The proposal by Valvoline Instant Oil Change to build a 2,088-square-foot building at the site of a former Chevron station was included on the commissioners’ consent agenda during a rezoning hearing.
The new business will have three bays and will have access on a right-in, right-out basis. Plans call for a landscaping plan and 15 parking spaces. The Chevron station, which closed in 2020, was demolished last year and the nearly three-acre tract has stood vacant ever since.
The land stands in front of, but is not part of, the Merchants Festival Shopping Center.
Also submitted before the vote were comments by the East Cobb Civic Association that were not immediately available online.
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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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The Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County wish to thank the community for coming out and supporting our 22nd Annual Plant Sale and Expo. About 3,000 guests supported almost 100 vendors selling plants and crafts over this two-day event. Mark your calendars for April 21-22, 2023 for next year’s event.
Birdhouses, art and other garden decoratives for sale.
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(L-R) John Kone, Marietta Golden K president elect; Kaye Cagle, Vice President of MUST Marketing; Rev. Ike Reighard, Senior Pastor Piedmont Church and MUST CEO; Rosie Teague, Vice President of Marietta Golden K and MUST ministries chairperson.
Submitted information and photos:
On April 2 members of the Kiwanis Club of Marietta Golden K toured the “state of the art” MUST Ministries HOPE HOUSE. Kiwanis members Jim Perry, Rosie Teague and John Kone joined alongside other visitors as they toured the $14 million Hope House.
Kaye Cagle, VP of Marketing & PR added, “The shelter was $16 million of the consolidated campus expense of $23 million. We are now remodeling the Marietta Client Services and Headquarters building next door to the shelter and some funds went toward paying off the Donation Center behind the shelter.”
MGK members are regular “food donation” contributors to MUST Ministries and on the 1st Thursday of each month, MGK members bring in their food donations. After the meeting, members take the food sacks out to the parking lot where they are loaded into the trunk of Rosie Teague (Vice President of MGK and MUST Ministries designated chairperson). Then, Rosie takes the food over to MUST Ministries.
The new shelter includes the following:
43,556 square feet and two stories
136 beds and 36 respite beds for inclement weather
A chapel, where clients can pray and have a moment of reflection
The dining hall features picture windows to help alleviate claustrophobia
A rooftop retreat for families features play areas, tables and seating
The playground area allows our youngest casualties of poverty to play during their time at the MUST Hope House
Clients with minor medical needs can be seen by medical professionals in one the three examination rooms
Those in need of clothing can “shop” at an onsite clothing boutique.
10 Family Rooms with 5 beds and a private bath in each allows families to stay together.
The Children’s Afterschool Learning Center allows children to read, study, do homework and work with tutors.
Workforce development offers clients private rooms to make phone calls and work on resumes and job applications. A computer lab houses 10 work stations and a “jobs” professional.
Other amenities include:
Two classrooms
Staff Offices
Laundry rooms
Outreach showers and restrooms
Staff and volunteer breakrooms
Meeting/conference rooms
Staff workrooms
For the past 33 years, MUST has given thousands of families shelter in the Elizabeth Inn in Marietta.
But we wanted to do more, help more, and have a place for those families that was built with their needs at the forefront. Thanks to a successful capital campaign and an ambitious vision, the MUST team designed and built this new shelter to house those experiencing homelessness, while also being one of the first in the nation to do so. At the MUST Hope House, MUST is able to more than double the number of people we are able to shelter and serve. This shelter not only gives those in need a place to sleep – its amenities provide them with a sense of dignity and respect.
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An attorney who’s filed lawsuits in Cobb Superior Court to stop May referendums to create cities in Vinings and Lost Mountain said it’s “inevitable” a similar lawsuit will be filed to prevent a referendum next month in East Cobb.
But Allen Lightcap, an Atlanta lawyer, told East Cobb News Thursday that he’s not involved in a potential East Cobb lawsuit.
Proposed East Cobb city boundaries include three council districts. For a larger view click here.
“There will be a suit,” he said, “but I’m not part of it.”
Lightcap said he doesn’t know which parties may be approached about serving as plaintiffs in an East Cobb lawsuit, but anticipates that one will be filed soon.
That’s because it’s a little more than six weeks before May 24 referendums in Vinings, Lost Mountain and East Cobb.
