Local News for the Way You Live Today
Littie Brown, left, current president, and Rosan Hall of the East Cobb Business Association present a $250 donation check to Jimmy Gisi, director the Cobb Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, at Tuesday’s monthly ECBA luncheon at Indian Hills Country Club.
The donation was part of the ECBA’s community outreach project. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
Work crews are tearing down the former Chuck E. Cheese location at 4340 Roswell Road. This is the view looking west, with the intersection of Roswell Road and Johnson Ferry in the background.
The building has been vacant since the restaurant closed in 2014. In December, the 1.7-acre parcel of land was rezoned for a Discount Tire location.
The property is located near other light automotive businesses on East Cobb Drive and between a Citgo station and the Pine Straw Village Shopping Center on Roswell Road. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)
The banquet room at the Indian Hills Country Club was filled Thursday morning with local business leaders, hungry high school football players and their coaches at the annual East Cobb Pigskin Preview breakfast.
The six high school head coaches briefed attendees about the season ahead and answered audience questions at the event sponsored by the East Cobb Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
Four of the six coaches are new to the job. Only Jep Irwin of Lassiter, and Mike Collins of Wheeler, both in their eighth seasons, return to the sidelines at the same school.
Two of the newcomers are returning to their alma maters: Brett Vavra of Sprayberry, and Tab Griffin of Pope. The other first-year coaches are no strangers to the East Cobb prep football scene. Brett Sloan of Kell was an assistant at Walton the last two years. Daniel Brunner, also a Raiders assistant, was named head coach when Mo Dixon resigned to take a job at south Georgia powerhouse Colquitt County.
Griffin, who had been an assistant coach at Mount Paran Christian School, said returning to Pope is “kind of a homecoming for me. It’s been my dream ever since Pope opened to come back and be the head football coach.”
Vavra, who was an assistant at Etowah, echoed similar thoughts. “I’m super excited to be back home,” he said, noting “the great sense of pride in the community” that welcomed him back to Sprayberry.
The energetic Brunner said bringing the entire Walton football community together is an important objective for him, and last weekend the first “Raider Day” event took place (see East Cobb News coverage here).
Kell also went looking for a new coach when Derek Cook resigned in the spring after nine years on the job. The Longhorns tapped Sloan, who had come to Walton with Dixon from South Carolina, and who had helped guide the Raiders into the post-season.
Sloan, who’s also anxious due to the upcoming birth of his first child, said Kell’s goal is simple: to reach the state finals. The Longhorns were eliminated in the semifinals, so there’s no need, Sloan said, “to replace what they’ve done at Kell, but to build on it.”
Wheeler is hopeful for a playoff berth after going 5-6 and reaching the region playoffs. The Wildcats’ main objective is to be more consistent; in 2016 they weren’t able to put together a winning streak. “It had a lot to do with the teams we were playing the following week,” Collins said.
Lassiter also reached the post-season with a 6-5 finish, and the Trojans boast one of the best high school players in the nation in defensive back Derrik Allen. He has been chosen to play in the Army All-American all-star game in January and will play college football at Notre Dame.
Some East Cobb teams are holding scrimmages this week and next. Walton and Kell will be playing next Saturday at the Corky Kell Classic in downtown Atlanta. The first full slate of games is Friday, Aug. 25.
The East Cobb Business Association and the East Cobb Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce are organizing an appreciation dinner next month for Precinct 4 Cobb Police personnel.
Susan Hampton, one of the event co-chairs, said the first organizing committee meeting was Wednesday, and the groups are seeking sponsors and donors at all levels
The event first began in 2013 as a way of showing thanks to officers serving the East Cobb area, and the effort also includes a similar celebration for all of Cobb Fire Department personnel in March.
In addition to a dinner, public safety personnel being honored will receive gift cards, raffle prizes and other donated gifts of appreciation.
The presenting sponsor is the WellStar East Cobb Health Park.
Hampton said the sponsorship levels are as follows for both events:
As for the donor levels, Hampton said one of the most popular forms of giving for businesses, organizations and individuals alike is a $25 “Thank A Hero” contribution that includes a card at the events with the giver’s identification.
The $25 total, Hampton said, is ideal for those wishing to offer gift cards.
Checks are payable to “Public Safety Celebration” and are tax-deductible. They may be mailed to:
East Cobb Business Association
Attention: Public Safety Celebration
P.O. Box 70814
Marietta, GA 30007
Here’s more from Hampton and Kim Paris, another longtime East Cobb community activist, who’s the other co-chair:
“We continue to work together to plan these appreciation events, and to raise the funds necessary to insure their success. We are reaching out to individuals, businesses, civic and other nonprofit organizations, schools, neighborhoods and churches, and hope you will join us in support of our community’s public safety heroes!”
Contact: Susan Hampton: susan.hampton@lionbank.com; Kim Paris: kim.paris@wellstar.org.
A couple of weeks after failing a health inspection, a longtime East Cobb restaurant and bar got a perfect score in a follow-up visit from Cobb and Douglas Public Health.
The Wing Cafe and Tap House (2145 Roswell Road, in the East Lake shopping center) got a 100 score during an inspection last Friday. Management posted the new report in a front window (above) and on the establishment’s Facebook page, with the following message:
“Please accept our apologies for anything that may have wavered your trust in us! We look forward to seeing you all back here soon! Thank you to all of our patrons who stuck with us during this trying time! We appreciate all of our loyal customers!”
On July 21, an inspection at The Wing Cafe resulted a score of 62 with six violations, including employees failing to wash hands, improper temperatures for food storage and a moldy ice machine.
