Action News 5 - Memphis, TennesseeParking troubles don't stop booming Cooper Young businesses

Parking troubles don't stop booming Cooper Young businesses

Posted: Updated:
By Lindsey Brown - bio | email

  • News on WMCTV.comNews

  • More than 15 months after autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak's ouster, Egyptians streamed to polling stations Wednesday to freely choose a president for the first time in generations.
    More than 15 months after autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak's ouster, Egyptians streamed to polling stations Wednesday to freely choose a president for the first time in generations. Waiting hours in line, some debated to...

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 11:40 AM EDT2012-05-23 15:40:37 GMT
    (WMC-TV) - The fight for Grayson Walker is going viral online. His mother, Heather Walker, posted photos of his birth defects on Facebook only to be temporarily banned from the social network. Facebook
    The fight for Grayson Walker is going viral online.

    Facebook apologized to the baby's mother and now people across the globe are rallying around the Walker family.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 10:50 AM EDT2012-05-23 14:50:25 GMT
    (WMC-TV) - They advertise like they are selling their own car, but Andy Wise found an auto scheme with an interesting nickname. The operation he uncovered is called "Curb Stoner" and Wise is on a mission
    (WMC-TV) - They advertise like they are selling their own car, but Andy Wise found an auto scheme with an interesting nickname. The operation he uncovered is called "Curb Stoner" and Wise is on a mission

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 10:01 AM EDT2012-05-23 14:01:20 GMT
    A disturbing surveillance video of a father placing his baby in a washing machine and turning it on is making the rounds on the internet.
    Officials from Camden, NJ are looking to identify and speak to the parents who put their baby in a washing machine at a laundromat.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 9:33 AM EDT2012-05-23 13:33:13 GMT
    MEMPHIS, TN - (WMC-TV) – The year was 1962. Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You" was at the top of the charts when a high school sophomore named Dave Brown landed his first job in broadcasting. "Dave
    High school sophomore Dave Brown landed his first job in broadcasting in 1962.  Fifty years later, Dave is still in the business and has no intention of getting out any time soon.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 9:25 AM EDT2012-05-23 13:25:19 GMT
    COLLIERVILLE, TN - (WMC-TV) – More than a dozen customers taken hostage during a robbery are grateful the armed men who stormed a Collierville Walgreens are in custody. Fortunately, three male suspects
    More than a dozen customers taken hostage during a robbery are grateful the armed men who stormed a Collierville Walgreens are in custody. Fortunately, three male suspects and a female getaway driver did not get far after police say they robbed the store where customers and employees were forced at gunpoint to lie on the floor. 

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 7:39 AM EDT2012-05-23 11:39:51 GMT
    WEST MEMPHIS, AR - (WMC-TV) – A police standoff situation in West Memphis, Arkansas that shut down a neighborhood ends with the escape of a murder suspect. Chopper 5 was over this breaking situation before
    A police standoff situation in West Memphis, Arkansas that shut down a neighborhood ends with the escape of a murder suspect. Chopper 5 was over this breaking situation before police deemed their flight too dangerous.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 7:23 AM EDT2012-05-23 11:23:23 GMT
    PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - A government official says a Pakistani doctor who helped the U.S. track down Osama bin Laden has been convicted of high treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison.    Nasir Khan
    A government official says a Pakistani doctor who helped the U.S. track down Osama bin Laden has been convicted of high treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 7:21 AM EDT2012-05-23 11:21:53 GMT
    (WMC-TV) - The Transition Planning Commission has pitched their ideas to the Unified Shelby County Schools system.According to the Commercial Appeal, the TPC's recommendations include expanding Pre-K for
    The Transition Planning Commission has pitched their ideas to the Unified Shelby County Schools system.

  • Wednesday, May 23 2012 6:16 AM EDT2012-05-23 10:16:43 GMT
    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A life skills program is now available for free to school districts across Tennessee.    "The Overcoming Obstacles Life Skills Program" is designed to help educators teach communication,
    A life skills program is now available for free to school districts across Tennessee.
MEMPHIS, TN -

(WMC-TV) - With an influx of popular new restaurants and bars in Cooper Young, people are being forced to park blocks just to enjoy a night out.

Customers have to park as many as four blocks away, but many said they are willing to do so as the neighborhood is packed on weekend nights.

"A lot of unique shops and restaurants, and we just felt it was a perfect fit for Alchemy," said Alchemy owner Ben McLean.

When Alchemy opened last November, owners said they knew they were going to have to offer another parking option.

"The residents, I think we do have some issues with parking, and in front of their houses and making it hard for them to go home," said McLean.

Without the space to create their own parking lot, Alchemy took a different route.

"What we have offered is valet," said McLean.

According to valet owner Jarvis Gregory, business is booming.

"Basically, Friday and Saturday, we are pretty busy," said Gregory.  "Forty-five, 50 cars, and weekdays, still do 20, 30 cars.  We are trying to get the rest of the restaurants to join in."

Valet service costs seven dollars for your car to be driven a couple of blocks away.  Parking in most lots is no longer free.

"Since we've opened, we've seen people have been going to Alchemy, to Sweet Grass, to Tsunami, and just sort of bouncing around," said McLean.  "It has really become a destination for nightlife."

Action News 5 was unable to reach the Cooper Young Business Association and Memphis police late Friday for their thoughts on neighborhood parking problems.

Copyright 2012 WMC-TV. All rights reserved.