East Cobb Business

RENDERINGS: The Avenue East Cobb ‘jewel boxes’ concept plan

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The Avenue East Cobb renderings
Two ‘jewel box’ buildings for restaurant and retail space (front and back center) flank a stage and public plaza (center) proposed for The Avenue East Cobb.

North American Properties has filed site plan changes for The Avenue East Cobb that includes expanded restaurant and retail space and a live music stage and public plaza.

The Atlanta-based commercial real estate firm will go before the Cobb Board of Commissioners next week with a conceptual plan that has been months in the making.

As East Cobb News reported in April, the transformation of the 23-year-old retail center on Roswell Road near Johnson Ferry Road is being eyed with making it a destination space for shopping, dining and entertainment.

According to filings with the Cobb Zoning Office, NAP wants to construct two “jewel box” buildings for outdoor patio dining and small retail in the back side of the center’s current parking lot, which would become an area for optional valet service.

A permanent stage would be built for concerts in front of the current Bravura wedding fashion store, which would demolished for a public plaza with seating.

That’s what NAP has been calling its Central Boulevard, adjacent to the Kale Me Crazy and Stockyard Burgers & Bones restaurants.

The Avenue has been holding weekly live music and other events in a makeshift stage there for several months, not long after it entered into a joint partnership with PGIM to manage the 23,000-square foot retail center.

The Avenue East Cobb renderings

According to the Cobb zoning filing (you can read it here) “the applicant believes these amendments will help to keep The Avenue successful for years to come.”

NAP developed the massive Avalon mixed-use project in Alpharetta and more recently overhauled Atlantic Station and Colony Square in midtown Atlanta.

NAP officials told East Cobb News in a recent interview that while The Avenue East Cobb is a project on a smaller scale, “everyone feels it has all this potential to be tapped into.”

A number of musical, recreational and entertainment events is geared toward “everyone who comes here.”

Brittni Johnson, a spokeswoman for NAP, told East Cobb News Tuesday that she “cannot disclose the jewel box occupants at this time but [NAP officials] are planning to have a leasing update ready to share soon.”

Shops and stores in that part of the center include Michael’s, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Banana Republic and Gap. Johnson said Bravura, a wedding fashion store, will be relocating to Old Milton Parkway in Alpharetta.

The valet and concierge service will be optional, Johnson said, saying it’s designed for shoppers and patrons who choose to have that convenience.

She said there’s not a figure yet on the capacity for the plaza since that’s still in code review. But she said furniture will be added, “and it will be available for use when it’s not activated for events (i.e., eating lunch or mingling with friends).”

Like the plazas at Avalon and Colony Square, she said, “it is really meant to serve as a community gathering space—or as we like to call it the property’s ‘living room.’ ”

Since NAP’s plans don’t require rezoning, they don’t have to go before the Cobb Planning Commission. Site plan changes are listed as “Other Business” items on the agenda of the Cobb Board of Commissioners zoning hearing.

That hearing starts next Tuesday at 9 a.m., and you can view the full agenda by clicking here.

The Avenue East Cobb renderings
A concert and events stage area will include a public plaza and an optional valet and concierge service.

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Cobb Chamber seeks nominees for Honorary Commanders

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Submitted information:

The Honorary Commanders Association, a cooperative effort involving Cobb Chamber, Dobbins Air Reserve Base (ARB), General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center, Georgia National Guard, Coast Guard, National Defense Force and the Navy and Marine Corps, is seeking nominations for members of its 2023 class.

The Honorary Commanders Association annually selects community and business leaders and pairs them with military personnel in a yearlong program designed to give leaders an opportunity to learn about military activities, their impact on the economy and the various aspects of the national defense system.

Created by the Cobb Chamber in 1983, the association has grown over the years to include units of our nation’s Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Georgia National Guard, Coast Guard and National Defense Force. Each program covers a branch of service and includes a behind-the-scenes tour of local and regional military assets.

The deadline for nominations is July 12. Fill out the nomination form at https://bit.ly/3O0I6JI.  The Honorary Commanders Association is sponsored by Marriott Atlanta Northwest Galleria, Blue Sky Exhibits, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Hawthorne Global Aviation Services.