Formerly known as the Wild Wing Cafe, The Wing Cafe marked its 22nd anniversary earlier this summer.
Because one school ribbon-cutting event this week isn’t enough (and also, because it’s right before the start of a new school year): The new Walton High School administration and classroom building will be officially opened on Sunday, starting with ribbon-cutting ceremonies at 1:30 p.m. and an Open House to follow (1590 Bill Murdock Road).
The next day, students will finally get to enjoy some elbow room as they start classes in a building that can better accommodate them. Having been subject to massive overcrowding myself (as a Wheeler student when Walton opened, too many years ago), I understand the feeling. We’ll be out there on Sunday to document all the proceedings.
The Walton ribbon-cutting comes at the end of a busy and varied weekend of events in East Cobb. See our full calendar listings for so much more, and send yours along if you don’t see it to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com). We’ve pulled out a few highlights here:
Did we miss something? Do you not see an event you think the community ought to know about? Let us know if you have calendar items to share, for this weekend and beyond. We’re working to have the best calendar listings in East Cobb, so have a look around and let us know what you think!
Have a great weekend, and stay in touch!
It’s not quite back to school—though it is hard to believe that’s exactly two weeks from today, on July 31—and the four branches of the Cobb County Public Library System in East Cobb have plenty of activities scheduled for the next two weeks.
We’ve included a good sampling of them in our East Cobb Events Calendar, and there are plenty more to peruse on the library system website. In addition to regular storytimes, this week’s events include a picnic at the Mountain View Regional branch, monthly adult book discussion groups at East Marietta and East Cobb, the monthly Gritters STEAM team event and so much more!
On Saturday, the East Cobb branch will feature a presentation on how to grow your own mushroom garden, with some expert advice from the Mushroom Club of Georgia.
Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is taking some heat for proposing a tax millage increase, and on Wednesday he is holding a town hall meeting at the East Cobb Senior Center to solicit more input.
The Cobb school board is holding a final public hearing Thursday before voting on setting its tax millage rate for 2017.
The East Cobb Business Association and Northeast Cobb Business Association are holding their monthly luncheons on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. On Wednesday, the Ashley Homestore on Roswell Road is holding a Red Cross blood drive, and the East Cobb Lions Club will be offering free vision screenings.
If you missed last week’s public input meeting on the Cobb Greenways and Trails Master Plan at East Cobb Library, there will be another meeting Tuesday from 5-6:30 at the Covenant Presbyterian Church, Canton Road and Piedmont Road.
Another end-of-summer event for kids takes place Thursday at Terrell Mill Park. The Fairy House Workshop, presented by the Cobb Water System’s Watershed Stewardship Program, includes story-reading before kids ages 3-13 create their own fairy houses.
The Marietta Campmeeting continues every day this week through Saturday, with services at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. and an ice cream social after Tuesday’s evening service, starting at 9:30 p.m. The final service takes place at 11 a.m. Sunday.
We’ll come back later this week with a preview of weekend events in East Cobb, including live entertainment and other community activities.
Please feel free to send your items—including photos, flyers, maps and PDFs if you wish—to: calendar@eastcobbnews.com, and we’ll post them promptly.
Have a great week, and please stay in touch!
A new English pub, The Black Swan Tavern, is going in where the old Churchill’s Pub used to be at 1401 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 128, in the Merchants Festival Shopping Center.
Last week the new place’s Facebook page posted photos of the start of a full renovation—literally from the ground up—as plans continue to open in “60 days or so.”
We went by there over the weekend, and saw a full tavern menu posted on the window, plus the ubiquitous English red telephone booth outside, a standard feature at the other seven pubs owned by the Dunwoody Restaurant Group.
The 8th pub will be the first in East Cobb for the company, which operates the Dunwoody Tavern, The Bat and Ball Pub, O’Brian’s Tavern and King George Tavern in Dunwoody; The Royal Oak Pub and The Ship and Anchor in Sandy Springs; and The Iron Horse Tavern in Norcross.
The pub concept isn’t that widespread in East Cobb; Keegan’s Public House on Shallowford at Johnson Ferry and the Rose & Crown on Powers Ferry are the only existing restaurants of that genre. Churchill’s was open for more than 30 years but closed in 2013 after getting an eviction notice for back rent. A location of the Copa Cabana Cafe has come and gone in the same spot.
We’ll have more updates as The Black Swan Tavern opening draws near.
Got any business news tips? Know of openings or closings? Call/text at 404-219-4278 or e-mail: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Littie Brown, the current president of the East Cobb Business Association, has been selected for the 2017-18 Leadership Cobb class of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
Brown is the president of SpeedPro Imaging of Marietta. Another ECBA member, Jonathan Page of InPrime Legal on Powers Ferry Road, also was selected for Leadership Cobb, which is a leadership development program conducted with the Kennesaw State University Coles School of Business.
Here’s more about the program from the Chamber announcement:
Leading by example allows Leadership Cobb participants to directly impact the Cobb community. Fifty diverse and qualified individuals are selected annually to participate in this leadership development program. Leadership Cobb enhances personal and professional growth while participants gain awareness of current issues, community resources and the social, political and economic needs of the community.
Leadership Cobb develops leadership skills and knowledge through its programs and retreats. Participants are introduced to a variety of viewpoints that illustrate the array of economic, political, educational and social factors at work in Cobb County. Sessions combine lectures and dialogue among speakers as well as audience interaction with leaders in all facets of the community.
Topics covered include:
| Armed Forces | Mentoring |
| Arts & Recreation | Politics |
| Economic Development | Public Safety |
| Education | Regionalism |
| Health | Social Services |
| Leadership Training |
