Community members weigh in on Pinch district
Can the nearly empty Pinch District return to its roots as one of the richest neighborhoods for entrepreneurship? With property owner cooperation and a push from MEMfix, many community members believe so.
The Pinch
The Pinch District took its name in the 1800s from a pejorative term for the emaciated Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine (“pinch gut”). The Pinch was home to the city’s earliest Irish, Italian, Russian, and Greek immigrants, as well as Memphis’ Jewish community through the 1930s. Suburban expansion post-World War II decimated the Pinch’s population, and it has since struggled to maintain stability. There are hopes that the newly repurposed Pyramid, now a Bass Pro Shop flagship store, will anchor new growth in the area.
Socially minded entrepreneurs help students excel
Memphis has been noted for its above-average charity; we are a city willing to give. That generosity is bleeding over into local start-ups, where entrepreneurs increasingly want to make money and do good at the same time.