For more information about Honorary Commanders Association, contact Joel Blockton at 770-859-2348 or jblockton@cobbchamber.org.

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CobbWorks to hold job searching skills webinar Tuesday

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Submitted information:CobbWorks employment workshop series

WorkSource Cobb/CobbWorks offers a variety of training programs, workshops and on-site recruitments for numerous companies. Discover what is being offered in your area and take advantage of what your local career center offers to help you prepare for your next career.

Job leads
The CobbWorks Workforce Development Center provides a variety of services to assist people seeking employment. 
Click here to view this week’s jobs flyer.

Webinar: Perfecting your job searching skills
Brushing up on your job search skills could land you a career that aligns with your work experience, education and lifestyle. Join the Job Search Techniques webinar, 9-10:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 14.

Read more and register here or contact Cobbworks at 770-528-4300.

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Trash Taxi expands pickup, recycling services to East Cobb

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After serving north and west Cobb as well as Cherokee, Paulding and Bartow counties for the last 18 years, Trash Taxi has begun serving the East Cobb area.Trash Taxi expands East Cobb

Christi Rhyne of Trash Taxi said that weekly trash and recycling services available now for residents and businesses in ZIP codes 30062 and 30066 and starting in September, weekly recycling services will be offered.

She said one of the reasons for the reach into East Cobb is due to complaints about existing services.

“Since I live here too, I am really excited to be able to use the company I work for as my personal trash hauler,” she said.

For more information about Trash Taxi, click here or call 770-975-0926.

Trash Taxi is based in central Florida, and provides services there and in Alabama and will soon serve parts of Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

Locally, Trash Taxi of Georgia is based in Acworth, and belongs to the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, the Acworth Business Association and the Better Business Bureau.

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Cupid to deliver State of County address at Cobb Chamber event

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For the second time, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will deliver a State of the County address next week.Cupid State of Cobb County address

She’s the featured speaker at the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s Marquee Monday breakfast on June 13.

The event takes place from 8-10 a.m. at the Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre at The Battery Atlanta (800 Battery Ave.) and will include the Cobb Chamber’s presentation of its Executive Woman of the Year Award (info and registration here).

Until this year, the address from the head of county government had been delivered exclusively to the Chamber audience.

But earlier this year, Cupid added a separate event to invite the larger public. After being unable to get commissioners to provide funding, her “All In” address in April was sponsored by Wellstar Health System and other private donors. 

She spoke al length about diversity and demographics and how Cobb can “retain our strength as an affluent suburban county” without leaving other types of communities behind.

That address was before three Cityhood referendums, including one in East Cobb, were rejected by voters last month.

The county government held town halls and launched a Cityhood information page that was criticized in particular by the East Cobb Cityhood group.

Last week, in her weekly e-mail newsletter, Cupid referenced the Cityhood votes by saying that “this should be the start of new dialogue. The town halls, forums, and conversations gave us a great opportunity to hear from residents. Now is the time to consider how we can strengthen county services, create communities with a better ‘sense of place,’ and capture the heightened level of engagement these votes encouraged.

“Residents made it clear they want a role in land use, zoning, and parks programs. Hopefully, this sparks increased community engagement with commissioners and staff when it comes to amendments to our Comprehensive Plan and participation in zoning meetings. In the weeks and months ahead you can also get involved in the county’s transition to a Unified Development Code among other matters like waste collection.”

Now in her second year in office, Cupid sounded some alarm bells with Chamber leaders and local elected officials in 2021 when Cobb commissioners approved a controversial residential rezoning near the Dobbins Air Base reserve accident potential zone.

That resulted in a land swap with the county to resolve the matter, commissioners later approved a code amendment to take away their discretionary power on rezonings around Dobbins.

 

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Kendra Scott to open pop-up store at The Avenue East Cobb

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The nationwide fashion accessory retailer Kendra Scott is having a grand opening for its new pop-up store at The Avenue East Cobb on June 3.Kendra Scott opening The Avenue East Cobb

Located at Suite 940 (next to the East Cobb mural), the store will be the sixth in Georgia for Kendra Scott. The company includes more than 100 stores across the country.

