As a lifelong Memphian and successful entrepreneur, Carolyn Hardy is all about finding new ways to grow the city.

2. Fenter Leaving GMACW For Marion - Thursday, February 2, 2017

The leader of the Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce is leaving the local workforce development effort to become superintendent of the Marion School District in Arkansas.

Glen Fenter’s resignation to take the superintendent’s position was confirmed Tuesday, Jan. 31, by GMACW. Fenter was named superintendent of Marion Schools Jan. 17, pending approval of the Marion School Board, after he was recommended by a search firm.

3. Fenter Leaving GMACW for Marion Schools Post - Wednesday, February 1, 2017

The leader of the Greater Memphis Alliance for a Competitive Workforce is leaving the local workforce development effort to become superintendent of the Marion School District in Arkansas.

4. Enoble Business Capital Offices Sell in Foreclosure - Thursday, September 8, 2016

813 Ridge Lake Blvd.

Memphis, TN 38120

Sale Amount: $9.6 million

Sale Date: Aug. 31, 2016

Buyer: Merchants Capital Real Estate LLC

5. Blues City Brewery to Undergo Repairs - Wednesday, September 7, 2016

The Blues City Brewery in South Memphis is getting an upgrade. McCon Building Corp. recently filed a $1.4 million building permit for “repairs to brewery” at 5151 E. Raines Road.

6. Last Word: Drum Circles and Voting, Lincoln Day and Carolyn Hardy's Clients - Monday, February 22, 2016

I think I may have stumbled upon a way to increase voter turnout in Memphis.
I would say nationally, but we all know what works in Memphis does not always work elsewhere and what works elsewhere does not always work in Memphis.
It came to me as I was at Overton Park ever so briefly Saturday. It’s part of my weekend run whenever the weather is spring-like or actually spring to see what will happen in the nearly three-year Greensward controversy.
Lots of people having fun and a few kite-flyers coexisting on the greensward with zoo overflow parking but no protest with brass band.
As I filed that away I wondered what happened to that park institution -- the drum circle.
Audubon Park had one too along with the Society for Creative Ananchronism – the folks who dress up like Game of Thrones only they were doing it before the television show.
Anyway, I started hearing the drums in my head as I imagined drum circles outside the early voting places because that's how my mind works in a career spent covering politicians since before I was old enough to vote.
Of course the drums would be outside the 100-foot limits for physical campaigning that state law requires.
But imagine you are in the area of let’s say Agricenter, maybe in Shelby Farms Park, and in the distance you hear drums. Wouldn’t you be curious? If you had the time would you try to find the source? And if you discovered it was outside an early voting place and you were of voting age and registered and if you had not already voted (for you may vote early but not often) would you not vote, once your curiosity had been satisfied?
I thought your answer to all of the above would be a resounding yes.

7. Hardy’s Advice For Women in Business - Monday, February 22, 2016

Carolyn Hardy has been places a woman hadn’t been before in the Memphis business world.

Throughout her career at J.M. Smucker Co., Honeywell-POMS Corp., Coors Brewing Co. and her own ventures with Hardy Bottling Co. and Henderson Transloading, Hardy has made it a point to be confident with herself and make everyone else comfortable with having a woman at the boardroom table. Under her new role as chairman of the Greater Memphis Chamber, she’s advocating for greater inclusion of minority- and women-owned businesses in the private sector.

8. Trailblazer - Saturday, February 20, 2016

Carolyn Chism Hardy is a trailblazer, a success story, an advocate for the poor and middle class, and now she’s one of the most influential people in the private sector.

9. Last Word: TN(not)Ready, Hatiloo Expands and Tax Season Advice - Tuesday, February 9, 2016

So what do you do when the test-makers fail the test?

You go back to the old test in the case of the Tennessee Education Department and the TNReady tests.
These were the new tests for the new statewide student achievement standards that replaced Common Core standards.
They can only be taken online.
But the system crashed Monday, which was the day that all of the preparation in the last year was geared toward. That included two tests locally of the on-line capacity and other technical standards necessary to make this go smoothly.
Here is a good account of what happened statewide and locally with a few other stops across the state to take in the scope of how big a failure this was and what failed.