Last week, Lightcap filed suit to stop the Vinings referendum (you can read it here) on behalf of Joseph Young, a Vinings resident who was a legislative director to former Gov. Roy Barnes.
On Wednesday, Lightcap’s suit (you can read it here) names Dora Locklear, the head of West Cobb Advocate, a group fighting Lost Mountain Cityhood, as a plaintiff.
Both suits were filed against the Cobb Board of Elections in order to stop the referendums due to what Lightcap calls unconstitutional language.
State law requires cities to provide three services, and under home rule provisions they can choose from a list of 14 services.
The Vinings, Lost Mountain and East Cobb bills passed by the legislature this session and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp specify in their proposed charters which services those cities would be providing.
Under the Georgia Constitution, that cannot be done via local legislation, according to the two lawsuits, which have been assigned to Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard.
No hearings have been scheduled for either lawsuit, according to court records.
The Vinings bill includes a charter saying that city “shall” provide specific services: planning and zoning, code enforcement and parks and recreation.
The same language is included in the bill for Lost Mountain, which would provide planning and zoning, code enforcement and sanitation services.
The proposed East Cobb charter calls for planning and zoning, code enforcement, police, fire and parks and recreation services.
As we noted last week, here’s the provision of the East Cobb bill (you can read it here) that specifies which services the city “shall” provide, in lines 157-161:
“Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the city shall exercise the powers enumerated in subsection (a) of this section only for the purposes of planning and zoning, code adoption and enforcement, parks and recreation, police and law enforcement services, fire and emergency services, and those items directly related to the provision of such services and for the general administration of the city in providing such services.”
A fourth cityhood referendum in Cobb, in Mableton, is expected to take place in November, but that legislation doesn’t contain the same language about specific provision of services.
But a county spokesman said they will continue, including a town hall next week in Vinings, and that Cobb officials are providing objective information for citizens who’ve been asking.
Representatives from the East Cobb Cityhood Committee and the East Cobb Alliance will be debating the referendum twice in coming weeks, including a Tuesday forum sponsored by the East Cobb Business Association at Olde Towne Athletic Club.
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The Gold Branch Unit trails of the Chattahoochee NRA in East Cobb. Photo: National Park Service
The National Park Service is soliciting comments from the public about major proposed changes to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
The feedback period ends April 30 for the Chattahoochee NRA’s Comprehensive Trails Management Plan and Environmental Assessment. You can read through and download the 508-page report and related documents and submit comments online by clicking here.
The Chattahoochee NRA currently has 65 miles of trails and in 2021 attracted more than 3 million visitors. The proposed changes would cost around $10 million.
The proposal includes changes to the design and feel of the Gold Branch, Johnson Ferry and Cochratrails in East Cobb.
The “desired condition statement” for the Gold Branch Unit would be to provide “active and scenic opportunities for birding, hiking, and trail running, including longer duration hikes and runs that include both ridgetop and water-adjacent trail experiences.”
To accomplish that. the report states (page 33), the trail system would be redesigned “to take advantage of the significant topography and be more conducive to hiking and running.”
That would include constructing 1.8 miles of contour-aligned trails would be constructed and limiting trail access points while existing the parking lot at the main trailhead.
An ongoing Hyde Farm Trail and Environmental Assessment would help drive proposed changes to the Johnson Ferry North trail, including a potential new trail to connect to the 1830s farmhouse and community garden.
The Cochran Shoals trails would undergo a “full-scale redevelopment and environmental restoration to create a sustainable, manageable trail system with a high diversity of quality trail experiences.”
That would include overlaying two “largely separate” trail networks—one for pedestrians only and another that would allow cyclists.
During periods of heavy use in what’s been a very busy portion of the trail system, bidirectional traffic requirements, alternate day uses or separate trail segments might be implemented, according to the report.
The Sope Creek mileage area would be increased from its current 9.4 miles.
The report also contains information about environmental impact and several appendices with maps and other information and data about the Chattahoochee NRA.
If you prefer to submit written comments via standard mail, here’s the address:
National Park Service
Denver Service Center
Attn: CRNRA Trails Plan / Charles Lawson
12795 West Alameda Pkwy
Denver, CO 80228
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On Wednesday, March 30th, The Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team held a BBQ lunch to honor some of Cobb County’s finest. Local police officers, K-9 units, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and military veterans & personnel congregated on the private patio and enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs and a variety of sides served by The Capital City Home Loans Food Truck.
