Huey’s and GAIA team up for community garden

Huey’s and the Memphis chapter of the non-profit GAIA-Movement, an organization that works to create examples of sustainability, combined with economic development and social responsibility, have teamed up to make Midtown Memphis a little bit greener.
 
A half-acre lot at 1895 Madison, just west of the Huey’s Midtown location, was once the home of Anderton’s East restaurant, and was purchased by Huey’s in November of last year. The last of the building’s façade was torn down in 2009 by owners Crye-Leike Realtors, and the patch of land – now in full view of cyclists cruising along the street’s dedicated bike lanes – has sat vacant ever since.
 
Huey’s plans to use the original Anderton’s parking lot for its corporate office, as well as allowing better access for delivery trucks from Barksdale, while GAIA will turn the turf into an urban oasis, providing produce, herbs and flowers for local organizations such as the Mid-South Food Bank and Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association.
 
“We got approached about this idea through GAIA,” says Shannon Little, marketing and events coordinator for Huey’s Corporate Office. “Before they came to us with this idea we didn’t know what we were going to do with that lot, so it was more of them approaching us with a great idea and we loved it and wanted to get behind it.”
 
The mission of GAIA is to create awareness about the plight of the environment, to educate the public about caring for our planet, humanity and the environment, to run recycling operations and to support environmental projects and programs locally and globally.

By Richard J. Alley