The store will include current fashion collections and the Kendra Scott color bar, providing an interactive experience to create customized jewelry.

During its opening week the Kendra Scott store will host local non-profits and donate a percentage of sales—details here.

Kendra Scott also will take part in the Ladies Night Out event at Avenue East Cobb on Thursday, May 19 from 5-7 p.m. Guests can stop by the pop-up concierge station in Central Boulevard (located between Kale Me Crazy and Banana Republic) to shop the Kendra Scott trunk show and enjoy a 15 percent discount.

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East Cobb Biz Update: First Watch, Sleep Galleria openings announced

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First Watch Johnson Ferry

A second East Cobb location of the First Watch breakfast/lunch restaurant concept will be opening in the fall.

That’s the latest word from the Bradenton, Fla., company, which has more than 400 restaurants in 28 states, including one at Sandy Plains MarketPlace.

The new eatery will be converted from a former Well Fargo Bank branch at 1080 Johnson Ferry Road, on an outparcel fronting the Shops at Woodlawn and that has been used as a COVID-19 testing location.

“Right now, they are working hard to get things finished in Marietta, Ga., with the projected opening date approaching in the fall,” said First Watch message sent to East Cobb News. “We always hope for the best and know our development team is knocking out that punch list to stay on schedule.”

First Watch, which also has a location on Cherokee Street in downtown Kennesaw, serves up a variety of breakfast and lunch items, specialty juices, coffees and teas.

The Johnson Ferry corridor is a competitive one for the breakfast/lunch concept, with Goldbergs Bagels in an adjacent building, as well as J. Christopher’s, Flying Biscuit and 101 Bagel Café.

A third metro Atlanta location of Sleep Galleria is set for a July opening at Merchant’s Walk, according to a company social media message.

Sleep Galleria, which opened in 2018, has existing stores in Acworth and Johns Creek.

The store will occupy a part of the former Stein Mart space, and a construction fence has been erected (see below).

The rest of the vacant space is listed as being the future home of Marshalls, but no formal announcement has been made.

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Artisan Custom Closets named Cobb Chamber small business of the year

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Artisan Custom Closets Cobb Small Business of the Year

Artisan Custom Closets, located on Wylie Road in the East Cobb area, has been named the Cobb Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Small Business of the Year.

Artisan president Lisa Carlquist accepted the trophy with Cobb Chamber officials Monday as part of the organization’s Small Business of the Year awards luncheon.

Here’s what the Chamber said in a release about Artisan Custom Closets:

“The Artisan Custom Closets team is dedicated to finding the best possible solution for its customers by providing perfectly functional and aesthetically appealing storage systems to clients according to their storage requirements, budget, and style preferences. The team provides clients with a one-on-one consultation and 3D imaging designs before manufacturing in Marietta and installing custom pieces within the home, guiding clients through each step from start to finish.

“Artisan Custom Closets pride themselves on being the only company in Georgia to have its designers certified by the Association of Closet & Storage Professionals. Additionally, the company uses environmentally friendly products that are made from 100% recovered or recycled wood fibers. With 20,000 customers in the Atlanta area, the team’s strong work ethics, professionalism, and quality of workmanship has expanded the business to new heights.”

“Our mission is simple, to make people’s lives more organized and save them time,” Carlquist said in her business’ application. “It has been quite the journey over the last 25 years in this industry watching people start out viewing custom closets as a luxury; now, most people see them as a necessity.”

The Chamber explained that once the field was narrowed down to five finalists, a site visit by an independent panel of judges takes place. “The visit is meant to be a fresh, in-person opportunity to present the ideals, practices, values and day-to-day operations discussed in their initial application.”

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EAST COBBER magazine founder, publisher retiring after 29 years

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Nearly three decades after starting a community magazine that expanded to a community parade and festival, EAST COBBER publisher Cynthia Rozzo announced this week that she is retiring.Cynthia Rozzo, EAST COBBER magazine publisher retiring

In a publisher’s note in the May/June issue of the EAST COBBER—the 310th—Rozzo said her last day in the post will be June 29, her 60th birthday.

She also said she the EAST COBBER parade and community festival, which has not been held the last two years due to COVID, is not being staged this year as well.