10. Carolyn Hardy: Productivity Increase Brings Higher Wages - Friday, September 18, 2015

Carolyn Hardy is familiar with the local debate about $10 an hour jobs pursued in economic development campaigns.

11. Craft Brew Alliance Comes to Blues City Brewery - Friday, August 14, 2015

This year, some 100,000 barrels of Craft Brew Alliance products will be produced at the Blues City Brewery in South Memphis in the second year of a five-year agreement between CBA and Blues City’s parent company, City Brewing Co., out of Lacrosse, Wis.

12. Building the Base - Saturday, January 3, 2015

It was late September, and local officials were deeply engaged with retail giant Target as the company explored investing in an online fulfillment center in Memphis when the discussions turned toward a familiar subject.

13. Hardy Pushes Intermodal Sites for New Jobs - Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Carolyn Hardy admits she pushed hard to get the intermodal container yard that opened this week in Hickory Hill completed faster than the two years many contractors told her it would take.

14. Tribute Symposium Honors Six Local Women - Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis paid tribute to six local women at a sold-out luncheon of more than 1,600 attendees on Friday, April 26.

The Legends Awards honor women whose work embodies the mission of the foundation – to support women and children throughout Shelby County.

15. Chism Hardy Moves Deeper Into Logistics - Monday, January 28, 2013

The certified public accountant who bought the old Coors Belle brewery in Hickory Hill seven years ago and turned it into Hardy Bottling Co. has taken the supply chain lessons from the business into the logistics industry.

16. Commission to Vote on Industrial Land Sale - Monday, December 3, 2012

Shelby County Commissioners take up the proposed sale Monday, Dec. 3, of 33.6 acres of land in the Frank C. Pidgeon Industrial Park in southwest Memphis.

Carolyn Hardy, owner of the Hardy Bottling Co. and consultant to the Blues City Brewery operation that later bought the plant, wants to buy the last available roadside acreage in the industrial park for a business to store and stage modular containers.

17. Training Day - Monday, November 19, 2012

The pursuit of economic development comes with code names, secrecy and mysterious visitors.

Without a doubt, the last two years have been eventful when it comes to the city’s civic leaders luring companies to town with the promise of jobs for Memphians. In that regard, the local debate about tax incentives and the competition with other cities, some nearby, was vigorous.

18. City’s Past Filled with Blueprint of Success - Monday, August 6, 2012

Go to any public meeting where plans for an area are being made, buzz words are flying, big sheets of paper are being written on and “stakeholders” are sitting in various clusters, and you will hear numerous people suggest that all the area needs are spaces for shops.

19. Shipyard, Mike’s Hard Lemonade Added to Local Brewing Scene - Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Blues City Brewery is now producing two malt beverages for well-known national brand names – Shipyard and Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

The brewery at 5151 E. Raines Road, owned by City Brewing Co. LLC, makes and bottles numerous brand name beverages – alcoholic and non-alcoholic – but doesn’t disclose those names.

20. Global Connections - Monday, May 7, 2012

Although the Memphis in May International Festival is widely known for its Beale Street Music Festival and World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, the festival’s focus on developing international economic trade and fostering Memphis companies’ global business relationships remains central to its mission.

21. Experience Helps Harckum Lead Versant, CSCMP - Monday, April 30, 2012

When supply chain executives from different businesses in Memphis get together, they talk about each other, said Glen Harckum, chairman of the local Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals.

22. Events - Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force will host a meeting Tuesday, April 10, at 8:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Select, 160 Union Ave. Federal and state officials will discuss strategies to address water quality in the river basin and gulf. For details, contact Reginald Jackson at 501-352-7761 or reginald.jackson@ar.usda.gov, or Jeannine May at 601-260-0298 or jeannine.may@ms.usda.gov.

23. That's a Wrap - Monday, January 2, 2012

If the grand sweep of 2011 could be captured on celluloid and presented to an audience on the big screen, all the components of a great film would be readily apparent.

There was drama, in the form of a deluge and historic flooding that led the Mississippi River to crest at nearly 48 feet early in the year. One of the year’s big surprises saw President Barack Obama give the commencement address for the Booker T. Washington High School class of 2011 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

24. The Belle to Reopen at Blues City Brewery - Thursday, August 11, 2011

A landmark in the local banquet facility industry reopens Saturday, Aug. 13, in Hickory Hill.