This appreciation lunch gave local citizens and businesses a chance to say “thank you” to some of the hardest-working men and women in the community. Local partners such as Arrow Exterminators and AmeriSpec showered our heroes with praise and some fun swag to show their gratitude.
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The Cobb Board of Education is beginning the process for adopting the fiscal year 2023 budget, and will start holding public hearings next week.
The first public hearing is scheduled for next Thursday, April 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the board room of the Cobb County School District central office (514 Glover St., Marietta).
That’s before the board’s monthly business meeting at 7 p.m. The hearings also will be available for public comment on the district’s allocation of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funding.
Members of the public wishing to speak can do so at that time, and will be able to sign up between 6-6:25 p.m. Speakers will have between 1-5 minutes to speak, with time to be determined by the board chairman.
A tentative budget request is expected to be made to the board at a work session Thursday that starts at 2 p.m.
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Brumby Elementary School is the proud new owner of what may be the first Non-Fungible Token (NFT) work of art at a public school in the U.S.
“The Aku Mural” is the collaboration of Brumby, its foundation, the Cobb County School District and a local non-profit, PaintLove and artists to transform what had been a blank 1,100-square-foot retaining wall into an inspiration for students.
The muralist is Muhammad Yungui, and the artwork is designed to serve as a backdrop for school community events, including musical performances, cookouts and movie nights.
“The Aku movement seeks to serve as a source of inspiration for children to dream big and not allow limits to be set on their dreams,” the district release states. “While Aku inspires children to chase their dreams, he is also about building a community where members help and encourage the success of others.”
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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 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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The following Cobb food scores for the week of April 11 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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As it did in 2019, the East Cobb Business Association is sponsoring a Cityhood debate. (ECN photo by Wendy Parker)
Two debates on the upcoming East Cobb Cityhood referendum have sold out for citizens wishing to attend in person.
The East Cobb Business Association has scheduled a debate for next Tuesday, April 19, at the Olde Towne Athletic Club (4950 Olde Towne Parkway) from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
On May 4, the Rotary Club of East Cobb is organizing a debate at Pope High School (3001 Hembree Road) from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The ECBA is not livestreaming its debate but said a recorded video of the event will be posted on its website.
Blaine Hess of the Rotary Club told East Cobb News that livestreaming plans are in the works but “I am not 100% sure what the logistics are currently” and those will be announced when they’re finalized.
Those are the only debates that have been agreed to by the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood, which is spearheading the Cityhood referendum, and the East Cobb Alliance, which opposes Cityhood.
The Rotary Club sent out a message Tuesday afternoon saying it had reached its capacity limit of 500 people at the Pope auditorium and asked those who had signed up that “if your plans change and you can not make it to the event, please cancel your order so somebody else can come!”
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County department heads speaking during a Cityhood town hall meeting in March at the Sewell Mill Library.
The group pushing for East Cobb Cityhood is demanding that Cobb government officials stop holding town hall meetings and making public statements about the four upcoming Cityhood referendums in the county, including a May 24 vote in East Cobb.
Craig Chapin, chairman for the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood, sent a letter on Monday to Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, alleging that the county is actively “campaigning against the referendums.” More:
“Based on the available facts, it appears Cobb County has violated Georgia law in its efforts to defeat the four Cityhood initiatives in Cobb County’s respective Referendums. Cobb County has, at the least, allowed county officials and employees to oppose Cityhood efforts, on County time and through official County channels. And they have done so by promoting baseless speculation in the guise of ‘education.’ Worse, the County’s ‘education’ consists of half-truths and even outright lies.”
The Cityhood group’s letter demands that the county also using public resources “to oppose the Cityhood Referendums. We have previously expressed our concern on the implicit and explicit bias in Cobb County’s awareness campaign and activities with the opposition ballot committee(s) to a group of Cobb executives. Not only has the unlawful behavior not been curtailed, but it also continues at an increasing velocity.”
You can read the full letter by clicking here; copies were sent to the other four Cobb commissioners, County Manager Jackie McMorris and County Attorney Bill Rowling.
Cityhood committee spokeswoman Cindy Cooperman also forwarded a copy of the letter to East Cobb News.
Cobb communications director Ross Cavitt told East Cobb News late Tuesday afternoon that Rowling is preparing a formal reply to the letter, and insisted that the county’s efforts are neutral.
