Half Price Books is continuing curbside pickup service while allowing customers back inside on a limited basis.
Earlier this week we updated some dining room reopenings at East Cobb restaurants and for the next few days will be adding to this post about other business reopenings, changes in hours and services, etc.
Pam Kirby at Half Price Books got in touch to say that the store at Woodlawn Square Shopping Center that has been closed to in-store browsing has reopened to customers to browse and shop inside.
Those hours are limited to 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; they’re still taking advance orders for curbside pickup as they’ve been doing for several weeks now.
The Bookmiser store at 3822 Roswell Road has been open all along for inside shopping and curbside pickup, and provides shoppers with hand sanitizers upon entry. Some of the live events that have been planned are being rescheduled virtually, and the link has more details.
The Book Exchange at 2932 Canton Road is open and is also conducting author interviews and book club events via Zoom; details at its Facebook Page, as well as info about a GoFundMe drive that’s ongoing.
The Book Nook Marietta at 1547 Roswell Road announced this week it’s a couple weeks away from from reopening.
More salons and personal care businesses are starting to reopen, following some revisions to the statewide executive order.
Nancy’s Salonreopened earlier this week at Merchant’s Walk, and is strongly encouraging appointment business only and is telling customers they must wear face masks.
Orangetheory Fitness at Merchants Festival announced it’s reopening soon and is booking classes.
Send Us Your News!
If you have Coronavirus-related event changes, business openings or closings to share with the public, e-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Contact us at the same e-mail address for news about efforts to assist those in need, health care workers, first responders and others on the frontlines of combatting Coronavirus in East Cobb.
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We’re keeping track of a flurry of announcements by East Cobb businesses in recent days about their reopening plans, and in the case of restaurants, the return of dining-room service.
Among those restaurants allowing you to dine in now is Taqueria Tsunami on Johnson Ferry Road, where the patio also is open, as of today (Thursday).
Like many restaurants that are allowing customers to eat-in, management posted the following safety/sanitation measures it is undertaking, noting it’s also trained staff on the new procedures:
Continuous and routine hourly sanitizing/cleaning of all highly trafficked and touched areas of the restaurant (from bar tops down to all door handles)
Provide masks and gloves for team members
Team member wellness screen every shift
Encourage guests to wear masks and practice social distancing while in the restaurant
Limited our seating capacity, as required by state regulation, to ensure social distancing and capacity limits are met
Use of disposable, one-time use menus
Removal of salt and pepper shakers and condiments from the tables (available upon request, and sanitized after use)
Added antibacterial stations for our team and guests
Focus on sanitation and cleanliness during our shift staff meetings to promote the importance of rigorous hand washing procedures
Encouraging customers, vendors and team members to remain home if showing any sign of illness or being in contact with someone who has the virus.
Ted’s Montana Grill at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center also has opened up its dining room, starting at 11:30 a.m. daily.
A few other restaurants of note are taking additional steps before fully reopening.
Paradise South of the Border (Highland Plaza Shopping Center) will be opening its dining room and the patio for limited dine-in starting Monday, May 18 but for now the Paradise Grille dining room is remaining closed, and is being used for curbside pick up only
The Lemon Grass Thai Restaurant at East Lake is expanding its hours, but only for takeout and curbside: Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Monday-Friday 5-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 5-10:30 p.m.; Sunday 4-10 p.m.; plans are to reopen the dining room in a couple of weeks.
Send Us Your News!
If you have Coronavirus-related event changes, business openings or closings to share with the public, e-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Contact us at the same e-mail address for news about efforts to assist those in need, health care workers, first responders and others on the frontlines of combatting Coronavirus in East Cobb.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Senior Citizen Council of Cobb County is participating in #MayisOlderAmericans Month #MakeYourMark and continuing their 47 year history of advancing and promoting the health and welfare of Cobb’s senior citizens. There are over 100,000 senior citizens living in Cobb County and some are in difficult circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Senior Citizen Council is seeking financial contributions from the community to address coronavirus related issues of older residents. Contributions will be used to fulfill pressing living condition needs of afflicted seniors and also to provide funding for a planned Senior Job Fair which will assist individuals who are unemployed or underemployed because of COVID-19.
The Senior Citizen Council developed a Coronavirus Care survey that it is distributing to the Cobb senior community which will be used as a guide in their advocacy efforts. All persons age 55 and older are invited to complete the very brief survey and add their voice to the more than 200 Cobb seniors who have already expressed their concerns and needs in this survey.
