The following food scores for the week of Feb. 6 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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 2023 season of CenterStage North Theatre gets underway this weekend with the first performances of “Moon Over Buffalo.”
After COVID-related disruptions the last three years, a full season slate of four featured plays, plus Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” are being produced at The Art-Place Mountain View, the community theatre’s since 1985.
Shows of “Moon Over Buffalo” take place Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road) and continue next Wednesday-Saturday, also at 8 p.m.
Written by veteran Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig, “Moon Over Buffalo” is a comedy about a husband and wife who are failed Broadway actors struggling in the repertory scene in Buffalo.
It’s set during the 1950s, and the Hays have to navigate complicated family matters while learning that film director Frank Capra is coming to see their matinees.
Tickets are $15-$27 and can be purchased by clicking here. CenterStage North is also selling season subscriptions for $110 per seat.
CenterStage North, an all-volunteer organization created in 1974 in Smyrna, will be producing “Til Beth Do Us Part” in May, “Fireflies” in August and “The Outsider,” a political comedy, in October.
More information about those and other performances can be found by clicking here.
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 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival began Wednesday and continues through Feb. 21, and for the first time in several years the Merchants Walk Cinema in East Cobb is among the venues for screenings and other events.
Ten screenings will take place at Merchants Walk (1301 Johnson Ferry Road), including three on Thursday and another on Friday, as part of the 60-film AJFF, which began in 2000.
The others will take place on Saturday and Sunday, including “Israel Swings for Gold,” the story of the Israeli baseball team’s participation in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
It will be the world premiere for the 75-minute film, which will be shown at 11 a.m. at Merchants Walk, and whose showing there and two other venues at the festival is being sponsored by the Atlanta Braves.
Since there was no media due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Israeli players shot their own videos that formed the core of the film, a sequel to a 2017 film chronicling Israel’s run in the World Baseball Classic.
Other films to be shown at Merchants Walk include “Hummus Full Trailer,” with a storyline described as a “zany gangster comedy caper” that features “a mix-up in Haifa links a cesspit of nutty Middle East sorts.”
In “Remember This,” actor David Straitharn plays a World War II hero Jan Karski, a Polish Catholic diplomat who warned about Nazi atrocities that fell on deaf ears.
The full schedule of screenings at Merchants Walk and other venues, as well as ticket purchases, can be found by clicking here.
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 commissioner Jerica Richardson is holding meetings with citizens during the month of February as part of her annual “Priorities Tour.”
As she has done in her first two years in office, Richardson is seeking feedback about issues in District 2 and Cobb County, ranging from economic development, transit, health, government finance, housing, the arts and more.
Other priorities included environmental justice and SMART communities, a concept built around technology- and data-driven innovations to guide urban transition for a range of public services.
The SMART communities tab for the 2022 priorities tab says it complements another priority, “Building a Better Cobb,” focused on infrastructure improvements, as well as enhancements to public safety.
The current priorities tour comes as Richardson and her Democratic colleagues on the Cobb Board of Commissioners are legally challenging reapportionment maps that would draw her out of District 2.
A lawsuit contesting the county on its claim of home rule powers is expected to be refiled soon by East Cobb resident Larry Savage, a former commission chairman candidate.
Richardson’s priorities tour is different from town halls that have open to the general public
“These tour stops are highly collaborative, and you and your organization or group will have the opportunity to offer changes in real-time during her presentation,” says a message included in Richardson’s e-mail newsletter this week.
“Please note these tours are private and virtual only, and may include anyone from your group. We ask for at least three people to join the call to ensure that it is as effective as possible.”
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!
In late January Simpson Middle School put on a STEAMApalooza event that attracted several hundred students and their families, as well as external organizations, in an exploration of science, technology, engineering, art, and math activities and demonstrations.
Activities ranged from the building of “squishy circuits” with playdough to a dominoes challenge, as well as speedcubing, virtual reality demos and a student-built robot.
The latter was done by Simpson students guided by students from the Wheeler High School robotics team, according to a release issued by the Cobb County School District.
Simpson principal Dr. LaEla Mitchell said in the release that “this opportunity to showcase what the students are learning and invite family members to join us in this experience is priceless. It was truly a community event—our PTSA, community partners, and feeder schools all showed up and showed out! I am grateful to my wonderful faculty and staff for making this fun night of learning one to remember!”