“It was always my intention to provide useful and relevant information that East Cobb residents could not find anywhere else and that focused exclusively on East Cobb,” Rozzo wrote.

“After so many years of meeting readers and business owners, I am reminded every day of how many really nice people there are in this community. East Cobb has so many residents who take the initiative to help out, to share their opinions and/or talents, in order to make East Cobb County a better place to live.”

In a post script, she asked that “if there is anyone out there that wants to carry on the mission of the magazine/and or the annual parade and festival” to contact her.

Rozzo told East Cobb News that she’s working with a potential buyer in the community to continue publication.

“There are a lot of personal reasons,” she said, “but it’s just time.”

She said she wants to be available for her family—her mother and sister live in her native area of Cleveland, Ohio—and she said her husband is interested in eventually moving to Florida.

Rozzo said when she sat down two weeks ago to write the publisher’s note—typically the last task before the magazine goes to press—she said to herself that “I think this may be the time to say something. I didn’t know how to let it go.”

Rozzo started the EAST COBBER in 1993, publishing 11 times a year. The parade started in 1995, staged along Johnson Ferry Road on a Saturday morning in September.

A community festival after the parade had been held at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.

She has been active in many East Cobb community activities, including the East Cobb Business Association. Most recently, she moderated a Cityhood debate sponsored by the ECBA.

Rozzo also was named the East Cobb Citizen of the Year by the East Cobb Area Council of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

Rozzo also ran for the Georgia legislature in 2012, losing in the Republican primary to then-State Rep. Matt Dollar.

After COVID-19, the EAST COBBER began publishing six times a year.

She and her husband, George Haralabidis, who have three children who graduated from Walton High School, will be visiting his native Greece for the next few weeks while she finalizes what she hopes will be a successful transfer of a magazine she built from scratch, and that developed into an influential community enterprise.

In her note, Rozzo thanked readers for “connecting with me and your neighbors. It will take a long time for me to process the rareness of this connection, and the feeling that it’s over. But it’s not over. The changes people create in one another do not go away. You made EAST COBBER with me, and its spirit will live on in whatever comes next for us all.”

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East Cobb small businesses honored by Cobb Chamber of Commerce

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Janice Overbeck, Emory ALS research

The Janice Overbeck Real Estate and InPrime Legal were named the Top 25 small businesses of 2022 by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

They will be vying for top honors on May 16, when the Chamber will announce its small business of the year at its small business awards breakfast.

Other categories to be recognized include Top 3 Businesses to Watch, and Top 3 Next Level of Excellence businesses.

For more information, click here.

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The Avenue East Cobb’s transformation swings into high gear

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The Avenue East Cobb transformation
Lilac Wine, an Atlanta acoustic trio, is returning to The Avenue East Cobb’s Electric Avenue Friday concert series on May 27.

With warm sunshine splashing down on a glorious spring Friday evening, the easy rhythms of Lilac Wine reverberated from an impromptu stage.

The Atlanta acoustic trio covered popular tunes from the 1970s and later for a couple dozen onlookers at The Avenue East Cobb as part of the retail center’s Electric Avenue concert series.

Among them was a bluesy rendition of U2’s “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” that featured a bass solo.

Every Friday through October, local bands will be featured in what’s being called The Avenue’s Central Boulevard—the middle of the parking lot between the Kale Me Crazy eatery and the Banana Republic store.

It’s being envisioned as a permanent greenspace-style plaza surrounded by new restaurants with patios and retail shops, the heart of The Avenue’s reimagination that includes shopping, dining out and a growing array of entertainment activities.

Last summer, North American Properties—which developed the Avalon complex in Alpharetta and overhauled Colony Square and Atlantic Station in Midtown—entered into a joint partnership with present owners PGIM to manage the 23,000-square foot The Avenue, which opened on Roswell Road just east of Johnson Ferry Road in 1999 on the site of a former golf driving range.

Changes in the retail landscape and a desire to create a more dynamic lifestyle destination space prompted a dramatic conceptual revision.

The Avenue East Cobb transformation
A relaxing start to the weekend at the Electric Avenue concert.