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A new Cobb-based campaign has launched to help restaurants struggling with business loss because of COVID-19. Sterling Seacrest Partners, a Cobb risk management and insurance brokerage firm, is working with Atlanta businesses to “Take Out the Virus” (www.takeoutthevirusATL.com). Area businesses are pledging to support local restaurants, helping restaurant employees and their families.
Here is how it works, Sterling Seacrest Partners has pledged to pay for take-out orders purchased at area restaurants. The firm will give each of its 150 employees $50 for ordering take-out from a local restaurant. They will give employees $100 if the employee orders from a restaurant that is also a Sterling Seacrest client.
“We thought this was a great concept because it aligned so closely with our core values to support our team members, our clients and our community,” says Garry Hill of Sterling Seacrest Partners. “We are fortunate to live in such an incredible city for food. These restaurants are an integral part of the fabric of our community. As a firm, we felt like we needed to do something and not just at home and watch.”
Sterling Seacrest is challenging other Atlanta area businesses to support area restaurants by sponsoring a night of ordering in to help Take Out the Virus.
Several businesses have already signed up, including Benedetti Gucer & Associates, a wealth management firm, Piedmont Pediatrics, and Leff & Associates Public Relations.
For Piedmont Pediatrics, the doctors wanted to support their people who have been working straight through the pandemic crisis and to support the restaurant community around the hospital.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday issued a revised executive order that lifts restrictions on some businesses, keeps others closed and allowed still others to open, including summer day camps.
In a press conference at the state capitol, Kemp said that bars and nightclubs and live music venues, which have been shuttered since he declared a public health emergency in mid-March, will stay closed through May 31.
That’s because there’s still a ban on public gatherings with 10 or more people anywhere in Georgia. Kemp acknowledged that the continued shutdowns for some businesses is posing a greater hardship, and the state is making progress in limiting the spread of COVID-19.
But there’s still a long way to go.
“We believe waiting a little bit longer will enhance help outcomes while helping businesses prepare for safe reopening in the near future,” Kemp said in prepared remarks.
As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health is reporting 34,848 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia, with 1,494 deaths, 6,227 hospitalizations and 1,479 intensive-care admissions.
Cobb County has 2,253 confirmed cases, 124 deaths, and 542 hospitalizations.
A statewide shelter-in-place order for medically fragile people and those over the age of 65 also remains in effect through June 12, when the state public health emergency is set to expire.
Restaurants, whose dining rooms have been allowed to reopen over the last two weeks, will be allowed to seat 10 patrons per 300 square feet, and the limit on the size of a dining party has been raised from six to 10.
Child care centers also can accommodate more youths as the summer months approach. Kemp’s order raises the limit on the number of children in a child care classroom from 10 to 20.
And while summer day camps will be allowed to operate, no overnight summer camps will be permitted.
Those summer day camps will have to meet a list of 32 requirements before they can open (those begin on page 23 of the executive order).
Kemp said that the state on Tuesday got from the federal government its first shipment of remdevisir, a potential COVID-19 drug that’s been used in some clinical trials.
He said Georgia DPH is developing a protocol on how to distribute the total of 30 cases of remdevisir (with 40 vials per case). Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the director of Georgia DPH, said she’s putting together a team, and that the top priority will be hospitals that have been hardest hit by the virus.
Georgia has ramped up testing for the virus, with 262,179 tested thus far. Kemp said that’s 2.74 percent of Georgia’s population. Testing is now available to all Georgians, who should contact their local public health department to make an appointment.
“We still have to continue to move the needle on tests,” he said in response to a question from a reporter.
One of the testing focuses is on residents of nursing, senior and long-term care homes, where 49 percent of Georgia’s COVID-19 deaths have taken place.
The Georgia National Guard has conducted testing in those facilities, with 46 percent of residents there having been tested, and 24 percent of staff.
Georgia DPH has hired 250 out of an anticipated 1,000 people to conduct contact tracing of those exposed to the virus, another key measure to stop the spread of the virus.
Toomey said contact tracing is taking place for every new case, something that has been happening.
What is new, she said, is tracking with an app prepared by Augusta Health that individuals can update themselves, and enables anyone to get a virtual screening for free at any time.
She also urged Georgians to continue to practice social distancing and to wear masks in public when they cannot keep six feet apart from others.
