Deonna Kelli Sayed

Elm Street Stories is a community-based storytelling podcast celebrating places, personalities and experiences shaping downtown communities across America

Support local food, local art, and support local stories.

Episode One:  This first podcast celebrates my stomping grounds, downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. I want to share the story of the woman behind a popular restaurant, conveniently located on downtown Greensboro’s main drag, Elm Street. The restaurant is called Crafted: The Art of the Taco.  Click here to listen to chef and entrepreneur, Kristina Fuller, tell her story.

“My philosophy of food is based on simple recipes and quality ingredients always equals a winning dish. If you have those two factors and you can execute them properly,  you are always going to win. You don’t have to complicate food. You can really take simple ideas and just perfect them, and they are going to be amazing every time.” – Kristina Fuller

Read about Elm Street Stories 

Why “downtown”?

The short answer: downtowns represent the only real sense of community existing in many towns and cities across America.

A longer explanation: downtown communities initially functioned as economic and cultural hubs for American cities and experienced decline with the growth of urban sprawl. Downtown became a place that many people forgot about. There are generations who have never ventured into their local downtown areas because they feel that it is unsafe or perceive that there aren’t things to do.

There is renewed interest in redeveloping downtowns into vibrant cultural districts. This development often focuses on locally-owned businesses and enterprises. New stories are emerging from American downtowns, and these geographical areas often depict the strongest sense of community present in American cities. Downtowns are re-emerging as economic corridors with increasingly livable neighborhoods that provide a sense of being and belonging.

Why storytelling?

Storytelling is a form of cultural stewardship. Few places represent local urban culture like our downtown communities.

(Note: the Smithsonian Institute has a similar storytelling project,Stories from Main Street, that celebrates rural communities and towns.)

Why a podcast?

I appreciate multimedia platforms. For this project, digital audio technology affirms the tradition of oral storytelling. Podcasts are downloadable and can be enjoyed on the go: in the car, on the treadmill — you get the idea. One doesn’t have to sit in front of a device to enjoy the experience.

Why am I doing this?

I discovered podcasting through ghost hunting. Paranormal investigation gifted me decent digital audio swag and forced me to maneuver audio editing software. More importantly, I learned the value of story. A ghost story is rarely about the ghost; it is often about the person telling it.

We don’t tell enough of our stories even though social networking allows us to share a great deal of ourselves without really saying much at all. I wanted to have real conversations with people about things that matter.

Who funds Elm Street Stories?

This is an unpaid creative endeavor.

I am grateful to those featured for allowing me to share their stories. If you find this concept fascinating, please pay my efforts forward by promoting this link on your social networking sites.

Support local food, local art, and support local stories.