STEAMapalooza also featured a poetry wall, open mic night, hands-on art activities, and a Tesla demonstration. Guest speakers from the Georgia Institute of Technology Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, American Society of Microbiology, and Emory University covered topics such as rocks and minerals, corals and their survival, magical wonders of protein folding, and bacteria and cells.
Families also had the opportunity to learn about the science of baseball, check out the Bach to Rock demonstrations, try the Tangram Challenge, and more.
Other participants included the Sprayberry High School JROTC and Wheeler’s Society of Women Engineers.
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 busy Chick-Fil-A location in East Cobb is closed this week and next for expansion of its drive-thru service.
Brian Baldwin, the operations manager for the Chick-Fil-A Lassiter (3046 Shallowford Road), said in a video release over the weekend that “we are committed to improving your drive-thru experience.”
He didn’t specify what the renovations would entail, but management reassured a customer that they wouldn’t be getting rid of the play area for kids.
The closest Chick-Fil-A in that area is across from Sprayberry High School at 2530 Sandy Plains Road.
Chick-Fil-A locations in the East Cobb area have expanded recently to include a double drive-thru at some locations, with one dedicated for customers who order ahead.
The Chick-Fil-A at Woodlawn Square on Johnson Ferry Road was closed for several months in 2018-19 due to significant renovations that included reconfiguring its drive-thru access.
Retail Planning Corp., which manages the retail center, has applied to expand to a double pick-up lane and needs county approval to relate a Delta Community Credit Union ATM in order to do that. That case goes before Cobb commissioners on Feb. 21.
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The Avenue East Cobb is giving women a chance to enjoy Valentine’s Day a day early with their female friends.
“Galentine’s Day” is an event taking place next Monday from 5-7 p.m. in what’s being called the “Babe Cave,” between Tin Lizzy’s and Chico’s.
Admission to the Babe Cave is free, and the goal is to “make for a fun, easy way to get the group together for a night out celebrating the power of female friendship.”
There will be a “stroll map” of participating retailers and restaurants offering special sales and “photos with a group of huggable llamas that will be roaming the property.”
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Work crews this week officially unveiled what’s going in at the former Tokyo Valentino adult store space at 1290 Johnson Ferry Road.
A sign posted in the front window revealed the second Georgia location for Veterinary Emergency Group, a nationwide chain with 43 clinics, including one in Alpharetta.
It will be second such emergency vet clinic to locate in East Cobb in recent months, following Urgent Vet’s opening at East Cobb Crossing last September.
The VEG concept is similar to Urgent Vet, with after-hours availability and collaboration with a pet’s primary veterinarian to handle emergencies.
VEG co-founder and president David Glattstein is an Emory University graduate with investment experience. He teams up with veterinarian David Bessler, who opened his first emergency vet hospital in 2014.
Tokyo Valentino was ordered closed in July 2021 by a Cobb judge after operating without a proper business license. The adult retail store was tangled in litigation with Cobb County, which sued to permanently revoke its business license for misrepresentation.
Cobb issued a business license in March 2020 to 1290 Clothing, which listed itself as a clothing store on its business license application.
But pink and purple Tokyo Valentino signs went up when it opened in June 2020, the latest in an Atlanta-area chain of adult retail stores, with an inventory including adult lingerie and sex toys and other adult items.
Tokyo Valentino never re-opened in East Cobb, and last fall the City of Marietta revoked the business license of a Tokyo Valentino store on Cobb Parkway for similar reasons.
A Cobb judge upheld the revocation, citing a “bait and switch” tactic by Tokyo Valentino, which initially said that store would feature smoking products.
Federal litigation is still pending in that case.
Coming to Pinestraw Plaza
Visionworks, which operates more than 700 retail optical centers across the country, is coming soon to Pinestraw Plaza (4250 Roswell Road).
Customers can schedule an eye exam and choose glasses and contacts onsite in a similar concept to Warby Parker, which opened last fall at The Avenue East Cobb.
Visionworks has 15 locations in metro Atlanta, including near Cumberland Mall and Town Center at Cobb.