The Belle, a banquet hall with riverboat décor, is being reopened by Maxx Management LLC at what is becoming Blues City Brewery at 5241 E. Raines Road.

25. Hardy’s Perseverance Runs in The Family - Monday, July 25, 2011

Carolyn Chism Hardy initially thought owning her own business would be as a business consultant. She was a certified public accountant with a comfortable position and a specialty in cost efficiency at the Memphis Coors brewery in 2006 when Molson-Coors Brewing Co. put the Memphis plant up for sale.

26. Bloomberg Grant Highlights Big City Challenges - Monday, July 18, 2011

When the nonprofit foundation of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg went looking for cities to award grants for innovation, foundation leaders didn’t just give out an address and wait for applications.

27. Girls Inc. Celebrates 65 Years of Empowerment - Monday, June 13, 2011

Many of the city’s most influential citizens gathered Thursday, June 9, to celebrate the Memphis girls and women who embody the “Strong, Smart and Bold” motto of Girls Inc. of Memphis.

28. Blues City Brewery Buys Hardy Bottling - Tuesday, May 17, 2011

5151 E. Raines Road
Memphis, TN 38118
Sale Amount: $10 million

Sale Date: May 2, 2011
Buyer: Blues City Brewery LLC
Seller: Chism Hardy Enterprises LLC

29. Hardy Bottling Plant Sells for $10 Million - Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Blues City Brewery LLC, an affiliate of La Crosse, Wis.-based City Brewing Co., has bought the former Hardy Bottling plant, a 40-year-old Memphis beer brewery at 5151 E. Raines Road, from Chism Hardy Enterprises LLC for $10 million. It is part of a $30 million dollar deal between City Brewing and Chism Hardy Enterprises that will bring beer brewing back to the Memphis plant.

30. City Brewing Acquires Former Coors Brewery - Wednesday, May 4, 2011

City Brewing Co. of La Crosse, Wis., has completed its $30 million acquisition of a former Coors brewery in Memphis.

31. Brewery Traveled Long, Winding Road - Friday, April 1, 2011

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. made it clear this week that his latest economic development announcement wasn’t like the others he’s made in the last four months.

The move of City Brewing Co. into the Hardy Bottling Co. in Hickory Hill starting this summer isn’t a company starting from the ground up in Memphis or an existing company expanding in Memphis.

32. Road to Blues City Brewery Rough - Thursday, March 31, 2011

The plan by City Brewing Co. of La Crosse, Wis., to buy the 40-year-old Memphis beer brewery that is now Hardy Bottling Co. didn’t begin this year.

33. IDB Approves Blues City Brewery PILOT - Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board on Wednesday approved a 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program for City Brewing Co. LLC, the La Crosse, Wis., brewer that will buy the Hardy Bottling Co. plant in Hickory Hill.

34. Buyer Set To Acquire Hardy Bottling Plant - Wednesday, March 30, 2011

City Brewing Co. LLC, which has production facilities in La Crosse, Wis., and Latrobe, Pa., is planning to buy the assets of Hardy Bottling Co. in Memphis for $30 million and to invest additional money in the facility over the next five years.

35. Buyer Poised to Acquire Plant From Hardy Bottling - Tuesday, March 29, 2011

City Brewing Co. LLC, which has production facilities in La Crosse, Wis., and Latrobe, Pa., is planning to buy the assets of Hardy Bottling Co. in Memphis for $30 million and to invest additional money in the facility over the next five years.

36. Cargill $72 M PILOT Gets IDB Green Light - Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Industrial Development Board of Memphis and Shelby County has unanimously granted Cargill Inc. a $72 million retention payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) to renovate and expand its Presidents Island corn-milling facility.

37. Yuengling Expansion Could Bring Tourism, Wider Beer Distribution - Monday, October 18, 2010

A brewery in Memphis will allow D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. to introduce its beer to new markets in the South and Midwest, said David Casinelli, the company’s chief operating officer.

