17th South June 2016

Authentic Living in the Heart of Atlanta JUNE 2016 ISSUE 1 FREE n

Neighborhood

Hot Spots WHERE TO EAT, DRINK, AND UNWIND NOW

An historic Grant Park home's head-to-toe refresh

Bellina brings Italian flavors to Ponce City Market Make an instant escape to Loews Atlanta Hotel

Date Night: DIY Cocktail Classes

ATLANTA | SAN ANTONIO | HOUSTON | CHICAGO

The

Way.

Flavored with Passion

404.842.0011 W W W. C H A M A G AU C H A . CO M 3365 PIEDMONT RD NE, ATLANTA GA 30305

12 MAY/JUNE 2016

CONTENTS

37 16

26 30

CONTENTS JUNE 2016 7 Editor’s Letter 9 LATEST

The newest restaurants, shops and other spots to arrive on the scene

20 People

Blast CEO Missi Wolf is taking the fitness world by storm

22 Out of Town

Living

Two affordable Southeast retreats make luxury accessible to the masses

12 Shelter

24 In-Town Escape

An abandoned Grant Park cottage gets a stylish second chance

16 Style to Go

A pair of fashionable friends at Ponce City Market

18 Wellness

Our favorite products and services to keep you looking fresh all summer long

Duck out of the chaos and into the calm of The Loews Atlanta Hotel

Culture 26 Headliners

Brian Moote brings laughs to Atlanta’s airwaves on The Bert Show

28 Creators

Katie Nesbitt is making big business out of one-of-a-kind pet portraits

Indulge

Happening

30 Restaurant Review

45 Events

32 Liquids

48 CAPTURED

Bellina Alimentari brings true Italian cooking to Ponce City Market

DIY cocktail classes and more to bring out your inner mixologist

What to see and do when you’re off the clock

Piedmont Park

34 Fresh Bites

What’s new and notable in the world of food and drink

Cover Story 37 Welcome to the Neighborhood

In this spin around town, we introduce you to the areas 17th South calls home, and the highlights and hot spots in each

45 JUNE 2016

5

“Shaw Summer Extravaganza” Sale June 5 to July 23

P.O. Box 11633, Atlanta, GA 30355 n 17thsouth.com For advertising rates call: 404.538.9895 or email: advertising@17thsouth.com

JUNE 2016 | ISSUE 01 Serving Midtown, Ansley Park, Morningside, Virginia Highland, Westside, Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, Poncey-Highland, Cabbagetown, Reynoldstown and Grant Park

Free St. Jude Carpet Cushion With Purchase of Shaw Anso Carpet Full-Pallet Pricing on Select Shaw Hardwoods (No Minimum Quantity)

FLOORS & INTERIORS

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Publisher and Founder Pedestrians pass by Ponce City Market from the BeltLine in Old Fourth Ward Cover Photo: Sandra Platten

Carpet | Tile & Stone | Hardwood | Laminate | Resilient

Chief Financial Officer

Sonny Hayes

Editor-In-Chief

CONTRIBUTOR 3x3 Sarah Gleim

Ask a MODA Floors & Interiors Project Consultant for details. Special 24-months equal payment financing terms are available on Shaw products.

www.ModaFloorsandInteriors.com

Joanne Hayes

WRITER Fresh Bites

FAVORITE RESTAURANTS : Home Grown in Reynoldstown does a killer breakfast and lunch menu, but I always get the Comfy; One Eared Stag’s Meat Stick is one of the best burgers in town; and I almost died when Hector Santiago opened Super Pan at Ponce City Market. I’d been craving the Pan de Atun sandwich since he closed the original location!

Lindsay Lambert Day Creative Director

Alan Platten

Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Cheryl Isaacs

cheryl.isaacs@17thsouth.com Account Executives

Kyle Wilcox Garges kyle.garges@17thsouth.com

Bill Garst bill.garst@17thsouth.com

Alyson Myerson alyson.myerson@17thsouth.com

Kenya Watts kenya.watts@17thsouth.com Director of Audience Development

Alan Platten CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Bill Garst

FAVORITE MUSIC VENUES: “Variety Playhouse (L5P) has booked some great bands. Recently, I’ve been impressed with Terminal West (Westside)—good vibes and sound system. It would be rude to not mention The Masquerade (O4W), an Atlanta institution for sure!”

Sandra Platten PHOTOGRAPHER

FAVORITE COFFEEHOUSES: “It all depends on what I’m in the mood for.