A growing footprint
The Big Peach Running Co. location at the Shops of Woodlawn (1062 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite C), is marking its 17th anniversary in business by expanding its space.
A wall between Big Peach and the new Cleaver and Cork butcher shop is coming down. Big Peach is open during the renovations, and continues as East Cobb’s spot for picking up community race packets (including the Walton Raider Chase on Saturday).
The East Cobb store was the second of what is now nine Big Peach Stores in metro Atlanta.
Hours are Monday-Friday 10-8, Saturday 9-6 and Sunday 12-5.
Welcome
Here are the new business licenses granted in East Cobb the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 3 by the Cobb Community Development Agency:
AP3 Marietta, 2620 Canton Road (auto accessories and installation)
Best in Dog, 2651 Beckwith Trail (small animal training)
Castellanos Welding Services, 934 Old Farm Walk
Duffy Scott Interiors, 5065 Fields Pond Cove
Gill’s Alterations and Cleaners, 2932 Canton Road, Suite 270
Nacho Tree Experts, 1900 Falcon Wood Place
Le Lawn Services, 4058 Cloister Drive
North Metro Truck Center, 2009 Dorsey Road, Suite 600 (auto repair shop)
PLS Yoga, 1000 Johnson Ferry Road (personal trainer)
Reesha, 3460 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 640 (barber shop)
The Maddox Home, 4487 Trickum Road (personal care home)
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 second annual Noonday Shanty 5K and 10K road race takes place March 25, and will be the first USA Track and Field-certified race to take place at the Noonday Creek Trail.
Registration is underway for the event, which is sponsored by the Town Center Community, including the Town Center CID and its nonprofit partner, the Town Center Community Alliance.
There’s an updated course for 2023, driven by runner feedback from the first race last year, and is designed to offer “a great way to enjoy the outdoors while supporting future greenspace and trail projects in the Town Center area,” according to Town Center Community officials.
The 10- to 12-foot-wide paved Noonday Creek Trail was completed in 2014 and spans seven miles, connecting the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park’s visitors center to the Bells Ferry Trailhead through the heart of Town Center.
“After last year’s huge success and remarkable turnout, we’re excited to bring this event back to the community and create an opportunity for people to experience Town Center in a different way,” Jennifer Hogan, director of community for the Town Center Community, said in a release. “Town Center is more than retail and commercial properties with more than eight miles of walking trails, multiple public art installations, and several parks and greenspaces throughout the district.”
Participants will experience scenic views, wetlands, bird habitats and public art along the Noonday Creek Trail as well as other Town Center attractions like Aviation Park, Cobb International Airport, and Fifth Third Bank Stadium.
The 10K race starts at 7:45 a.m., followed by the 5K at 8 a.m. Awards will be presented to overall and age-group winners of both sexes, from 10 and under to 70 and over.
The registration fee is $30 through March 21, and $25 for virtual and ghost runners, and $35 for all runners after March 22.
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For a larger view of the revised site plan, click here.
After a month’s break in January (when there are no zoning meetings in Cobb County), a notable East Cobb case that has been on hold for a while will finally get a hearing Tuesday.
The German grocer Lidl’s application to build a 20,000-square-foot store at Canton Road and Piedmont Road is on the consent agenda for the Cobb Planning Commission meeting Tuesday morning.
Zoning items are placed on the consent agenda when there is no known opposition.
As we’ve noted previously, Lidl has tried twice to locate a store in Northeast Cobb, and there hasn’t been any community opposition.
But after Lidl’s initial application for this third venue, there were zoning staff and public safety concerns about a proposed reduction in parking spaces and space for emergency vehicles.
The property is 3.47 acres at the southwest intersection, where a Rite Aid pharmacy once stood.
In late January, Lidl submitted a revised site plan (you can see it here) and a stipulation letter (read it here) outlining some of the changes, including a proposal to construct a deceleration lane for access from Piedmont Road.
The new site plan shows 101 parking spaces (the CRC category being sought requires a minimum of 111 spaces) and an above-ground detention pond has been relocated to “allow room for future DOT roadway improvements,” according to the stipulation letter from Lidl U.S. development manager Deborah Pyburn.
