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!
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!
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!
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!
After several weeks of a soft opening period, Pho Hoa and Jazen Tea is holding a grand opening celebration this weekend.
The Vietnamese-style franchise opened its first Georgia location at Market Plaza in the former Kouzina Christos and Aurelio’s space (1255 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 22) in May.
Owner Leo Zheng announced that on Saturday and Sunday, pho entrees and drinks will be 50 percent off, and there will be other gift giveaways during the weekend.
In addition to a variety of pho specialties (spicy beef stock with noodles and protein, including brisket, chicken and shrimp), Pho Hoa serves up rolls, rice and vermicelli plates and banh mi, a baguette-style Vietnamese sandwich.
In addition to the Jazen Tea specialties, other drink offerings include tropical specialties and smoothies and slushies.
Pho Hoa is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; more updates on its Facebook page.
Einstein Bros. Bagel opens
The second Einstein Bros. Bagels shop in Cobb County has opened at Providence Square Shopping Center (4101 Roswell Road, Suite 801), between Sprouts and Mattress Firm, as we first reported in May.
The company sent out a release Monday with the following information:
To celebrate, for the next two weeks at the new Marietta location, guests can enjoy a BOGO Free Egg Sandwich when they order in bakery, online, or in the app with code BOGO.
“We’re thrilled to bring our fresh-baked breakfast to the Marietta community,” said Adam Modzel, Chief Operations Officer at Einstein Bros. Bagels. “Atlanta has always been a welcoming market for us, and we’re excited to serve even more guests in this vibrant area. There’s no better way to start the day than with a warm, delicious bagel – and that’s exactly what we’re proud to deliver.”
Hours are daily from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.; here’s the store’s website with more information.
Wing Café bash
The Wing Café and Tap House (2145 Roswell Road, Suite 170) is celebrating its 30th anniversary Saturday with a Pig Roast starting at 2 p.m.
The event features a full pig roast, live music from Baditude, featured beers from New Realm Brewing and whiskey specials from WhistlePig (more details here).
An independent establishment for more than 20 years, Wing Café originally opened in the East Lake Shopping Center in 1995 as part of the North Carolina-based Wild Wing Café chain, which still has locations in Alpharetta and Dacula.
It still retains the neighborhood tavern and features a variety of live music on the weekends, and has a Tiki Bar that’s open seasonally.
ECBA July events
The Professional Women of East Cobb will hold its monthly luncheon on Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at J. Christopher’s at Woodlawn Square (1205 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 114).
The cost is $20 for East Cobb Business Association members and $30 for non-members, and you can register in advance at this link. The event includes networking and a speaker from among the membership.
The objective, according to the ECBA, is “to build relationships with other East Cobb businesswomen. This group is intended to support, learn, and grow from one another.”
The featured speaker at the July 15 ECBA luncheon is Rainy Lynn, who will discuss “Experience Over Exposure: Building Deeper Client Connections,” devoted to developing marketing experiences that “that drive real engagement, brand loyalty, and long-term growth.”
The event, which lasts from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Wellstar East Cobb Health Park (3747 Roswell Road) includes lunch and open networking.
The cost is $20 for ECBA members and $25 for non-members and you can sign up at this link.
There’s no ECBA After-Hours networking event in July.
NCBA on hiatus
The Northeast Cobb Business Association will resume activities in August.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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 gourmet toast and juice bar Toastique is opening a location soon in East Cobb, in Pinestraw Place (4250 Roswell Road, Suite 150).
That’s next to Trader Joe’s and in the former Dan’s Fan City space, and it will be second Toastique in metro Atlanta.
The concept that started in Washington, D.C. in 2018 opened in Midtown last year, and has locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
The Toastique website says there will be more expansion in “Atlanta” in 2025 but didn’t specify East Cobb.
The franchise operators are Rex and Leslie Sheridan, an East Cobb-area married couple.