“We’re not trying to take sides on this,” Cavitt said. “We’re trying to provide information to the many questions we’re getting from the public” about the cityhood initiatives “and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”
Cobb officials were holding their fourth in a series of Cityhood town hall meetings Tuesday evening at the Cobb Civic Center, and a town hall for the Vinings referendum is scheduled for next week.
They held a meeting in late March at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center (ECN coverage here) and have created what county officials are calling a Cityhood Resource Center.
The East Cobb Cityhood committee’s letter accuses Cobb officials of using county resources to participate in legislative hearings and activities when the East Cobb bill was being considered in the Georgia General Assembly.
In particular, Cupid is accused of “unlawfully” engaging “without the approval of the BOC [Board of Commissioners],” a lobbyist to fight the bill.
That lobbyist was identified as former Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens. His law firm, Dentons, has been hired by the county to do lobbying, but Cupid has said publicly Olens has not lobbied on the cityhood issues.
The letter also alleges that county officials shared “misleading, incomplete and factually inaccurate information” about the financial impact to the county budget should all four Cityhood referendums (East Cobb, Lost Mountain, Vinings and Mableton) pass.
The county is saying the loss to its annual budget would come to $41 million and savings would amount to $4.3 million; the East Cobb Cityhood group says it “is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts by the county with the intent to dissuade voters. The county has disclosed it intends to redeploy these funds for other roles not currently filled having nothing to do with the Cityhood efforts.”
The letter doesn’t indicate what it thinks the actual financial numbers are. (While Cobb officials have said fire services in the proposed City of East Cobb would be $12 million a year, a financial feasibility study conducted for the East Cobb Cityhood group estimates the annual expenses would come to $5.7 million.)
The East Cobb Cityhood group’s letter also states that Cavitt and Cobb commissioner Jerica Richardson attended a meeting of the anti-Cityhood East Cobb Alliance in March, and that “neither has made any attempt” to attend or participate in East Cobb Cityhood group public meetings.
“This demonstrates a clear bias and is evidence of supporting the anti-city campaign,” the letter states.
The letter took issue with comments by Cobb public safety officials who’ve said response times in a City of East Cobb would increase (East Cobb is the only one of the four proposed cities that would provide police, fire and E-911 services).
The East Cobb Cityhood group also is accusing the county of providing “misleading and inflammatory literature” at town hall meetings.
The East Cobb group is demanding that questions directed to the county about cityhood “shall be funneled through a named and appropriate resource at the director higher or level.”
The group also wants the county to allow Cityhood groups to “respond and share data and responses to the County’s questions and information.”
Finally, the East Cobb Cityhood group is saying its letter is also serving as an open records request for the county to provide how it prepared financials and have the county commission a state-approved university to conduct an impartial third-party financial analysis of the four cityhood ballot measures.
The letter concludes:
“Cobb County is knowingly presenting biased, incomplete, and inaccurate information to the public. Meanwhile, the County has stated that it has no official position on the cityhood initiatives. While this disclaimer implies neutrality, Cobb County’s behavior has been anything but neutral. As far as we are aware, no County official has ever said anything positive about the cityhood proposals. In fact, Cobb’s desire to thwart the Cityhood efforts are clear as highlighted above and designed to create fear, uncertainty, and doubt in citizens’ minds—illegally influencing their vote.”
The first of two debates on East Cobb Cityhood will take place next Tuesday at Olde Towne Athletic Club. The debate between the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood and the East Cobb Alliance is sold out.
The East Cobb Business Association, which is sponsoring the event, said it would be recorded and posted on its website.
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The May 24 primary has taken on additional significance in East Cobb due to the Cityhood referendum that also will be on that ballot.
There will be Democratic and Republican primaries for county, state and federal offices and non-partisan primaries for county and state judicial seats.
(Here’s our previous post summarizing who’s qualified for which offices. Cobb Elections will be posting a countywide sample ballot soon.)
If you’re not registered to vote, you have until April 25 to do so. You can check your registration status by clicking here. To check your registration status, register, or if you have moved, change your registration here.
If you wish to vote via absentee ballot, you have through May 13 to request one, and you can do that by clicking here.
Advance voting will take place for the primaries and the East Cobb Cityhood referendum (see our Cityhood tab for more) from May 2-20 at designated times and locations (see flyer below).
The Cobb Elections office said it also will be providing wait-time estimates at CobbElections.org during the advance voting period. Voters can vote early at any location in the county.
