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Welcome back to Bluff City Biz, where every Monday we speak with someone in the know about our top stories from the previous week. Follow along for insight into key developments and analysis of all things Memphis business.
This week we have two guests: Martha Hample, a managing partner of Hampline Brewing and senior vice president/director of operations for Archer Malmo, and Vonesha Mitchell, executive director of the Women’s Business Center South.
Local female business leaders share secrets to success
 Martha Hample, a managing partner with Hampline Brewing and senior vice president/director of operations for Archer Malmo had to learn how to navigate alongside the “unspoken power of being male.” (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian file)
Hample and Mitchell, as well as Carmeon Hamilton — owner of Nubi Interiors and star of HGTV’s “Reno my Rental” — will lead The Daily Memphian’s Women and Business seminar Thursday, March 3, at the Memphis Botanic Garden at 3:30 p.m.
Learn how Hample’s long career in marketing and advertising grew into her life’s greatest passion, the food business, as well as what drives Mitchell’s dedication to supporting women owned businesses.
 Women’s Business Center South executive director Vonesha Mitchell said embracing one’s differences is the key to being successful. (Submitted)
The three panelists will also discuss their accomplishments in an often male-dominated business world.
“In spite of how ‘woke’ the world is trying to become, the fact of the matter is, men just get more respect at the table,” Hample said. “They get more seats at the table, and they make more money than women do. That really hasn’t changed dramatically.”
Hample will also talk about her experience as a woman over 50 in the restaurant business, which she says is largely operated by men.
“The climate of inclusion that we’re in has highlighted what you miss when you’re not inclusive,” Mitchell said. “It’s to everyone’s advantage to make sure that women, and all people, can access resources. Women’s ideas make for a better experience for everyone.”
All attendees are required to pre-register for the seminar by March 3 at 11 a.m. Registrations and payments will not be accepted at the door.
Guests will be required to show proof of vaccination for entry.
A wine and cheese reception, which will feature Hampline Brewing beer, will follow at 5 p.m.
All aboard? Lawmaker says it’s time for Memphis-to-Nashville train
 Currently, Memphis’ Amtrak station connects to Jackson, Mississippi, and New Orleans to the south, and Chicago to the north. Amtrak now proposes a line that would connect Nashville and Chattanooga to Atlanta. (Daily Memphian file)
Will an Amtrak line ever run from Memphis to Nashville?
New routes announced by the passenger railroad service included a line that would connect Nashville and Chattanooga to Atlanta but no plans to add services to Memphis, which already operates a line that connects to Jackson, Mississippi, and New Orleans.
While calls to use state funds to increase Amtrak lines in Tennessee have stalled in the past, state Rep. Jason Powell is pushing for a Train Travel Caucus and legislation that could lead to expanding railroad passenger service in Tennessee.
“I was pleased to see Rep. Powell initiated this, especially coming out of Nashville,” Mitchell said. “Our airport is growing and evolving, but I know a lot of people still opt to take flights out of Nashville, so it would be really cool to have train transit options there as well.”
In 2021, Congress passed the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included $66 billion for rail.
A representative of Amtrak told The Daily Memphian the rail provider is open to the idea of expanding more services in the Southeast.
“It’s always irritated me a little that there’s no flight to Nashville,” Hample said. “I go (to Nashville) on business occasionally, and it’s a little longer than I’d like to drive. A train would be a fantastic solution to that.”
More Bluff City Biz
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