In a recent interview with East Cobb News, NAP officials said they’ll soon be presenting site plan changes that need approval of the Cobb Board of Commissioners and going public with other details.

Four or five new restaurants are in the works, and some new retail tenants are expected to be signed soon, according to Brittni Johnson’s NAP’s public relations director.

In addition to Electric Avenue, the stage is the venue for a Comedy Live series featuring acts from the Punchline Comedy Club. A number of regular kids’ events have been added, and there are ongoing outdoor fitness and yoga classes at barre3, cooking workshops at the Olea Oliva store and cornhole leagues.

“Everyone feels it has all this potential to be tapped into,” said Sara Hemmer, NAP’s director of marketing.

PGIM was ramping up beyond some of its longstanding holiday-themed events when NAP signed on. At Avalon, NAP schedules more than 200 events a year.

But that’s a much larger facility than The Avenue, and the NAP team started with a Fall Fest and Halloween events and has built from there.

A first-ever Menorah lighting was a success, drawing several hundred attendees, and plans are to make that an annual event, along with Christmas-themed activities.

Initially, the plaza area was planned for the front of the mall. But Hemmer said there were some noise complaints from nearby residents following some of the concerts.

“That was another reason to move it to the middle,” Hemmer said.

The reconfigured location is in close proximity to nearby restaurants, and as Lilac Wine continued to play, a couple emerged from Stockyard Burgers & Bones, beers in hand (guests can bring their own food to stage events but not beverages).

The Avenue East Cobb transformation
A rebranded swag bag

The new Vanilla Café e Gelato coffee shop is also within earshot.

As the overhaul planning has continued, NAP has met with residents of the nearby Easthampton subdivision, as well as the East Cobb Civic Association.

Michael Saadaala, director of property operations at The Avenue, said that they don’t want the community to have any unexpected surprises as the final plans are presented.

NAP officials are scheduled to visit the retail center this week before those plans are formally submitted to the county. Hemmer said that barring delays, construction could begin by August, with completion in the first quarter of 2023.

Another key feature will be a valet and concierge service for those who want it. But it will be optional, and self-parking will still be available.

“For those who want to spend the money, they’re going to get the service,” said Saadaala, who spent 18 years in hospitality operations with the Four Seasons hotel and resort chain.

He’s part of a current NAP team onsite that has four people, but that could grow to around 15 once the valet and concierge services begin.

“They will be face and voice of our property,” Hemmer said in reference to the concierge staff. “They’ll be putting the hospitality component into our events.”

Another part of the overhaul that goes beyond bricks-and-mortar is a rebranding of The Avenue, including a new logo.

A branding design guide includes messaging such as “The Avenue is the shopping center known for being East Cobb’s every day adventure” and “East Cobb’s gathering spot to shop, eat and say hello.”

While some of the new concept is geared around drawing in families with younger children, the comedy shows are aimed at ages 13 and older.

The overall idea, Hemmer said, is to appeal to “everyone who is coming here,” noting that some of the more avid cornhole participants are empty-nesters.

“We want everyone to feel like there’s something here for them to enjoy.”

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Health care outsourcer Soliant holds ribbon-cutting for Cobb office

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Soliant Ribbon Cutting Cobb County

Last week Soliant, a health care, education and life sciences staff outsourcing company, held a ribbon-cutting for its new Cobb offices at the Atlanta Galleria Office Park.

The new space includes nearly 23,000 square feet and initially will have 130 employees, with a goal of having up to 300 employees by 2023.

Soliant currently has a workforce in metro Atlanta of around 850 employees, including a recent expansion in Peachtree Corners.

The company has other locations in Tampa, Boston and Jacksonville.

Solana was founded in Atlanta in 1992 The Atlanta Galleria Office Park will offer convenient amenities to Soliant’s internal colleagues, including a fitness center, outdoor sports league and fitness, daycare, concierge service, on-site restaurant, café, bike share, and electric vehicle charging stations. They also have direct access to The Battery, which includes Truist Park, home of the 2021 World Series Champions the Atlanta Braves, as well as more than 500,000 square-feet of dining and entertainment options.