“This isn’t over,” Toomey said. “We’ve got to continue to follow the guidelines.”
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The YMCA of Metro Atlanta today announced seven locations will reopen with limited amenities on May 15 as the organization begins a phased approach to opening Atlanta-area locations. Additional Y branches will open May 25 and June 1, respectively.
Phase one will closely follow protocols set forth by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Georgia Department of Public Health, including regular temperature checks, designating entry and exit points, cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces and shared spaces, social and physical distancing, spacing of fitness equipment, wearing of masks and controlling traffic patterns inside the facility. Additionally, all activities will be limited to individual workouts with trained staff positioned to monitor and enforce social distancing.
For Y branches opening May 15, only the wellness space will be available. Starting May 18, lap swim, group exercise and select tennis facilities will be available by online reservation.
“The health and safety or our Y members, staff and community remains our top priority,” said Lauren Koontz, YMCA of Metro Atlanta president and CEO. “The way we will interact with each other will be different, but what will not change is our members’ ability to connect with others while improving their wellness.”
As operations normalize, the Y will pivot to phase two in mid-June, which includes re-opening additional areas within Y facilities for broader use. Further progression will continue through additional phases in July and August which will reflect services and activities similar to YMCA operations pre-COVID-19.
A full list of locations and opening dates can be found below. In a few instances, some Y branches may open for youth programming prior to a branch opening for member services.
May 15
Carl E. Sanders YMCA – 1160 Moores Mill Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30327
Northwest Family YMCA – 1700 Dennis Kemp Lane, Kennesaw, Georgia 30152
East Lake Family YMCA – 275 E Lake Blvd SE, Atlanta, GA 30317
Northeast Cobb Family YMCA – 3010 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta, GA 30062
Robert D. Fowler Family YMCA – 5600 W Jones Bridge Rd, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092
Summit Family\Fayette Outdoor YMCA – 1765 GA-34, Newnan, GA 30265
Covington Family YMCA – 2140 Newton Dr NE, Covington, GA 30014
May 25
Cowart Family YMCA – 3692 Ashford Dunwoody Rd, Atlanta, GA 30319
Ed Isakson/ Alpharetta Family YMCA – 3655 Preston Ridge Rd, Alpharetta, GA 30005
The Villages at Carver Family YMCA – 1600 Pryor Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30315
J.M. Tull-Gwinnett Family YMCA – 2985 Sugarloaf Pkwy, Lawrenceville, GA 30045
McCleskey-East Cobb Family YMCA – 1055 E Piedmont Rd, Marietta, GA 30062
Arthur M. Blank Youth YMCA – 555 Luckie St NW, Atlanta, GA 30313
June 1
Forsyth County Family YMCA – 6050 Y St, Cumming, GA 30040
Andrew & Walter Young Family YMCA – 2220 Campbellton Rd SW, Atlanta, GA 30311
South DeKalb Family YMCA – 2565 Snapfinger Rd, Decatur, GA 30034
Wade Walker Park Family YMCA – 5605 Rockbridge Rd SW, Stone Mountain, GA 30088
G. Cecil Pruett Community Center Family YMCA/ Cherokee Outdoor YMCA – 151 Waleska St, Canton, GA 30114
Decatur Family YMCA – 1100 Clairemont Ave, Decatur, GA 30030
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Information and photos from Krista Scott of the Chick-fil-A Sprayberry:
“Our restaurant recently provided nearly 50 boxed lunches to first responders in our local police precinct and firefighter stations. To date, we have donated hundreds of meals collectively to Wellstar Urgent Care Center staff, local Publix stores, and the Heritage Hospice center. This week we plan to take meals to the Marietta 911 Call Center.
“It is truly our pleasure serving our community during this time.”
Send Us Your News!
If you have Coronavirus-related event changes, business openings or closings to share with the public, e-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Contact us at the same e-mail address for news about efforts to assist those in need, health care workers, first responders and others on the frontlines of combatting Coronavirus in East Cobb.
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Since the Taste of East Cobb was cancelled this month due to COVID-19, organizers of the food festival have been busy with an alternative they announced on Monday.
They’re calling it the Taste of Takeout East Cobb, and on Saturday, May 23, during the Memorial Day weekend, they want you to order takeout from local restaurants to help them get back on their feet. From the announcement:
“This effort is our way of showing our love for the many local restaurants and businesses who have supported #TOEC over the years…and long into the future.