38. Yuengling Eyes Memphis for Expansion - Friday, October 15, 2010

A major U.S. brewer is on the verge of making Memphis a key production and distribution center for its increasingly popular line of beers.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc., the Pottsville, Pa.-based brewer of Yuengling beer, has signed a letter of intent to buy the Hardy Bottling Co. at 5151 E. Raines Road.

39. 3 Local Projects OK’d for Recovery Zone Bonds - Friday, September 17, 2010

Three Memphis projects have the green light from the state of Tennessee to get $17 million in federal recovery zone facility bonds. And the Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board is watching closely as the projects close in on financing to secure the bonds before a Dec. 31 federal deadline.

40. IDB Approves Kirby Parkway PILOT - Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Memphis-Shelby County Industrial Development Board has approved an eight-year, $3 million tax break for the Nashville developers of a long-term acute-care hospital and outpatient center on Kirby Parkway north of Bill Morris Parkway.

41. $17.5M in Projects Approved by IDB - Friday, June 18, 2010

A bottling plant, a luxury hotel and a research laboratory will soon see a combined $17.5 million in funding that Shelby County received through federal stimulus recovery zone facility bonds.

The stage is now set for an additional six projects to receive money through the program if the state reallocates unused funds to the area from other counties.

42. Commission to Resolve Budget Debate - Monday, June 7, 2010

Shelby County Commissioners vote Monday on a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and take the first of three votes on a county property tax rate.

The vote is certain to come after a continuation of a lengthy budget debate that began last Wednesday in committee sessions.

43. Black Business Assn. Names Benny Award Winners - Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Black Business Association has announced the recipients of the 2010 Benny Awards.

Taylor Brown Apothecary received the Business of the Year award. Total Control Logistics received the New Business of the Year award. Charles Whitsy, an accountant, was honored with the Business Professional award.

44. Rebuilding Set For Oakhaven Warehouse - Friday, September 26, 2008

Traverse City, Mich.-based Gatehouse Centre LP, the owner of the warehouse at 4270 Raines Road in the Oakhaven/Parkway Village area, has filed a $1.8 million building permit with the city-county Department of Construction Code Enforcement to rebuild the 182,360-square-foot facility after damage was sustained.

45. After the Storm - Monday, April 21, 2008

"The storms may hit but we won't quit."

That's the message flashing in the production area at Hardy Bottling Co. on Raines Road.

The facility, which sustained millions of dollars in damage during the early February tornado that ripped through Southaven and Hickory Hill, opened earlier this month, just as plant owner Carolyn Hardy had hoped.

46. Hardy to Reopen East Raines Plant April 7 - Wednesday, March 5, 2008

One of the businesses nearly destroyed by the Feb. 5 storms that hit parts of Memphis and the surrounding region plans to be up and running in early April, one of the company's lead executives said.

47. Hardy to Reopen East Raines Facility April 7 - Tuesday, March 4, 2008

One of the businesses nearly destroyed by the Feb. 5 storms that hit parts of Memphis and the surrounding region plans to be up and running in early April, one of the company’s lead executives said.

48. Storm Recovery Crucial At Hardy Bottling - Monday, February 18, 2008

The power is back on in Hickory Hill. More than 200 people applied for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency office on its first full day of operation at the Hickory Hill Community Center. And some homeowners already have received their checks to begin repair work on homes, according to the FEMA spokesman in Memphis.

49. Search and Recovery - Thursday, February 7, 2008

Ash Wednesday in Memphis began with a search for loss and destruction. The day after storms raked the city and the region, Memphians focused on repairing the physical damage and coming to grips with the human toll.

50. Naked Lion Owner Hopes to Go National - Thursday, January 3, 2008

When Molson Coors Brewing Co. decided to close its Memphis facility in 2006, some employees were left to make life-altering decisions.

For former Coors international brewmaster Tony Vieira, the decision was whether to pick up his family and move to another city or remain in Memphis.

51. Coors Caps Deal With Hardy Bottling - Tuesday, September 19, 2006

5151 E. Raines Road
Memphis, TN 38118
Sale Amount: $6 million

Sale Date: Aug. 31, 2006

Buyer: Chism Hardy Enterprises LLC