Some new food and drink options have been in the works at the Sandy Plains Marketplace Shopping Center.
That’s the retail center that opened in 2019 on the former site of Mountain View Elementary School (3460 Sandy Plains Road) and has had mostly a steady base of restaurants, even through COVID-19.
They include locations of Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ, Panda Express, First Watch and Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar.
But other eateries have left, including MOD Pizza and Queen of Cream, an ice cream shop. The 25,000-square-foot former Publix Greenwise store also has sat empty since 2021.
Last month, the third location of Kennesaw-based Baladi Coffee and Matcha opened in the old Queen of Cream space (Suite 600, in the back building) serving up Middle Eastern-influenced coffees and drinks in a grab-and-go format.
Baladi is the concept of the husband-and-wife team of Sarah and Allen Khatib, who have Egyptian and Palestinian ancestry, respectively, and they’ve formed a menu that reflects that.
A few dozen varieties of lattes and matcha drinks range around $7, as do “wanderlust” drinks with influences from a multiple nations: Spain, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Turkey, the Philippines and more.
Baladi also serves teas and cold drinks, and pastries to go, many of them chocolate-based, as well as croissants, a Nutella bomboloni doughnut, gelato and even pumpkin and banana bread.
The Khatibs opened their first Baladi near the Kennesaw State University campus in 2025 and the other is in Athens, near the campus of the University of Georgia.
Baladi Coffee is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The former MOD space will soon be serving up pizza again.
The second location of Marietta-based Solar Slice Pizza is forthcoming in Suite 250. Renovations are still underway, and an opening timetable hasn’t been announced.
The first opened on Cobb Parkway at the South Marietta Parkway intersection in 2024 by Zachary Wyatt, who formerly worked at the Atlanta-based Fellini’s Pizza chain. The menu is family-style, and includes a new pie inspired by a recent visit to the East Cobb site.
It’s called the Portnoy, after Dave Portnoy, a sports media impresario who’s on a self-styled national pizza tour.
Willow River Head Spa Opening
The grand opening of Willow River Head Spa, which specializes in scalp care and health, will take place on Thursday.
The event begins at 11 a.m. at the spa, located at 2997 Johnson Ferry Road.
Willow River is operated by Sara Lewis, a former manager with Target and The Home Depot, and services include scalp analysis, aromatherapy, exfoliation, warm steam, cleansing, and upper body massage. The spa also has a private two-bed suite for family or couples experiences.
Willow River’s products include a hair preservation program for those with hair-thinning issues and personalized plans with products and technologies that include red light therapy and high-frequency follicle renewal.
Thursday’s ribbon-cutting event includes spa tours, scalp analysis and head spa demonstrations, refreshments, and a branded take-home gift for attendees.
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