Lidl is proposing to pay a “pro-rata share” of the cost of building the deceleration lane, and would dedicate the right-of-way tot he county after the company assumes ownership of the new store site.
The letter also state’s Lidl’s plans to create fire apparatus access to within 200 feet of all areas of the facility.
Another East Cobb case that’s been waiting for a hearing has been put on hold again. S&B Investments’ plans for a two-story Starbucks at Paper Mill Village have been continued again at the request of the applicant.
In a letter on Tuesday, attorney Garvis Sams asked for the continuance until March after his clients redesigned the architecture, but they haven’t been able to meet with the community about the changes.
The Planning Commission is an advisory board that makes recommendations on zoning cases to the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
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 Cobb County School District is holding its annual school choice transfer application period for the 2023-24 school year during the month of February.
Parents of students can apply to transfer to schools outside of their home zone, based on availability.
Students must be residents of the Cobb school district in order to apply, and cannot be accept of they move outside of the district.
Students needing special education services must apply to schools that provide those services required by the current Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Parents and guardians will be notified if their students were approved for the transfer during spring break, and the deadline to accept an approved transfer is May 26.
More details, including the full list of availability, can be found by clicking here; the following is a list of available spaces at schools in East Cobb. Schools that have no room for transfers are not listed.
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 following food scores for the week of Jan. 30 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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!
Work crews recently demolished a former bank and restaurant building at 4370 Roswell Road (an outparcel at the Merchants Exchange Shopping Center) that will be the new site of the LongHorn Steakhouse.
It’s been more than a year since the one-acre property’s owner, East Cobb Warren LLC, got a variance from Cobb County to reduce the parking spaces from 57 to 50 and make other site plan changes.
LongHorn has been located at 4721 Lower Roswell Road since 1983, and when it marked its 30th anniversary at that location in 2013, it was the longest-standing original location for the Orlando-based chain.
The standalone building going up where BB & T bank and originally a Black Eye’d Pea restaurant once stood will be roughly the same size as the current location, a little less than 6,000 square feet, according to planning documents submitted with the variance request.
BB & T Marietta LLC sold the property in August 2021 for $2.5 million, according to Cobb property records.
East Cobb News has left a message with LongHorn seeking more details, including a timeline for opening.
Saying farewell
After 36 years in business in East Cobb, Withrow’s Jewelers closed in January due to the retirements of co-owners Jill and Robert Withrow.
The family-owned business was located at the Woodlawn Point Shopping Center, and in a Facebook message, Jill Withrow said that closing was “not a decision we came to lightly, but we hope that over the years we have been successful in our mission to offer exceptional fine jewelry and excellent customer service.”
She said that while she and her husband are looking forward “to slowing down, we will still remain part of the jewelry industry. We will continue to offer custom design, estate and gold buying, and select inventory by private appointment, starting in late spring of 2023.”
Contact information for those latter services: (770) 565-6675, text at (404) 234-2345, or email at withrowjewelers@gmail.com.
The Withrows also are referring customers to David Douglas Diamonds & Jewelry (3605 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 260).
Vacating Parkaire
Anytime Fitness has closed at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center. The last day of business was on Sunday, according to co-owners Julia and Patrick Hogue.
They didn’t cite a reason for the closing, but Parkaire has several gyms and fitness centers, including CycleBar, Rock Box Fitness, Pro Martial Arts and most recently, Pure Barre, which is having raffles and offering other prizes in February leading up to its grand opening in early March.
The Tuesday Morning consignment shop at Parkaire closed in late 2022, and the adjacent Kroger is expanding to include some of that space.
New Business Licenses
We’re going to start listing new businesses coming to the community, which are compiled each week by the Cobb Community Development Agency.
For the week of Jan. 22-27:
J & J Dental, 2230 Roswell Road
Jessen Cabinets, 4651 Woodstock Road, Suite 150
Masterpiece Pools, 3278 Hembree Road
Nicole’s Dog Gone Cute Grooming, 4750 Alabama Road, Suite 105
Niki Gori (licensed professional counselor), 1640 Powers Ferry Road, Suite 18-200
Patel Plastic Surgery, 1519 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 250
Peakzen (fitness training), 1519 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 350
The American Woodworker (arts and crafts retail), 1719 Apple Boulevard
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 Cobb Board of Commissioners is holding its annual retreat Wednesday through Friday at the Hilton Inn and Conference Center (500 Powder Springs Street, Marietta).
