The city of Memphis is grappling with a surge in business-related crimes, compelling local business owners, like those in Whitehaven, to consider drastic measures. According to Action News 5, over 100 crimes have beleaguered the Whitehaven area in just 75 days. Within just a mile radius of Trap Fusion restaurant, 118 incidents including robberies and identity thefts have been recorded this year.

Jason Gardner, co-owner and head chef of Trap Fusion, expressed his deep frustration, declaring, "I think our city is in a starvation mode," in an interview with Action News 5. Fed up with the high crime rates, after seven break-ins over five years, Gardner is now considering relocating his business. Despite the installation of a camera and a mural on the boarded-up window posing the question, "Why Us," the eatery has become a symbol of the challenges faced by Memphis businesses.

The Daily Posting further revealed Gardner's decision to move, as he stated, "We might come back to Memphis again, but Memphis is going downhill right now, and we have to go somewhere where we can raise our families." The Memphis native confirmed signing a lease for a new Trap Fusion location in Nashville.

As crime rates increase, locals have grown wary. To address personal security, one East Memphis convenience store has disallowed the wearing of ski masks, according to a report by FOX13. "If they're wearing a ski mask, they up to no good," Kenny Lee from Ride of Tears, a local anti-violence group, told FOX13. With nearly 3,000 robberies in the past year, and the city having already witnessed at least 268 robberies by late February, the fear in the community is palpable.

Memphis Police Department has suggested that business owners take safety into their own hands, such as hiring security, fortifying windows, adding surveillance cameras – with over 6500 such cameras already registered into MPD's Connect Memphis program. Yet, concerns loom large over the potential ineffectiveness of measures like the proposed ski mask ban, with Council Member Pearl Eva Walker mentioning to FOX13 that more in-depth discussions are imperative on addressing the underlying causes of crime, particularly poverty and trauma, she said, "We need to look at why people are committing the crime."