Top East Cobb stories 2019

Top East Cobb stories for 2019: Business openings, closings

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The Fresh Market East Cobb closing

A good number of retail, restaurant and service businesses opened in East Cobb during 2019, but it was the handful of closures that caught many locals by surprise.

Two of them in particular drew plenty of attention later in the fall. The Fresh Market at Woodlawn Square had a markdown sale as it closed its doors in October, and Egg Harbor Cafe shuttered in December after not being able to work out a new lease.

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Also closing during the past year was the Loyal Q Tavern at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center and Once and Again Books on Shallowford Road.

The year 2019 was a healthy one for new fitness center openings, including Fit Body Boot Camp and SPENGA East Cobb, among others, as well as Explore Chiropractic at Parkaire.

Other new stores include The French Table and Pineapple Porch, home decor outlet, Frenchie’s Modern Nail Care and Code Ninjas, a coding school for kids.

Carwash USA, which had been located at Roswell Road and Old Canton Road, reopened at the former Wells Fargo Bank branch on Johnson Ferry Road at East Cobb Crossing Shopping Center.

Jennifer Cortez, a former manager at the now-closed Kaminsky Jewelry store on Post Oak Tritt Road, opened Jennifer Jewelers in the same spot.

The Credit Union of Georgia opened a branch on Johnson Ferry Road, and The Solana East Cobb, a senior living facility, marked the end of its first full year in business with a grand opening in November.

New restaurants and eateries in East Cobb include Jim ‘Nicks BBQ, the first business at the new Sandy Plains MarketPlace, Clean Juice at Woodlawn Square, Roll On In at Woodlawn Commons and Duck Donuts at Merchants Walk.

Perhaps the most anticipated opening—reopening, really—was the remodeled and expanded Chick-fil-A at Woodlawn Square, which was closed for several months.

Two other restaurant chains relocating to East Cobb won’t be opening until 2020. Mellow Mushroom will be taking the former Common Quarter space at Woodlawn Square, and Flying Biscuit Cafe is coming to Parkaire Landing by next spring.

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Top East Cobb stories for 2019: Growing up in Mt. Bethel

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Old Mt. Bethel Community Center
The original Mt. Bethel Community Center on Johnson Ferry Road also housed a school and was the first Cobb Police precinct location in East Cobb. (Special photo)

It’s hard to imagine the East Cobb we live in now being mostly farmland not that long ago. But going back in history turned out to a delightful departure from current news cycle for many of our readers after we published a story this summer about a family that remembered the community when it was called Mt. Bethel.

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As the siblings of a prominent Mt. Bethel family told us, the changes have been rather recent: They were among the first graduates of Walton High School in the late 1970s, attending classes with suburban peers while they grew up on a farm on Lower Roswell Road at Woodlawn Drive.

Some of their cows occasionally wandered into a new planned community with a golf course that changed the area for good.

“When Indian Hills opened, that was a huge caveat to a changing community,” said Cherie Chandler, the fifth of the six Poss children. “That’s when it went from being Mt. Bethel to East Cobb.”

Her sister Gail Poss Towe saw a story we published in May about the demolition of a home near theirs belonging to Wilce Frasier, and was eager to share stories about a very different time.

We sat down with the three youngest children of Arthur and Evelyn Poss, who threw themselves into family and community life with eagerness and impact.

Poss children, East Cobb Mt. Bethel
From left, Gail Poss Towe, Mark Poss and Cherie Poss Chandler, the youngest children of Arthur and Evelyn Poss. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

The response from readers to this story was heartwarming: More local history, please! While we haven’t been able to do that as much as we had hoped, we’ve got some ideas along those lines heading into 2020.

 

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