For no-frills coffee (and the best cold brew!) I head to Revelator off Howell Mill and 14th. I like Octane on Memorial Drive for its ambiance. Condesa on JW Dobbs Avenue makes my favorite cappuccino.”

Website Development Management

BHG Digital Contributing Writers

Karina Antenucci Giannina Smith Bedford Sarah Blackman H.M. Cauley Carly Cooper Jim Farmer Sarah Gleim Kate Parham Kordsmeier Amelia Pavlik Photographers Sara Hanna sarahanna.com

Sandra Platten

Graphic Designer

Gwantsa Giorgini Copy Editor

H.M. Cauley Legal Counsel

Scott I. Zucker We welcome all contributions, but we assume no responsibility for unsolicited material.

No portion of this publication can be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission.

Copyright © 2016 by 17th South®. All rights reserved. Printed by Walton Press, Inc. Distributed by Distributech and Distribution Services Group.

6

JUNE 2016

Welcome TO 17TH SOUTH

Y

ou’ve probably noticed that there’s no shortage of magazines in Atlanta devoted to covering the exciting things that are going on here at any given moment.

And whether you’ve lived in this city all your life or you’re a recent transplant like I am (by way of Birmingham, Boston and New York), you also know that Atlanta comprises dozens of neighborhoods, each with its own distinct flavor and its own set of influencers.

It’s a lot of ground to cover. So much so that, no matter how much these publications are able to report on, noteworthy stories, events and personalities are still bound to slip through the cracks.

Much of what’s making Atlanta great right now is unfolding in its geographic heart—the neighborhoods directly surrounding 17th Street—and that’s exactly why we decided to launch a magazine devoted entirely to covering this area. In our debut issue, and in the months and issues that follow, we’ll bring you the latest on restaurants, shopping, stylish homes and their inhabitants, the arts, neighborhood festivals, and plenty more in Midtown, Westside, Virginia Highland, Inman Park, Grant Park, Ansley Park, Reynoldstown, Cabbagetown, Old Fourth Ward, Poncey-Highland and Morningside.

For our first issue, Kate Parham Kordsmeier sat down for lunch and dinner at Bellina in Ponce City Market’s popular food hall to unearth the Italian eatery’s best dishes (page 30); Karina Antenucci rounded up summer-ready beauty products and body treatments (page 18); and H.M. Cauley pored over Atlanta’s annals and did some not-too-hard-to-handle field research to give you both a historic and what’s-hot-now breakdown of the 11 neighborhoods we’ll be covering (page 37). It didn’t take long for us as a team to learn that Atlantans who live in the heart of the city are passionate about their neighborhoods’ charms, and that a bit of friendly dispute over what landmark belongs within which boundary is not only common, but fun.

Regardless of which neighborhood you call home, I hope that 17th South will help you get to know yours a little bit better, and inspire you to get out and explore across neighborhood lines, as well. Enjoy!

Lindsay Lambert Day EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Find us online: 17thsouth.com

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Latest OPENINGS & ARRIVALS

Photo: Lahcen Boufedji Photography

| STORIES: Lindsay Lambert Day |

NEW ESTABLISHMENT Once a social mainstay in Buckhead, Establishment is now making its mark on Midtown.

T

his spring, nearly nine months after closing the doors to its Buckhead location, Establishment welcomed guests to its spacious new spot in Colony Square.

Patrons of Establishment in Buckhead will find plenty of similarities in the new space, key among them the restaurant’s rugged hardwood.

“We incorporated all of our old wood, and we brought in more old wood that we harvested all over Georgia, capturing the essence of Georgia history in the design and not leaving

those roots,” says owner Brandon Lewis of the new interiors. “We added some contemporary flair … so it’s like Establishment grew up a little.”

A not-so-little benefit Lewis gained in the move is what he calls “one of the best patios in the state of Georgia.” Just in time for summer, too, as we’re sure that’s where patrons of Establishment will want to linger over wine, beer and specialty cocktails. Beer connoisseurs will appreciate Establishment’s unique new tap system—the first of its kind in Georgia, says Lewis—that delivers

beer in three different temperatures, ensuring the perfect pint.

For this next chapter in Establishment’s story, it’s no surprise that Lewis also chose to beef up the bar’s menu. “We added a major food component that we didn’t have at the old Establishment,” he says.

That came with help from Executive Chef Aaron Avers, an Ohio native and former executive chef for Charleston, South Carolina’s Cocktail Club who based Establishment’s new menu on his self-proclaimed “regional gourmet” style of cooking.

“The initial menu showcases a little bit of everything,” says Avers. “I have Asian dishes. I have spinoff German dishes. I use Ethiopian spices when I cook. I wanted to showcase the best dishes that I have from around the world, but to keep them extremely simple.”