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Marshalls not confirming move to Merchant’s Walk—for now

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Marshall's Merchant Walk East Cobb

For several months, Edens Real Estate—which owns and operates the Merchants Walk Shopping Center in East Cobb—has listed a Marshalls retail store (1311 Johnson Ferry Road) in its directory as a soon-to-be-occupant of some of the former Stein Mart space.

While there’s no indication on the exterior of what’s coming, we checked recently with Edens to get some more information.

East Cobb News was told last month that Edens doesn’t comment about such matters regarding its tenants, and we were referred to a spokeswoman for The TJX Companies, Marshalls’ parent company.

She said in response to our request for information that “although we appreciate your inquiry, Marshalls has not announced any store changes in Marietta at this point.”

These aren’t uncommon replies from corporate retail companies, who like to announce openings and relocations on their own time.

But we continue to get queries from readers, and have contacted TJX again and will post more when we get an update about when the store may be opening.

Marshalls has been located in East Cobb as an anchor the East Lake Shopping Center for many years, but Brixmor, the landlord of that property, has the Marshalls space listed on its directory as being available.

In January, ToNeTo, an Atlanta blog focusing on retail and restaurant news, cited an unnamed Marshalls source saying that the store would be moving from East Lake to Merchant’s Walk and taking up most, but not all, of the Stein Mart space.

There’s not much space available at Merchant’s Walk. Roadrunner Sports has moved from a space adjacent to the Stein Mart space to Suite 310, and the Verizon Store has moved to Suite 90, where Nuvo Salon was located.

Next Door, Suite 70, the old Calico Home space, is available.

Suite 470, the free-standing building near Whole Foods were Verizon was previously located, will become a One Medical location.

The former 18/8 men’s clothing store (Suite 120) also is vacant. Suite 440, which had housed a Bar Method fitness studio, will be occupied by a Perspire Sauna Studio.

Marshalls Merchant's Walk East Cobb
Marshalls would occupy most of the former Stein Mart location, according to a Merchant’s Walk map posted by Edens Real Estate, the retail center owner.

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101 Bagel Café opens in East Cobb with New York-style taste

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101 Bagel Cafe opens East Cobb
General manager Michael Masters demonstrates the bagel boiling process that customers can watch (via window at right), with a stone oven in the background.

What’s the difference between a standard bagel and a New York—make that Brooklyn—bagel?

Boiling and baking them, said Michael Masters, general manager of the 101 Bagel Café that opened late last week in East Cobb.

It’s a process that’s done on the premises, in the former Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop at 4811 Lower Roswell Road, at Johnson Ferry Road.

Specifically, Masters explains, it’s all about the water used for the boiling, and a 14-step process to get rather close to the taste of the Catskills water that made New York bagels famous.

“It’s very special water,” he says, “and you can taste the difference.”

The water and the bagel ingredients are delivered daily from a comissary, and three batches of bagels are made daily (you can watch a video of the process here).

Masters, who previously was GM of the first 101 Bagel Café, says these bagels have a crisper taste.

“I’ve eaten more bagels over the last four years than I did in my entire life before this,” he said.

The flavors, and the toppings, are endless. The bagels can be plain, wheat, garlic and onion, egg, sesame, poppyseed, cinnamon and raisin and blueberry.

His favorite is jalapeño cheddar, and there’s Asiago cheese and plain bagel colored rainbow-style.

As for the cream cheese schmears, customers can also choose from jalapeño cheddar, strawberry, honey almond, bacon and scallion and a nova lox spread, among others.

Those also are made at the store, which also sells muffins, omelettes, wraps, melts, soups, hashbrowns, juices, coffee and energy drinks.

As Masters talked, staffers were busy setting up and accepting deliveries. The store had a soft opening on Friday, and owner/operator Rob Miller said a ribbon-cutting and more formal promotions will be coming soon.

The East Cobb location is the third 101 Bagel Café to open since the initial spot on Cobb Parkway near The Battery in 2018.

There’s another in Duluth, and in the coming months locations will open in Dunwoody and Milton.

East Cobb was an easy choice, Miller said, given a sizable Jewish community with three synagogues here (and three more in Roswell) and established bagel eateries nearby.