The three days of meetings will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and are open to the public. Unlike the board’s formal meetings, however, the proceedings of the retreat will not be livestreamed.
The agenda (you can read it here) is focused on an update of the county’s Comprehensive 5-Year Strategic Plan, a process that got underway last fall.
Listening sessions and online feedback have taken place since November under the direction of Accenture LLP, an outside consulting firm being paid $1.45 million by the county to conduct a comprehensive long-range strategic plan that includes a shorter-term element for the years 2023-2027 (scope of work info here).
The overall objective of the plan, according to the county’s statement of need document, is to produce “a clear, unified, community-driven, long-term vision for Cobb County for the next 10 to 20 years.”
Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said Accenture is expected to update commissioners on the surveys, town halls and stakeholder workshops that have taken place thus far, with the goal of presenting a strategic plan proposal by February or March.
The retreat comes as the partisan divide on the five-woman board has escalated over redistricting maps.
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 Cobb County Public Library System is joining with the American Heart Association to promote heart health with a series of Go for Red Women’s Walks.
Two of the walks will take place at East Cobb branches on Friday—Mountain View Regional Library (3320 Sandy Plains Road) from 9-10 a.m., and the Gritters Library (880 Shaw Park Road) from 2-3 p.m.
February is American Heart Month, and the AHA has designated Friday as National Wear Red Day.
Participants should wear comfortable clothing and athletic shoes as they walk around the library grounds.
The walks are intended for adults, and children are welcome with an adult caregiver.
For information call the Mountain View branch at 770-509-2725 or the Gritters branch at 770-528-2524.
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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!
Police made the arrests at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection Saturday night, according to warrants.
Two men whom Cobb Police said burglarized a home off Paper Mill Road Saturday night have been arrested, along with the driver of a vehicle who allegedly took them to the scene of the crime.
According to arrest warrants, Alfredo Gallardo and Carlos Arenas broke into a home on Gateside Lane Saturday night shortly after 8 p.m. and stole jewelry and other items.
The home is near the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection (4814 Paper Mill Road), where police on patrol became suspicious after noticing a sole vehicle, a van, in a parking lot, according to one of the warrants.
According to a warrant for the man behind the wheel, Jose Castro, “There did not appear to be any church activities happening at the time officers approached.”
The warrant said Castro produced for an officer an Argentinian identification that he later admitted had a false name and birthdate.
His warrant said Castro provided the other men transportation to the church, then to the victim’s residence.
Warrants for Gallardo and Arenas said that officers went to the home, and two men fled the scene, ignoring commands to stop.
Their warrants said that Arenas left a bag of tools in the residence on the victim’s couch and was found with “a window-breaking tool” when he was arrested. Gallardo was found with a bag of pry bars, according to his warrant.
All three men were charged with first-degree burglary.
Gallardo, 32, of Los Angeles, and Arenas, 32, who is listed as homeless, also were charged with possessing tools of a crime and obstruction of a police officer.
Castro, 19, also listed as homeless, was further charged with giving a false name to law enforcement and loiter prowl.
All three were in custody Monday afternoon at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on $22,220 bond each, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records, which state that they are being held on an immigration detainer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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!
Cobb Police have charged a transient man with the rape of a 12-year-old girl at Shaw Park last weekend.
Douglas Darch, 62, was taken into custody on Jan. 22 and remains at the Cobb Adult Detention Center without bond, according to booking reports.
Police said in a warrant that he approached the girl the day before as she was walking in a wooded area of the park shortly before 6 p.m. He offered her a water bottle, and after she drank from it, she began to feel dizzy, according to police.
The warrant said the suspect then took out a knife and threatened her to do what he told her.
According to the warrant, she was forced to provide oral sex, and the suspect also ordered her to remove her clothing, then touched her genitalia.
The victim further stated in the warrant that she “was in fear for her life or bodily harm.”
Darch is facing felony charges of aggravated child molestation, child molestation, aggravated assault, cruelty to children and making terroristic threats.
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!