Simple, maybe. But when it comes to Establishment earning a legion of loyal fans in its new location, that formula—combining good food, drinks and atmosphere— is sure to be a winning one. n establishmentatlanta.com

JUNE 2016

9

Latest

OPENINGS & ARRIVALS

Amer arrives in Inman Park

I

f you’re looking for a new spot to sip cocktails in Inman Park this summer, you’re in luck. Earlier this year, Amer arrived in the neighborhood at 299 N. Highland Ave. as part of the high-end, mixed-use development Inman Quarter.

The name of the cocktail bar, from partners Brian Lewis and the late David Durnell of BOCADO restaurant, translates to “bitter” in French, and the bar’s 16-drink list reflects the notion with a focus on bitters and Italian Amari. When it comes to ordering, take your pick from the menu’s four sections: Shaken, Built, Sodas and Stirred. Amer, whose partner GM and bar manager is Shanna Mayo, formerly of Victory Sandwich Bar, The SOS Tiki Bar and Leon’s Full Service, also serves savory small plates and

bar snacks curated by Chef Adam Waller, also of BOCADO. What to expect? Housemade chips with caramelized onion dip and crispy garlic; hamachi with grapefruit vinaigrette, beet, radish, sorrel and Georgia olive oil; The Egg Sandwich, with a soft poached egg, confit pork belly, cheddar and a chipotle glaze; and butter lettuce wraps with shrimp gribiche, herbs, shaved radish and smoked paprika, among other tempting options.

Amer, whose funky aesthetic nods to ’70s-era Italian films and features retro Amari labels as well as a bright-yellow exterior, is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Friday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. (it’s closed on Sundays and Mondays). n

Photos: Dan Durnell

The team behind BOCADO restaurant opens a new Italian-inspired cocktail bar.

Above: Smoke & Chill cocktail, made with mezcal, pineapple, cinnamon, banana, lime, angostura and nutmeg. Below: Amer’s interiors

Guests get a sneak peek at Ponce City Market’s amusement park rooftop.

ameratlanta.com

IKEA’s eateries

get a major update

The Swedish home furnishings superstore’s in-demand dining spots get a whole new look.

I

KEA for date-night dinner?

Sounds strange, but if a visit to the Swedish furniture superstore is anything like what we saw— and swooned over—in 500 Days of Summer, count us in.

Especially now that the budgetfriendly home furnishings behemoth has remodeled its 41 in-store restaurants nationwide to better cater to its growing customer base of restaurant patrons.

What changes will you see on your next stop into IKEA’s 16th Street NW location here in Atlanta?

10

JUNE 2016

The all-important serving area remains intact, and the restaurant now features a new configuration that includes three different dining zones: one for quick dining, one suited specifically to families and a third that will facilitate a casual, social environment—which is to say, a departure from most restaurants’ typical organized-tables-and-chairs arrangement.

Now, to the good stuff: food (that’s mat in Swedish, just in case you’re brushing up). IKEA restaurants’ recently updated menu offerings include a wider variety of nutritious

Rooftop Revelry

and sustainable food choices (think: veggie balls), as well as additions that are produced in a socially responsible manner. So, if you’re looking for something low-cal, you’ll find it here in the form of dishes such as quinoa sweet potato chili with black beans, and hot smoked salmon filets with fresh veggies. And don’t worry—despite the upcoming changes, IKEA customers’ forever favorite, those succulent Swedish meatballs served with mashed potatoes and a scoop of lingonberries, hasn’t gone anywhere. n ikea.com

In April, Ponce City Market gave a preview of its final phase— The Roof—to a select crowd with a celebrity mini-golf tournament in partnership with the Kyle Korver Foundation, Plywood People and the Jamestown Charitable Foundation. The event, called Putt!

Putt! Putt!, pitted duffers against each other on the rooftop space’s 18-hole miniature golf course.

A-list guests included Atlanta Hawks Kyle Korver, Al Horford and Kent Bazemore, the team’s coach, Mike Budenholzer, and tournament emcee Tripp Crosby of the YouTube sketch comedy duo Tripp & Tyler. The preview also gave guests access to The Roof’s boardwalk-style amusement games and rides.