“I know Bagelicious [on Johnson Ferry Road] has been around forever,” said Miller, who moved to Atlanta from Miami three years ago.

A former behavioral psychologist, he ran a coffee shop and events space there, his foray in the food business.

As he was settling in Atlanta, the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

While the initial 101 Bagel Café was affected for a time by closures, the situation meant that “I had to get creative with my business.”

A mobile app was created and curbside service was introduced, and Miller said his employees for the most part “stuck with us.”

Supply chain issues and inflation have prompted a price increase for a bagel—it’s $1.59, up from $1.29, Miller said, but he vowed that “they’re not going up for the next 12 months.”

He has a business partner who shares his commitment to stay focused on incremental growth in carefully selected locations.

The East Cobb store has a viewing window for customers to watch the boiling and baking process, and there are three large tables inside.

A patio in front will have up to six tables, and Miller’s longer-term plans are to have some live musical entertainment.

101 Bagel Café
4811 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 1112
Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
Website

101 Bagel Cafe opens East Cobb
Patio tables and chairs will soon front what had been a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop at Lower Roswell and Johnson Ferry roads.

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Kroger holds groundbreaking at MarketPlace Terrell Mill

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Kroger MarketPlace Terrell Mill groundbreaking
Pictured L-R: JR Connolly, Connolly Investments; Bob Ott, former Cobb County Commissioner; Mike Servold, VP of Operations, Kroger; Jerica Richardson, Cobb County Commissioner; Victor Smith, President, Kroger Atlanta Division; Ruben Fernandez, VP of Merchandising, Kroger; Patti Rice, Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance; Henry Simpson, Project Manager, Kroger; Brandon Ashkouti, Eden Rock Real Estate Partners; Paul Harrell, Robertson Lois Roof Architects.

The centerpiece of the MarketPlace Terrell Mill mixed-use project will be under construction soon.

Kroger held a groundbreaking celebration Tuesday for its planned superstore at 1310 Powers Ferry Road.

It’s on the site of the former campus of Brumby Elementary School, and is the last component of the development to get underway.

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, current commissioner Jerica Richardson and former commissioner Bob Ott were on hand, as were representatives of the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance.

The Kroger store will total 90,000 square feet and will include a gas station. Completion is expected by March 2023.

Inside the store the features will include a cheese shop, expanded deli offerings, grocery pickup and self checkouts.

It will replace the Kroger store at Powers Ferry and Delk Road.

“This new store signifies Kroger’s ongoing commitment to the community and to the ongoing economic prosperity of the region,” said Felix Turner, Kroger’s manager of corporate affairs for the Atlanta division.

Kroger received $35 million tax abatements from the Development Authority of Cobb County, but a Cobb judge rejected issuing those bonds after a legal challenge from Larry Savage, an East Cobb resident who has run for Cobb commission chairman.

But in 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the issuing of the bonds. Kroger had indicated it might pull out of the project if it didn’t get the tax breaks.

The 23 acres at the southwest intersection of Powers Ferry Road and Terrell Mill Road was rezoned for the mixed-use project in 2018, and regarded as a transformational redevelopment in the community.

In addition to a 289-unit apartment building, the $120 million MarketPlace Terrell Mill development includes retail and restaurant space.

Among the new business there is a Regions Bank, Lush Nail Salon and Ideal Dental. Restaurants include Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread, Wendy’s and Los Abuelos Mexican Grill.

The first building to be completed in the complex is Extra Space Storage, a self-storage facility.

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East Cobb attorneys to hold Friday food truck events through June

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The Auto Accident Attorneys Group (1454 Johnson Ferry Road) will be having a food truck event every Friday at its premises from April 8 to June 24.AAG Food Truck Friday

The events take place from 4-7 p.m. each Friday, with a variety of food vendors on hand (here’s an early schedule, with menu tabs).

The debut food truck lineup includes Island Chef (Caribbean items), Willie B’s Sisters (soul/comfort food), Baltimore Crab Cake ATL and Hermanas Italian Ice.