Rex Sheridan told East Cobb News that the target opening is the fall, and that “we are excited to bring healthy, delicious food with a great atmosphere and convenient location to our neighbors in East Cobb.”
In addition to gourmet toasts, the Toastique menu includes bowls, coffees and teas, smoothies and cold-pressed juices, grab and go snacks and wellness shots.
Featured items include an Avocado smash toast and a hummus Greek toast.
The Toastique founder, Brianna Keefe, says on the company website that “Toastique is where beauty and all-day brunch-y goodness come together to break bread, and smoothies, and coffee, and juices . . .
“We are the fast-casual, modern dining your inner health nut has been waiting for.”
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!
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!
East Cobb will be getting a Einstein Bros. Bagel location soon.
Renovations are getting underway at a space at Providence Square Shopping Center (4101 Roswell Road, Suite 801), between Sprouts and Mattress Firm.
The store’s website says it’s open, but when we went by on Monday, there was only a branded “coming soon” sign and the start of filling out of the interior.
In response to a message from East Cobb News, Gabe Washburn, a public relations representative for Einstein Bros., said that “I don’t have a hard opening date quite yet, but we are hoping to be open early summer.”
This will be the second Einstein Bros. in Cobb County (along with another on Barrett Parkway) and 22nd in metro Atlanta.
In addition to bagel items, Einstein Bros. serves up bagel-based breakfast and lunch sandwiches. The company began in 1995 by Boston Chicken and was purchased along with Caribou Coffee by Panera Breads in 2021.
The fruit-bowl shop chain Playa Bowls will be entering the East Cobb market soon.
The 11-year-old New Jersey-based company will be occupying space at Woodlawn Square Shopping Center formerly held by Clean Juice (1255 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 124).
Playa Bowls serves a menu of açaí, pitaya, coconut bowls and smoothies, inspired by surf locations in the U.S. and Central America.
The chain has more than 300 locations, including eight in Georgia. The East Cobb store will be the first in Cobb County.
Clean Juice did not announce a closing, but the Woodlawn Square shop’s location is no longer listed on the company website. Its most recent social media posting was in early April.
Following up the Taste of East Cobb, here are some of the honorees as chosen by attendees:
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!
Several months after attempting to turn a Canton Road restaurant into a liquor store, the owner of Bay Breeze Seafood said the dining establishment is “closed until further notice.”
In a posting on Facebook Friday night, Bay Breeze management didn’t give a reason, and didn’t indicate if or when the restaurant might reopen.
“After 15 years I am sad to say that we will be closed until further notice. Thank you all for your support and for being part of the Bay Breeze Marietta Family!” the message stated.
“If you are looking for delicious seafood and Bay Breeze favorites come visit us at our location in Mableton, Georgia. Marietta gift cards are still valid there. Thank you all!”
East Cobb News has left a message with Bay Breeze seeking more information.
Bay Breeze is located at 2418 Canton Road, just below the intersection of Piedmont Road, and specialized in serving fresh grilled and fried seafood entrees and platters.
But last fall, ownership applied with Cobb County government to convert the 10,000-square-foot freestanding building into a liquor store.
The Cobb Business License Division denied the application after community opposition surfaced, and the denial was upheld by the Cobb Business License Review Board.
Owner Steve Constantinou appealed those denials, and his request was to have gone before the Cobb Board of Commissioners in September.
But a week later, Constantinou withdrew the request for an appeal with prejudice, meaning the case could not come back up again.
Several commenters on Bay Breeze’s Facebook posting Friday and Saturday said they were surprised by the news of the restaurant’s closure.
A woman said she drove 45 minutes to dine there “and the doors were locked and lights were out.”
Another poster replied that “well you can blame that on our owner. He didn’t tell us anything. We had all been there for years and now we are jobless. We were told we might open back up, but now seeing this post, I guess that’s not happening.”
Another customer said that the “last time I went there the food was not what it use to be and prices had gone up a lot. Used to go couple of times a week. Sorry.”