Here’s David Wilson, the Taste of East Cobb 2020 co-chair:
“We know that our East Cobb restaurants and businesses are hurting as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic. Ordering a take–out meal for the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend is an easy way to help your neighbor and show how much you appreciate the businesses that have helped make East Cobb what it is today.”
The other co-chair, Amy Davies, says the new name is a temporary one, in light of the special circumstances of the time.
“Dealing with the pandemic doesn‘t have to mean eating the same boring home–cooked meals over and over again. This is a great time to order something new and try an East Cobb restaurant or shop you may not have visited before.”
Any restaurant or business seeking a mention from the Taste of East Cobb can contact either Wilson orDavies at tasteofeastcobb@gmail.com.
The organizers have started doing those promos on their social media feeds already, including sponsors of the cancelled festival.
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Georgians who haven’t been able to get tested for Coronavirus because they didn’t feel symptoms or otherwise didn’t qualify can now do so without a medical referral.
The tests are free, but individuals who want to get one still must make an appointment with their local public health agency.
Cobb & Douglas Public Health has created an online testing referral form at www.cdphCOVID19testing.org that can be completed there.
Citizens can also visit www.cobbanddouglaspublichealth.org(click on the Coronavirus button, then click on the “Online Testing Referral” button) in order to schedule an appointment.
Another option is by calling the CDPH Call Center at 770-514-2300.
According to Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the director of the Georgia Department of Public Health, more than 108,000 COVID-19 tests have been processed in the last week.
That’s nearly half of all the tests that have been conducted since a public health emergency was declared in Georgia in mid-March.
As of noon Friday, more than 227,000 people have been tested in Georgia, with 32,016 positive cases and 1,357 deaths.
There are 2,062 positive tests in Cobb County, with 109 deaths and 515 hospitalizations. Nearly tests have been conducted by Cobb and Douglas Public Health at a drive-up location at Jim Miller Park.
Capacity there to do more testing was expanded in April, but it limited those getting tested to those with symptoms and frontline medical workers and first responders.
The county is starting to provide more data to the public about COVID cases, including a map of positive tests according to ZIP Code.
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To hover over a larger map with more details, click here.
Cobb and Douglas Public Health is starting to break down its Coronavirus statistics into some categories we’ve been getting questions about.
Specifically, some readers have wanted to know exactly where in the county these cases are taking place, and how many.
The county health agency has produced a map (seen above, and that you can hover over here) that breaks those numbers down by ZIP Code, with the darker shadings representing higher numbers of cases, and the lighter shades the fewest.
As of Wednesday, here are the number of cases this map is reflecting in East Cobb ZIP Codes:
30062: 113
30066: 95
30067: 93
30068: 68
30075: 11
However, the statistics don’t include the number of deaths by ZIP Code.
As of noon Thursday, there were 2,006 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Cobb County and 197 deaths. Another 509 people have been hospitalized in the county.
Across Georgia, there are 1,335 deaths and 31,260 cases, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. A total of 217,303 people have been tested.
The four highest concentrations of COVID-19 cases in Cobb are in Marietta 30060 (235), Powder Springs 30127 (151), Smyrna 30080 (143) and Kennesaw 30152 (142).
The Cobb and Douglas Public Health detailed data link also includes some other information, including testing.
As of Wednesday, 4,204 people have been tested in Cobb County, and with the 2,006 cases that comes to a positivity rate of 8.9 percent.
While the state data does break down cases and deaths by age and racial groups, the county data doesn’t yet show that.
All but 11 of those who have died in Cobb due to the virus were over the age of 60, and most had underlying medical conditions that were reported at the time of their deaths.
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East Cobb Park has been locked up since late March. (ECN file)
This just in from Cobb County government:
Cobb PARKS will reopen their outdoor facilities on Monday, May 11th. Trails and passive parks have already been open to the public, so this will reopen the remainder of our outdoor parks. Due to continuing health concerns surrounding the coronavirus, the following restrictions will remain in place:
Playgrounds and restrooms at park facilities will remain closed.
No organized athletic activities will be allowed.
Park Rangers and PARKS personnel will monitor the parks to ensure park patrons maintain proper social distancing. Flagrant violations could result in the closure of part or all of that facility.
Indoor facilities, such as aquatic centers and arts centers, will remain closed.
