Duo working to invigorate their corner of Midtown
Store items range from local wares to unique pieces from around the world
Growing up, the last thing Fannie Weinberg thought she would want to do was be a small business owner. Her parents’ optometry business, Eclectic Eye, was like her second home, the place she would go after school. h She witnessed the ups and downs and deep time investment of small business ownership through her parents and didn’t think it was for her. At least at the time. h Now, Weinberg is embarking on a new venture with her mother, Robbie Johnson Weinberg, to open Paradox at Peco, a unique retail concept next door to Eclectic Eye on Cooper Avenue. h “When we first initially talked about doing something like this, I was just, immediately on board,” Weinberg said. “It felt like it was perfect timing.”
The shop, like its neighbor, will be eclectic. Items for sale will range from locally crafted wares to unique pieces the two have picked up while traveling across the country and the globe. The family has been buying up the buildings at the intersection of Peabody and Cooper piecemeal and now own Eclectic Eye, the future home of Paradox at Peco — which was previously a State Farm office — and the building that houses Bari.
The store name comes in part from the intersection it sits at and in part from Johnson Weinberg’s evolving thoughts on the beauty of life.
“Paradox for me, it’s been the basis for how I have come to really appreciate what’s beautiful in the world by navigating some of the harder things in my life with honesty and perseverance,” she said. “I’ve been brought into this awareness that there’s real beauty and joy in those things sometimes that are hard.”
The new retail space marries two of her specialties. She studied art history but has spent her adult life as a business owner.
“This is my opportunity to really create something amazing in this space…
that’s unique and mystical and enchanting,” Johnson Weinberg said.
The opportunity is one that is special to mother and daughter.
“Being able to work with her is such an incredible opportunity. It’s a gift really because I get to learn from a hero of mine,” Weinberg said of her mom.
Weinberg graduated from St. Mary’s in 2017 and started working in the restaurant industry, progressing from server to bartender to manager at the former Next Door American Eatery. As she worked, she started pursuing a finance degree with a concentration in real estate.
“I really fell in love with the restaurant industry and it’s taught me so much about myself, myself as an employee, as a manager,” she said. “I’ve kind of found that in the restaurant industry, I’ve learned so much more about business than I have in school.”
As she embarks on the Paradox at Peco project, she is continuing her studies and bartending at Good Fortune Co.
“We have a lot of trust and respect for each other,” Weinberg said. “It’s gonna play a huge part. And I think you wouldn’t want to go into business with somebody that you don’t trust and respect.”
Johnson Weinberg said she knows there will be issues, small business ownership can be messy and difficult. And with an age difference — she’s 52 and her daughter is 23 — there will be differing perspectives on how to overcome the natural hurdles of running a business.
“But none of it’s not recoverable if you’re willing to sort of dig in and kind of have hard conversations and be a little vulnerable. Admit when you’re wrong, try to do better,” Johnson Weinberg said.
The store also isn’t just a nod to their love for one another, but a bit of a homage
to Midtown. Both were born and raised in the neighborhood. For Weinberg, it’s a chance to give back.
“These are the people that have raised me, all of them,” she said. “It’s a tight-knit community and it’s just a passionate, fiery place to be and everybody loves each other and I just love Midtown for that.”
For Johnson Weinberg, it’s a continuation of what she and her husband have been trying to give to the community with Eclectic Eye. The couple was determined to open their business in Midtown, even though multiple Realtors steered them toward East Memphis.
“We have witnessed such a rebirth of this area that is invigorating in every way. So we think what we’re bringing now is something that really just adds to that,” she said. “Peabody and Cooper, we think it’s just this sort of interesting little inflection point right between Cooper-young and Overton Square.”
Bari and Slider Inn attract people to the intersection in the evenings, Weinberg said. Paradox at Peco provides another daytime use for the area. The Weinbergs have plans for large, eyecatching display windows to try to encourage passers-by to stop in.
The shop will be different things to different people. Weinberg said the vibe will be moody, mysterious and beguiling.
“I want them to be curious and wander through and take their time and pick up stuff and ask themselves what is this and why have I never seen something like this before?” she said. “I want people to hang out and stay a while and really experience something that they haven’t experienced.”
Corinne S Kennedy covers economic development and healthcare for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email at Corinne.kennedy@commercialappeal.com