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Cobb library system to participate in Virtual Money Smart Week

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Cobb library Virtual Money Smart Week

Submitted information:

Money Smart Week 2022 will be held Saturday, April 9 – Saturday, April 16. This week-long free virtual programming provided by governmental, non-profit, and educational institutions will focus on supporting the needs of low-to-moderate income households to encourage greater financial well-being in our communities.

This year’s line-up includes:

  • Monday, April 11: 2 pm: Spend Smart. Eat Smart, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (register here)
  • Tuesday, April 12, 2 pm: Credit: Build & Improve It!, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (register here)
  • Wednesday, April 13, 2 pm: Buying or Refinancing a Home: Options & Tools, North West Housing Partnership (register here)
  • Thursday, April 14, 2 pm: Social Security: Understanding Retirement, Spouse, & Survivor Benefits, Social Security Administration (register here)

View more details at www.moneysmartweek.org. Registration is advised. Questions for the panelists can be submitted during the registration process.

For more information, click here.

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New East Cobb Christian bookstore holding ‘soft opening’ Saturday

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All Things Inspiration, East Cobb Christian bookstore opening

LaVonya Williams-Tensley, owner of All Things Inspiration, a new Christian bookstore serving the East Cobb area, reached out to us about her business having what she’s calling a “soft opening” on Saturday.

The address is 2745 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 156, in The Corners Shopping Center (where the Queen of Hearts antique store is located), and the opening event lasts from 12-4 p.m. Saturday.

It’s the second such store for Williams-Tensley, who also has a store on Veterans Memorial Highway in Austell with the same name.

All Things Inspirational sells books and Bibbles, Bible study materials, church supplies, gifts, and games, music and DVDS. For more information you can click here or call 786-208-4560.

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AAA: Cobb, Georgia gas prices reach an all-time high

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Cobb Georgia gas prices all-time high

Gas prices in the East Cobb area have been holding steady for a few days, many of them at $4.29 a gallon for unleaded like this Kroger station at the Pavilions at East Lake.

But AAA—The Auto Club Group says gas prices in Georgia are averaging an all-time high, more than the recession of 2008-09, when the average in the state was as high as $4.16.

AAA spokeswoman Montrae Waters said that $4.29 average across the state is a record, up 32 cents from last week, nearly a dollar from last month, and $1.61 from March 2021.

That means that a 15-gallon tank costs $64.35 to fill.

The national average is $4.32, with gas costing in excess of $6 a gallon in some parts of California.

The costs figure to increase as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, and Waters said that “unfortunately, drivers should anticipate gas prices to remain high for weeks to come.”

Some tips from AAA-The Auto Club Group on saving money on gas:

  • Slow down — if you’re on the highway, know that gas use increases as your car passes 50 mph. If you drive the speed limit, you could reduce your car’s fuel consumption.
  • Drive more gently — gradually brake and accelerate, rather than stomping on the gas pedal or brake pedal.
  • Avoid engine idling — it can waste fuel.
  • Make one trip, instead of many — make a comprehensive list of items you need to buy and then make a single trip outside of your home, rather than multiple short trips.
  • Clean out the car — lighter cars use less fuel. Get the junk out of your trunk, cargo areas and passenger compartments.
  • Stay regular on vehicle maintenance — get your car checked out regularly and make sure your tires are filled to the correct pressure level.

You can check more gas prices by clicking here.

 

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KSU economist to discuss East Cobb economic forecast

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Dr. Roger Tutterow, an economics professor at Kennesaw State University, will discuss the economic forecast for the East Cobb area on March 29 at a luncheon of the East Cobb Area Council of the Chamber of Commerce.Roger Tutterow, KSU economist

Tutterow is Chief Economic Advisor for Henssler Financial and is the Director of the Econometric Center in the Coles College of Business at KSU.

He also has been an economic adviser to former Georgia governors and current Gov. Brian Kemp.

His appearance comes as inflation has reached a 40-year high in metro Atlanta. The costs for fuel, food, energy and other basics have risen by an average of nearly 10 percent over the past year, according to the consumer price index of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The East Cobb Area Council luncheon begins at 12 p.m. March 29 at Indian Hills Country Club (4001 Clubland Drive). Tickets are $30 for Cobb Chamber members and $40 for general admission.

Registration is open until March 24 and can be completed by clicking here.

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