In addition to the Mableton location on Veterans Memorial Highway, Bay Breeze also operates a restaurant in Hampton, south of Atlanta.
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!
A chicken salad mini-croissant and tomato basil pasta from La Madeleine was a lunch unto itself. ECN photos and video.
The sheer variety of food to be sampled at the 17th Taste of East Cobb should not be taken for granted.
In fact, it should be savored. Really, really savored.
The festival is one of East Cobb’s signature events at any time on the calendar, and as I’ve written before, it brings out as much of a cross-section of the community as anything I can think of.
After all, ya gotta eat, and even though some slight rain may have dampened the turnout compared to more sunny occasions, this Taste of East Cobb had something for just about any palate.
And mine was wide open for tantalizing options all around my booth, back near the Kids Zone.
Beef shawarma wrap from Cafe Rivkah
Armed with food tickets as a sponsor, I wanted to try a little bit of everything, and there was plenty of that beyond the volume of eateries that offered bites of their menu Saturday at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.
First of all, I got to spend the day next to the crew at Wimal Authentic Thai, which opened up in recent months at Sandy Plains Centre.
Their grilled chicken skewers were juicy and tasty, and perfect when plunged into a sweet, nutty dipping sauce.
The aroma was incredible to take in for hours.
Right behind me was one of my favorite neighborhood spots in East Cobb, Cafe Rivkah, which served up a beef shawarma wrap with cucumbers and red onions.
While that eatery at the Pavilions at East Lake is known for its fresh bakery and breakfast dishes, lunch fare with a Middle Eastern flair is an underrated option.
In pacing myself over the course of a six-hour food festival, I waited a bit to try something else, and a few tables down stood LaMadeleine, another bakery cafe with a popular East Cobb location at Providence Square.
A mini-croissant with chicken salad and side serving of tomato basil pasta salad paired rather nicely, filling and delicious.
At that point, I waited a couple hours to nosh yet again, and found the Marlow’s Tavern table. Last year, they were next to me, and once again offered up backyard-grill-quality cheeseburger sliders and fried green tomatoes.
Attendees scarf up Marlow’s Tavern cheeseburger sliders.
If you were looking for interesting pairings, this was your food festival.
Dessert loomed, and while my food preferences typically favor the savory over the sweet, the baklava from Mediterranean Grill was hard to pass up. Flaky and not too sweet, the honey-laced filling melted easy upon taste.
And finally, staring across from me all day were the light treats at Smallcakes. A second dessert is a rare occasion for me, but this is a once-a-year food festival, and the strawberry mini-cupcakes hit my fruit spot.
As the last hour of the Taste of East Cobb arrived, so did the sun, and I took a bit of a respite enjoying the sounds of the Walton High School jazz band (see video below).
The Walton Band Parent Association takes all the proceeds from the food tickets you bought and puts them into band programs at the school, and the benefits to the community go far beyond that.
Jazz bands from Wheeler and Kell high schools were there to perform, as well as from Dickerson Middle School.
As you can probably tell from my words above, I’ll never be confused with a dining critic. In fact, I’m not a fancy foodie at all, but the combination of community outreach, local restaurants and small businesses coming together to celebrate this place we call home is something I’m proud to be a part of at this event.
I wish I could have gone to more restaurant booths, but for the record Sterling Estates East Cobb won the “Best Taste” award for the fifth year in a row.
Strawberry cupcakes from Smallcakes.
The rookie award—for a new restaurant—went to Aapka Food Adda, the latest addition to the growing Indian restaurant roster in East Cobb.
And finally thanks to all of you who stopped by our tent to say hello! It was great to reconnect with familiar readers, meet new ones and take part as a sponsor for the third year in a row.
The Walton Band Parent Association makes this event as easy for the sponsors and vendors as it does for the public, and that’s no small feat.
We’re grateful to be a part, and are looking forward to next year already!
(Click the middle button below to view the photo slideshow.)
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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!
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!
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!
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!