The county initially kept parks open shortly after Commission Chairman Mike Boyce declared a state of emergency. But he ordered parks closed on March 23 after being advised to do so by public health officials in the “interest of public health and to encourage social distancing.”
The entrances to East Cobb Park and other outdoor parks, including Mabry Park in East Cobb, have been locked up ever since.
On April 23, the county reopened some trails, like the Noonday Creek Trail and the Silver Comet Trail, and a few passive parks, including Ebenezer Downs and Hyde Farm in East Cobb.
Cobb PARKS issued further details of the reopenings on Friday:
1. No organized activities will be allowed. This includes team practices, games, get-togethers, etc. 2. All field lights will remain off and park concession stands closed.
3. On diamond fields, dugouts will be locked.
4. All restrooms will remain locked.
5. Playgrounds will remain closed. Part-time PARKS staff will be stationed at these playgrounds from dawn until dusk to ensure that no one violates the closures.
6. Our staff in the parks will also be monitoring other areas of the parks and will be notifying public safety should organized activities be observed.
The decision to reopen the parks comes as some businesses and other public activities are gradually being allowed to reopen in Georgia.
As of noon Wednesday, there were 30,706 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia, with 1,311 deaths, 5,770 hospitalizations and 1,348 intensive-care admissions.
In Cobb County, there are 1,996 confirmed cases of the virus and 102 deaths, with 506 hospitalizations.
When the parks reopen on Monday, beautiful spring weather will be in store, with sunny skies and high temperatures into the 70s and 80s for most of the week.
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Reader Ariel Starke passes along information and photos about a group of East Cobb residents who’ve quickly formed to make masks and scrub caps for workers at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital and other local medical facilities.
The East Cobb PPE Makers Facebook group scrambled into action after responding to a local nurse who posted on the East Cobb Mom’s Exchange group about needing a scrub cap.
Kim Deuster, who started the PPE Makers, takes the story from there:
“She is a nurse in the emergency department at Kennestone Hospital, and the hospital was requiring their staff to wear the caps as one more barrier to being exposed to COVID-19. When I told her I could do it for her, another nurse sent me a message asking if I could make 100 caps. When I realized the man hours and material needed, I knew I could not do this alone. I reached out to several friends, asking for material donations and sewing volunteers on every board I belong to. Within 3 days I had a basement full of supplies, 20 sewers and multiple volunteers offering to run material and caps all over the East Cobb area. We were able to produce over 300 caps for 7 local healthcare facilities within two weeks.”
The East Cobb PPE Makers continuing to produce PPE items, as the group’s membership has grown to more than 125.
Maxwell’s husband is a critical care doctor at the Kennestone Pulmonary Group, and posted this video of their PPE items being put to rapid use.
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Submitted information from Kids Care, a youth-oriented community service and volunteer organization that’s sending “Kindness Cards,” notes of appreciation to local COVID-19 frontline workers:
To date, 400 Kindness Cards of encouragement and thanks have been collected by KIDS CARE & given to Cobb County Hospital Staff, Fire, EMS, Police & 911 Dispatch Personnel during this challenging time.
Please bring your home-made offerings of “Thanks” to any of the business locations listed on our website as a Kindness Card Drop Off Location. We will be collecting Kindness Cards for a few more weeks.
In addition, email jannd@forartssakeusa.com, your message and a greeting card with your written message will be delivered to a Frontline worker for you.
FYI: There is an East Cobb dropoff location, at the entrance to Williams-Sonoma store at The Avenue East Cobb (4475 Roswell Road, Suite 800).
You can drop off cards there from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday curbside, weather permitting. During inclement weather the box will be placed under the store awning.
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With clear blue skies and temperatures near 80 degrees, quite a few East Cobbers found some some open space at the Wellstar East Cobb Health Park Saturday afternoon to watch the Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds flyover honoring frontline COVID-19 workers.
They began their metro Atlanta excursion flying from Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, then down along I-75 before looping back up through Sandy Springs and Roswell, and then on to the city of Atlanta and eventually to Newnan.
The entire flight didn’t take long, and it helped to be very close to the flight path. The planes were barely visible from this point in East Cobb as they reached their turn-around point in Roswell, and only a trace of their booming sounds could be heard.
