Every month, The Daily News is giving our readers an illustration from local artist Martha Kelly of places, events, sights and sounds that make Memphis 'Memphis.' This month she captures Jill and Keith Forrester of Whitton Farms and the Trolley Stop Market at their space at Memphis Farmers Market. The farm-to-table concept of eating locally grown foods is growing trend in the city.

2. Farmers First - Wednesday, September 9, 2015

After all these years – 27 weeks of Saturdays for a decade – Jill Forrester calls it a “nice routine.” And by that she means she and husband Keith getting up at 3 a.m., loading their produce, herbs and flowers, and driving to the Memphis Farmers Market downtown.

3. Urban Garden - Friday, April 30, 2010

An ambitious new model in green business is set to roll into Memphis’ Edge District in early May.

The Trolley Stop Market, a permanent farmer’s market at 704 Madison Ave., will sell locally grown and produced foods including organic fruits and vegetables, herbs, meats, honey and baked goods.

4. Biz Licenses Down From Year Ago - Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Business licenses issued during the first quarter of this year plunged 31 percent from a year ago – a steep drop that could be an anomaly.

An unusually high number of permits was issued during the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2010.

Desperation and misrepresentation could be factors, according to local experts.

Jeff Jacobs, manager of the business tax division of the Shelby County Clerk’s Office, said he thought several individuals may have obtained permits in the first quarter of 2009 just to claim federal income tax deductions.

However, Mark Taylor, an adviser at the Tennessee Small Business Development Center in Memphis, said many more people were looking to start their own businesses during that period.

“I’m sure for the first quarter of last year there was a big surge in business licenses,” Taylor said. “Everybody was desperate. I think people were just scrambling.”

A total of 1,590 business licenses were issued during the first quarter of this year, according to The Daily News Online, www.memphisdailynews.com.

That compares to 2,316 in Q1 2009.

Taylor said fewer people are inquiring about opening businesses now because of the tight credit market.

Banks are reluctant to loan money for startups.

“Money is still tight,” Taylor said. “We’re not seeing any real big shift on that yet.”

That trend could be changing, said an official from the research division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

David C. Wheelock, a vice president at the Federal Reserve who is an adviser on financial markets, in a recently published essay said, “Business lending may be poised for a rebound.”

His essay was based on quarterly surveys of banks by the Fed concerning lending activity.

“The percentage of respondents reporting tighter standards has declined in recent surveys,” Wheelock wrote. “In the January 2010 survey, no banks reported tighter standards on loans to large- and medium-sized firms,

while 5.5 percent reported that they had eased terms somewhat.

“This was the first survey by the Fed that reported a net percentage of banks easing terms for loans to large- and medium-sized firms since 2007:Q2.”

However, he also noted that 3.7 percent of banks had tightened standards.

Wheelock found a silver living to this number, pointing out that it was the lowest percentage of bank tightening since the second quarter of 2007.

During the prolonged credit crunch, many people have financed startup endeavors mostly from their own pockets.

Keith and Jill Forrester, the owners of Whitton Farms in Arkansas, are about to expand their operation into Downtown Memphis with the Trolley Stop Market at 704 Madison Ave. Keith Foster said they’ve borrowed only $10,000 and drawn on savings for the rest.

“It’s been a hurdle,” he said. “We’ve just been able to piece it together here and there.”

The couple had hoped to have the farm-fresh market and restaurant open by now. The opening depends on how quickly some interior renovations can be completed, such as the installation of a kitchen venting system.

The business will hire 10 to 12 people initially, he said. It could open by the end of April or in May.

In Memphis, lending by banks to small businesses remains tight, Taylor said.

“Here recently, the biggest surge of interest I’ve had in small businesses has been due to the Hickory Ridge Mall reopening,” he said.

“It sounds like the mall may make a goal of it. At least one client quoted a low rental per square foot. They obviously are making some deals.”

The Hickory Hill North ZIP code of 38115 was where the most business permits were issued during the first quarter. A total of 93 permits were issued.

The Oakhaven/Parkway Village ZIP code of 38118 had the second most with 92, followed by the Bartlett ZIP code of 38134 with 85.

5. Trolley Line Businesses Coming to Life - Friday, February 5, 2010

New businesses are bringing life back to the storefronts along the Madison Avenue trolley line, especially near the line’s easternmost stop at Cleveland Street.

The spaces are filling at the southwest corner of Madison and Cleveland. The Smoking Caterpillar and Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies have opened since November.

6. Farmers Worry About Proposed Legislation - Friday, March 27, 2009

Some Mid-South farmers who sell their products directly to consumers worry that a food safety bill in Congress could put them out of business if enacted into law.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., has introduced legislation that would divide the responsibilities of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and put food under the purview of the Department of Health and Human Services, which would have more stringent guidelines. The legislation is HR 875 or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009.