Voters who will be casting their ballots on the May 24 election day will do so at their assigned precincts.
A photo ID is required to vote in-person and absentee, and you can check which ones are accepted by clicking here.
Voters will choose from among Democratic, Republican or non-partisan ballots. Non-partisan candidates will be listed on the party ballots, but no party-affiliated candidates will appear on the non-partisan ballot.
Before the primary, there will be a special election runoff to fill a legislative seat that includes East Cobb and some of Fulton County.
The May 3 runoff between Democrat Dustin McCormick and Republican Mitchell Kaye will determine the successor to Matt Dollar, a Republican who resigned his seat representing District 45 in February.
There will be absentee and advance voting for the runoff. Advance voting will take place at the East Cobb Government Service Center (4400 Lower Roswell Road) on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from April 25-29 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Absentee voters can drop off their ballots there during those times at a drop box inside the building, as well as at the main Cobb Elections office (736 Whitlock Ave., Marietta) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The winner will hold the seat only through the end of the year, the end of Dollar’s term.
McCormick has qualified for the May 24 primary for the redrawn District 45. The Republican primary candidates are current District 43 State Rep. Sharon Cooper and Carminthia Moore.
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2636 Sunny Lane, 30067 (Red Oak Park, Wheeler): Southern Point Home and Design to Adam and Rachel Stigall; $490,000
721 Huntington Place, 30067 (Stratford, Wheeler): Gary Sterston, Trustee, Dechomiai Asset Trust to Joseph and Jessica Maskery; $365,000
681 Foxcroft Circle, 30067 (Stratford, Wheeler): Walter Pomp to I One Homes; $430,000
April 1
250 Pine Valley Drive, 30067 (Atlanta Country Club, Walton): Jay Jeffrey and Cynthia Goodwin to Niket and Priti Jindal; $3.1 million
3900 River Overlook Parkway Unit 1, 30067 (Willows by the River, Walton): Joseph Collins and Theresa Whitney to Johnson and Grace Samgnanakan; $256,000
3113 Greenfield Drive, 30068 (Indian Hills, Wheeler): Cynthia Crain to Kimberly Gilman and Nancy Benninger; $465,000
3927 Sentry Walk, 30068 (Indian Hills, Walton): Laurence and Abigail Pachon to John and Nooshin McKinney; $810,000
1486 Monarch Court, 30062 (Glen Crest, Sprayberry): Matt Hellmann to Sarkar Sounak & Kumra Anuradha; $571,500
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A bulldozer attacks the roof of the former Bruno’s grocery store comes down as the demolition of the Sprayberry Crossing Center began on Monday.
Joe Glancy and Shane Spink grabbed sledgehammers and took a few hearty belts at the exterior of what had been a Bruno’s grocery store on Monday afternoon.
“It felt good,” Spink said to a group of around 100 people who witnessed a long-awaited moment:
The beginning of the end of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center.
After decades of blight, inviting crime and rodents and just being an ugly eyesore with a pothole-ridden parking lot, what once had been one of East Cobb’s trendy retail centers will be leveled for a mixed-use development.
Glancy and Spink, who spearheaded a community push for redevelopment via their Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group, had the honor of taking a ceremonial first swing, along with with Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell.
To say it was cathartic was an understatement.
“Everybody who lives around here probably wants to take a swing,” Spink said.
Joe Glancy and Shane Spink began community organizing around Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment more than four years ago.
While there was little they said they could do—aside from imposing a meager blight tax on the property owner, NAI Brannen Goddard—a residential developer was taking note.
Atlantic Residential, an Atlanta-based apartment builder, would soon be in talks with NAI Brannen Goddard to buy the assemblage on Sandy Plains Road, between East Piedmont Road and Post Oak Tritt Road.
Three years after proposing a mixed-use development, including a lengthy and contentious rezoning process, Atlantic Residential is planning to start construction on townhomes, senior apartments and retail space later this year.
The residential component is being called East Cobb Walk and includes 102 for-sale town homes and a 55-and-older apartment building with 102 units to be named Evoq East Cobb.
“I’m happy with stuck with it,” said Richard Aaronson, Atlantic Residential’s CEO and founding partner.
“It’s just a fantastic location,” he said, explaining his company’s patience. “It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”
Along with the rebuild of Sprayberry High School, “this area is going to look completely different,” Aaronson said.
