City

By Alayna Simons Senior Reporter Closed sign on the front doors of the Dollar General on Murfreesboro Pike. Alayna Simons / TrevEchoes On Dec. 6, 2024, just two and a half weeks before Christmas, the Dollar General on Lafayette St. in Nashville, Tennessee, permanently closed. For some, this may just be another building closing, but for the 6,000 to 7,000 who live in the Napier and Sudekum low-income housing community, this was a major loss due to the lack of resources in the area. “To see it now where we don't have that part of our community, the barriers and how hard it is for people to have access to something that is a basic human need is just so hurtful, painful, and disheartening,” said Amanda Key, co-chair of the health and wellness committee for the Love Thy Neighborhoo...

By Alayna Simons On the street where grocery stores have diminished and crime has risen between neighbors, the smell of fried chicken and green beans slips through the weathered door of the restaurant Scrape the Plate. With just a kitchen and a few chairs set out to wait, Amber and Marquise Hill, co-owners of the restaurant, cook and serve food to customers sitting right outside as their youngest son clings to his moms side with his Spiderman hat and crayon drawings.  “I haven’t made a dollar today, but I’ve got a smile on my face because I know what’s to come,” said Hill. In the past year, residents of the Napier Sudekum housing community have experienced significant loss with the closure of the local Dollar General store and the rise of violence in the midst of scarce food...

By Elizabeth Barnes Contributor Crest Coffee House – 1601 Martin St, Nashville (Photo courtesy Crest Coffee Co. website) Just five minutes from campus, a quiet space to read, drink coffee and occasionally meet to chat with friends, Nashville’s first donation-based coffee shop, Crest Coffee House, has become one of senior Kelly Poyo’s go-to spots since freshman year. “There are always friendly faces there, and it’s a quiet space I can go to to really focus,” said Poyo. “But I also appreciate that they’re going back to ministry, and I’m able to support a local church at the same time.” Crest Coffee House is located in a refurbished fellowship hall in Hillcrest Community Church, which rests in the heart of the Wedgewood-Houston community. It was founded in the summer of 2018 ...