborhood, such as car-theft, break-ins, and porch pirate thefts.

The pilot will run for six months and, if successful, a permanent park could be constructed.

All three projects are a part of the city and county’s New Century of Soul Challenge, meaning the funds donated will be matched up to $10,000.