Roswell resident Robert Davis lives virtually underneath the flight path, and he tagged us on the Instagram video below, taken as the planes screeched overhead:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_sd3MJB-iF/
While Davis didn’t have to leave home, those at the health park lingered for a while afterwards, enjoying some fresh air—while practicing social distancing—at the end of the seventh week since the Coronavirus crisis shut down so much of daily life.
The nearby East Cobb Park, like many in the county, remains closed—locked up, actually—although a few other passive parks and trails reopened last week.
Another good crowd was also on hand to watch the flyover from the spacious parking lot at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, the venue for what would have been the Taste of East Cobb today.
That event, like so many others through the spring and summer, was cancelled.
While some businesses are gradually reopening again—there were a good number of cars at shopping centers like Merchant’s Walk—it’s far from being what it would normally be on a splendid spring weekend.
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Employees at Frenchie’s Modern Nail Care in East Cobb prepare for a new way of doing business. (ECN photos)
When she opened her nail salon in the Shallowford Falls Shopping Center last August, Rhoda Gunnigle told customers that “We Love Clean.”
That’s the slogan for Frenchie’s Modern Nail Care, and Gunnigle, as a newly-minted franchisee of the national company, earnestly meant to live up to it.
She’s had to stress that message even more, and have her staff take even greater hygiene measures, as her shop reopened Friday after a six-week closure due to the Coronavirus crisis.
Frenchie’s East Cobb owner Rhoda Gunnigle goes over new safety measures with her staff.
Salons like hers were allowed to open last Friday by Gov. Brian Kemp, but Gunnigle wanted to take extra time to train her staff to meet extensive new requirements.
She also wanted to gauge the willingness of customers to patronize a business in a “personal touch” industry that’s been caught in the crossfire over how much reopening should be allowed as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll.
“We have some [customers] who have been so supportive,” Gunnigle said Thursday, taking a break from final preparations. “And there are others who are not ready yet, and that’s understandable.”
Georgia’s reopening has been criticized in national media and by public health officials, and Gunnigle said she understands the concerns.
But she has her own. Like many business owners, she filed right away in March for federal relief under the Paycheck Protection Program, and earlier this week finally got the loan money. Under the PPP, employers must spend at least 75 percent of the money on payroll, or the loan will not be forgiven.
Gunnigle said she’s going to use all of it to pay her employees, while she scrambles to pay her landlord and meet other financial obligations. She got a six-month reprieve on her Small Business Association loan she used to start the business, and that’s helped.
Frenchie’s employees were busy cleaning and disinfecting nearly every surface of the salon before it reopened.
She said she’s glad she waited to reopen at least for a few days, and understands why some people don’t want to get their nails done, or hair cut, for now.
“But if you wait until it’s too comfortable, it may be too late,” Gunnigle said, speaking from a business owner’s perspective.
“How can you wait while while expenses pile up? With the rent due, I didn’t feel I had much of a choice.”
Frenchie’s is doing a slow reopening, available for now only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and by appointment only.
She’s not allowing walk-ins, and anyone coming through the front door—even the mailman—is asked questions about international travel, possible exposure to the virus, and more.
Gunnigle is acting as the front desk receptionist, using only three staffers at a time, instead of the typical six. They all must wear masks, which are optional for customers.
Guests must wash their hands and practice social distancing. Clear plastic screens shield customers and employees alike.
After guests leave following a “touchless checkout,” the area where they sat, including their chairs, is fully disinfected. Disposable items are promptly tossed away.
Gunnigle said she’s going beyond the state-issued mandates, including those from the Georgia State Board of Cosmetologists and Barbers, which also regulates nail salons. She feels confident that she and her workers are as prepared as they can be.
She says that “I feel as safe in here as I do at home” and understands that some may think that getting a manicure isn’t the most important thing in the world right now. “But there are people who want to come back the safe way.”
Cobb commissioner Bob Ott stopped by Intrigue Salon, which also has reopened on Johnson Ferry Road (Photo courtesy Intrigue Salon).
Owner Jeff South also was waiting for delivery of Synexis, which is described as a “biodefense technology to mitigate infectious microorganisms.”
It’s similar to the technology used to clean and disinfect schools, hospitals and restaurants. Synexis produces hydrogen peroxide in the same physical state as the oxygen and nitrogen in the air, and the molecule is known as Dry Hydrogen Peroxide (DHP).
South said his salon is the first in the world to to install Synexis, and that it’s effective against airborne and surface viruses, bacteria and fungi.
