The Front Porch, a community space and nonprofit on Walnut Grove Road in East Memphis, has completed its $5.5 million capital building campaign, funded by local foundations and everyday Memphians who wanted to see the project come to life. Executive director Melissa Todd says the campaign wrapped last month, and the organization is now working toward becoming self-sustaining through event rentals, office tenants, and its in-house restaurant.
The story behind The Front Porch starts with a pumpkin patch. Second Baptist Church hosted one every October, drawing around 5,000 visitors, and Lauren Young, owner of East Memphis bakery Sweet Lala’s, noticed how much the event brought neighbors together. She wanted that sense of community to last year-round. Young brought the idea to her parents, Spence and Becky Wilson, well-known Memphis business leaders and philanthropists (Spence is the son of Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson), and together they approached Second Baptist Church, which donated the vacant land next door.
The Front Porch opened Nov. 8, 2025. The 7,777-square-foot building, designed by archimania, was built to feel open and welcoming, with rocking chairs lining the front. Todd calls 7,777 a meaningful number for the project, and the building recently picked up a 2026 MBJ Building Memphis Award in the small new construction category.
Inside, the space includes an event area that seats 99, a meeting room for 12, and an outdoor grove that holds 75. Tenants include the Christian Psychological Center, the American Cancer Society, and Milla’s House, a grief support center operated by Baptist Centers for Good Grief.
At the center of the building sits Second Helpings Cafe, owned by Young, serving breakfast items like avocado toast, biscuit sandwiches, and pastries, plus lunch salads and wraps. Staff have been trained to support guests coming from grief counseling next door, whether that means giving them space or offering comfort.
Young says the rocking chairs out front are meant to be a deliberate interruption. With roughly 36,000 cars passing by on Walnut Grove daily, the idea is to give commuters a reason to stop, breathe, and be part of the community for a moment.