He said the anticipated price point for the townhomes could be in the high-$400,000 range, designed to attract young families and first-time homebuyers.
From L-R: Atlantic Residential CEO Richard Aaronson, Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell, Cobb Police Precinct 4 commander Maj. Brian Batterton and community leaders Joe Glancy and Shane Spink.
Birrell, who said Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment has been high on her priority list—as well as that of her predecessors, Sam Olens and Tim Lee—saluted residents and community leaders.
“Y’all got the ball rolling, you got the community involved,” she said before wielding a sledgehammer to the Bruno’s building. “It was brought to the forefront to the community.”
Numerous site plan revisions were made in response to opposition by some residents to a general apartment building that was eventually nixed because Birrell wouldn’t support it.
A planned grocery store fell through right before the rezoning case was voted on by county commissioners. Lidl pulled out due to issues over locating the main entrance to the redevelopment on Sandy Plains Road.
Birrell, who is up for re-election this year, stressed that the planned senior apartments “cannot be converted to multi-family.”
Some residents who are skeptical of that claim have vowed to work to defeat Birrell, who has an opponent in the May 24 Republican primary.
While the redevelopment wasn’t exactly how supporters initially envisioned it, Aaronson said that “today is the beginning of something great.
“Today we begin to reverse that eyesore you’ve had to live with,” he said.
As a bulldozer commenced tearing down the Bruno’s roof, the crowd hooted and applauded.
Aaronson said that demolition is expected to take 60 days, and pending permitting issues, construction could start as early as August.
Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell takes the first crack at the Bruno’s demolition.
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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.”
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
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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The demo begins at 1 p.m., and the Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group has provided some details and the above map.
You can enter Sprayberry Crossing at three points, but keep in mind that there is fencing around the retail center.
What you can’t do is park in the parking areas around nearby businesses and the Parker Chase School.
Shane Spink of Sprayberry Crossing Action said that the school will be towing vehicles that are parked illegally.
You also cannot gain access behind the back driveway of the Zaxby’s at Sandy Plains Road at Post Oak Tritt Road.
The entry points will be on Sandy Plains between the Sprayberry Bottle Shop and the former SunTrust Bank, on East Piedmont next to the Walgreen’s and on East Piedmont at the Tiny Stitches.
The Bruno’s portion of the property will be redeveloped for townhomes, with retail in the middle and a senior apartment building constructed on the portion of the land nearest East Piedmont.
Townhomes also will be built next to the senior building, behind the retail space and fronting the Mayes Family Cemetery that will remain protected.
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!
Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens (with microphone) greets Foundation golf outing participants at the Atlanta County Club.
The Cobb Sheriff’s Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to improving the quality of life for Cobb County Sheriff’s Office personnel, underserved communities and citizens of Cobb County, celebrated its first anniversary April 1 at a golf outing at the Atlanta Country Club in East Cobb.
More than 110 participants took part in the fundraiser, along with the support of more than 50 business and community leaders.
S.A. White Oil Company, Inc. and Axon were presenting sponsors.
The Foundation has created several units, including a Care and Compassion Fund and a Fallen Personnel Fund, and assists Cobb citizens in need through the Citizens Fund and the Community Engagement Fund.
Among those outreach efforts include support via the Citizens Fund, in coordination with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence Unit and the Sheriff’s Office Community Engagement Unit, to provide funding for an urgent hotel stay for safe refuge for a mother and her child.
In another situation, a Cobb Sheriff’s Deputy was assisted through the Care and Compassion Fund to obtain childcare for his young child after his wife died following childbirth.
The Founding Board of Directors is comprised of business and community leaders, including:
(Chair) Brent C. Brown, Chairman & CEO, Chesley Brown International, Inc.
(Vice Chair) Frank Wigington, President, Frank Wigington Landscaping Company, Inc.
(Treasurer) J. Dan Oliver, Chairman & CEO, Vinings Bank
(Secretary) Ravi Puri, Chief Growth & Portfolio Officer, Americas Capgemini
Governor Roy E. Barnes, Senior Partner, The Barnes Law Group, LLC.
Eddy Benoit, Jr., Chairman & CEO, The Benoit Group
Phyllis G. Collins, Attorney, Phyllis Law
George “Buddy” Darden, Former Member, U.S. House of Representatives
Steve Ewing, President & CEO, Wade Ford Dealership
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