Intrigue also is limiting customers to only those with appointments. Customers must also wear masks, and although gloves are optional their hands must be washed.
They also will be asked health questions by stylists, who are sanitizing chairs and their work stations after every customer, who will have a clean cape and clean tools.
Intrigue also is not blow-drying hair for now, but is offering a free serum treatment before guests leave.
Those measures, like those undertaken by other salons, are a blend of hygiene and the pragmatism prompted by social distancing.
While a number of “personal touch” businesses are waiting a while longer, Rhoda Gunnigle of Frenchie’s says “we can’t stay home forever. The economy cannot continue to be shut down.”
Among her first customers this weekend is her mother, who lives in the North Georgia mountains and whom she hasn’t seen for nearly two months because of social distancing.
As a business owner who felt the initial shutdowns nearly cast a fatal blow to her enterprise, Gunnigle said “I’m still not out of the woods.”
Reopening her nail salon—if only for a few days at a time, and far from full operations—”is a risk, but as a business owner you have to take some risks.”
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The joint effort between the Cobb County School District and MUST Ministries to provide student meals to those who need them will continue into the summer.
The district announced Friday that it would extend food distribution of weekday breakfasts and lunches that began in March, when schools were closed due to the Coronavirus crisis.
East Cobb Middle School is one of eight sites in the Cobb district that has been a pickup point for those student meals.
“What most people don’t know about distributing food to students is local taxpayer dollars aren’t spent on food for students, Federal dollars are. These eight sites were selected because they allow us to be reimbursed by the Federal government, many of our schools across Cobb don’t allow for that option,” Cobb schools chief operations officer Marc Smith said in a statement issued by the district.
Pre-K students, rising kindergartners, recent graduates under 18, and new students to the district are eligible to receive the food, which is handed out by MUST volunteers at the designated schools each Monday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The students must be present in order to receive the food.
More than 217,000 meals have been distributed thus far, according to the district, which estimates that another 225,000 meals will be provided the next couple of months.
While the Cobb schools summer vacation goes until Aug. 1, the school district’s fiscal year 2021 budget takes effect July 1.
Normally the district and Cobb school board would be working on the new fiscal year budget in April and May. However, they cannot because the Georgia legislative session was suspended before the state budget, including education funding appropriated to school districts, was finalized.
A date to resume the legislative session hasn’t been announced, but some leading lawmakers are suggesting mid-June at the earliest, when Georgia’s extended public health emergency is due to expire.
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The retail center’s management on Friday released a partial list of its tenants who’ve opened up their doors, with this caveat:
“The well-being, health and safety of you and the community is our #1 priority. We recommend all guest adhere to the CDC and the State of Georgia’s guidelines when visiting.
“Please note some retailers remain closed at this time while others hours vary. We recommend that you contact your favorite retailer for their current hours and any restrictions they may have in place (curbside pickup, appointment only etc.) prior to visiting.”
The stores that are open now include the following, and they include some that have stayed open:
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If you look up in the sky early Saturday afternoon you’ll see (and hear) military planes screeching by.
They’re not taking part in formal exercises but instead are the Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds, taking part in a salute to COVID-19 first responders.
Earlier this week, an America Strong event took place over New York City and Philadelphia.
The tentative start time for the Atlanta flyover is 1:35 p.m. Saturday, as the planes begin in Cobb, around Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, and will circle back up over Sandy Springs, Roswell and a sliver of East Cobb before heading down to Atlanta and eventually to the Newnan area.
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The shelter-in-place order Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp extended once already will be expiring right before midnight Friday.
As the clock strikes midnight, and as April gives way to the month of May, most Georgians will be free to roam about their communities a bit more.
In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, Kemp said he’s still urging citizens to stay at home as much as possible and to observe social distancing practices and wear masks when they go out.
Here’s a summary of his new order, which details provisions for businesses that are open, who must remain in shelter-in-place and criteria for currently closed businesses to reopen by May 13.
He thanked citizens for heeding advice to stay home, “affording us time to bolster our health care infrastructure and flatten the curve.
“We were successful in these efforts, but the fight is far from over,” Kemp said.
As of noon Thursday, Georgia had reported 26,155 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, with 1,120 deaths and 5,156 hospitalizations. Of the latter, there were 1.171 intensive care admissions.
In Cobb County there are 1,599 cases and 91 deaths, with 464 hospitalizations.
