MEMPHIS, Tenn — Telisa Franklin said she chose to open her business Flowers & More on Summer Avenue near Baltic because so many young girls and boys in the area never dreamed of walking into a flower shop.
“I thought I was going to fix some of the problems by being a beacon of light,” she said. “That’s why when I bought this building, it was an old dingy grey color. I was like, no baby, we got to put bright white on it.”
It worked. Her flower shop flourished. But last year, she was forced to shut her doors after thieves broke in dozens of times.
She’s one of many Memphis entrepreneurs who say crime is making it hard to do business.
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“April 29 is when they stole the cameras and lighting off the building,” Franklin said.
She says the thieves came back after that at least 20 times, swiping the ceiling fans, computers, flowers, boxes of t-shirts for a Juneteenth festival, a printing press, shears and the premium ribbons, right before Mother’s Day.