Georgia has a population of 10.6 million people but has conducted only 149,000 tests for the virus.
That’s when statewide a public health emergency was due to expire. However, Kemp on Thursday said he would extend that order through June 12.
Under that order, elderly citizens (aged 65 and older) and “medically fragile Georgians” must continue to follow shelter-in-place rules.
Kemp said extending the public health emergency is also being done to continue testing for the virus, begin contact tracing and provide for adequate emergency response operations.
Senior living, nursing-home and long-term care facilities will be ordered to follow “enhanced infection control protocols” through June 12.
“My decisions are based on data and advice from health officials,” Kemp said. “I will do what is necessary to protect the lives and livelihoods of our people.”
Kemp’s actions to allow some personal touch businesses and restaurants to reopen in the last week has generated plenty of controversy.
On Thursday, Dr. Karen Landman, an Atlanta-based writer and epidemiologist, wrote in an op-ed piece in The New York Times that Georgia’s reopening, the first by a state in the country, has been mishandled.
She accused the governor of using selected data to guide his decision and said overall numbers are still too high.
“It’s not just about having favorable data, or even enough testing,” she wrote. “It’s about having the right infrastructure to assess it and ensure sustained decreases in cases.”
Mull, who now lives in Brooklyn, talked to health experts and small business owners in the state, including Sabra Dupree of Kids Kuts Salon in East Cobb, and concluded that “Georgia’s brash reopening puts much of the state’s working class in an impossible bind: risk death at work, or risk ruining yourself financially at home.”
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With Georgia’s shelter-in-place order expected to expire later today, and as selected businesses are allowed to reopen, we’re updating what’s opening and what’s staying closed for now in East Cobb.
We’ll be adding to this during the day, so let us know your status. E-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Williamson Bros BBQ on Roswell Road has been fully closed, but announced this morning it’s open as of today for drive-thru service only, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call 770-071-3201 to order in advance. They’ve been testing this approach at other locations and the dining room is still closed.
Chicago’s Steak and Seafood, at Shallowford Corners, had been closed completely but is now resuming dining room service for dinner. Proprietor Mark Zwolak said during the closure the restaurant underwent a full deep cleaning and some renovations and is taking extra safety precautions, including use of “a non-contact infrared thermometer to screen the temperatures of our employees and patrons.”
A few doors down, East Cobb Tavern is reopening Monday and will be open from 3-8 p.m. for dining room and curbside service. It was open only a few weeks after being rebranded from Keegan’s Pub, and has been closed completely since mid-March.
The Eggs Up Grill, also at Shallowford Corners, has been fully closed for a couple of weeks, after trying pickup/takeout/delivery. Management announced Wednesday the dining room is reopening in seven days, after saying over the weekend it would hold off despite the governor’s reopening plans. “We will be adhering to all safety guidelines for social distancing, sanitation etc. We look forward to get back to serving the community we so love! It has been too long!” was Wednesday’s message.
On Monday, Suburban Tap reopened its dining room and will allow only 10 patrons per square foot and dining parties of six people or less per table. Salad bar and buffet service are discontinued for the time being.
Most restaurants in East Cobb that are open are limiting their operations to pickup/takeout/delivery for now, even though they could open their dining rooms on Monday.
Hair and nail salons, barber shops and other “personal touch” businesses were allowed to open on Friday, and a few are doing so (more in-depth on a few of those in another post) very gradually.
Nancy’s Salon on Johnson Ferry Road said Wednesday it would be reopening on May 12. The day before, on May 11, Zeba Hair Salon is reopening at Merchant’s Festival.
Some pet-related businesses have closed and a few will be opening up again soon. Haven, The Dog Spot is aiming for a May 11 “business almost as usual” reopening date, and has detailed its safety protocols.
Likewise at Hot Dogs, Cool Cats at Paper Mill Village, a pet spa and grooming boutique that also is shooting for May 11 to open back up.
Most of the gyms and fitness centers in East Cobb that also have been allowed to reopen remain closed, at least for now, and are offering virtual classes.
Some medical offices are starting to reopen. One is East Cobb Foot and Ankle Care, which is requiring all patients to wear masks or a face covering and will be checking temperatures.
Carwash USA at East Cobb Crossing is reopening on Thursday, but in a limited mode. No more than two customers will be allowed in the indoor waiting room at any given time, although there is outdoor seating as well.
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