The Roof, which will officially open to the public mid-2016, pays homage to the Ponce de Leon amusement park, dubbed the “Coney Island of the South,” originally built on the site where Ponce City Market now stands. When it opens, guests will be treated to a nostalgic carnival experience complete with mini-golf, old-time boardwalk-style games and a slide that snakes within the complex’s signature marquee sign. n

poncecitymarket.com

Living

SHELTER n STYLE n WELLNESS n PEOPLE OUT OF TOWN n IN-TOWN ESCAPES

Handmade pasta, perfectly cooked steaks & fresh seafood expertly prepared using the �nest ingredients.

12 SHELTER

VICTORIAN REVIVAL A long-abandoned eyesore in historic Grant Park finally gets a new lease on life.

For reservations please call 404.844.4810

JUNE 2016

11

Living SHELTER

Victorian Revival

Above: A palette of gray, aqua and sage green gave the Ormewood Avenue home a fresh, modern feel Right: The house, pre-Mattison.

| STORY: Lindsay Lambert Day |

Interior designer and renovation expert Carl Mattison turns an abandoned Victorian cottage in Grant Park into a modern yet historically respectful home—and a buyer’s dream.

Carl Mattison, owner of the eponymous design firm and co-owner of Balustrade Properties

12

JUNE 2016

W

hen a historic home in Grant Park, just down the street from where Carl Mattison lived on Ormewood Avenue, fell into a state of disrepair, the home renovation expert and owner of Carl Mattison Design felt compelled to breathe new life into it. The project would not only satisfy a creative urge, but also help preserve the historic neighborhood’s authenticity and charm—not to mention the area’s increasing home values.

Little did Mattison know, though, how complicated it would be to get his hands on the house and get repairs under way. The historic little home, it turns out, came with some big challenges.

During a storm in 2006 or 2007— Mattison can’t recall exactly when it was—a tree fell through the entire front portion of the small, early-1900s Queen Anne home, which Mattison estimates had two bedrooms and a single bath at the time. “This being the Grant Park Historic District, you really aren’t allowed to [alter] the facade of a house, because they’re trying to preserve the overall aesthetic of the neighborhood,” says Mattison of repairing the home according to the Historic District’s building standards. “But these owners got a special variance to remove the whole house because the tree went through the entire front portion.”

With their permit in hand, the home’s owners set about building a new one in its place. But, eventually, life got in the way and they

abandoned their project, leaving it to an uncertain fate. “The house sat there for a while,” says Mattison. “My partner, Rob Smith, and I had lived on this street, and we knew the house had been sitting there for a couple years. We thought, ‘How do we buy this?’” Mattison and Smith, who are co-owners in a Grant Park-based renovation company called Balustrade Properties, made an offer, but the owners weren’t ready to sell. Still, it wasn’t enough to deter the two.

“The market was changing, and we’d go another year, and we’d make another offer,” Mattison says.

“Meanwhile, we’d see this house falling more and more into disrepair.

The sheathing on the outside was being destroyed by water. It was a very big rarity in Grant Park to see a house sitting there like that, on a prominent

street, on a cross street that goes over to the park—it’s only about 15 houses from the park. You’d go by it and people would say, ‘What is going on here?’ Well, nothing was going on.”

Eventually, Mattison and Smith moved off of Ormewood Avenue— around the corner to a different house—but they weren’t ready to give up on their plan. In early 2014, they put in yet another offer on the house, and then, according to Mattison, “sat around for a while thinking it wouldn’t happen.” This time, they were wrong. “Around April of 2014, they said ‘Okay,’” Mattison recalls of the owners’ acceptance. “Based on the changing market, we’d made them a better offer. Then, we thought, ‘Oh, no— now how are we going to afford to do this since the market has changed so much? What are we going to do?’”

Mattison and Smith knew that the answer was to convert the home to a five-bedroom, four-bath abode, and that it had to have living space in the basement, based on its location and what would-be buyers in that neighborhood were interested in. “We’d lived in that neighborhood since 2003, so we decided to follow

“It was a very big rarity in Grant Park, to see a house sitting there like that, on a prominent street” ­CARL MATTISON through with the project and turn it into what’s officially a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house with bonus space in the basement and a two-car garage on a great lot,” Mattison says.

In creating a space that would meet buyers’ demands, Mattison and Smith had to be deliberate in maintaining the old home’s originality while also creating spacious, modern interiors that buyers would find extremely livable. Mattison says that, because they were working on the site of an historic home but starting essentially from scratch, securing a permit proved an unusually lengthy process.

“We bought the house in April and we couldn’t start work until November,” he says. “People in the permitting office couldn’t agree whether it was an old house or a new one.”

Once the permit was issued, Mattison and Smith got down to creating what Mattison calls a

Mattison added vintage-inspired touches, such as built-ins and wide window casings, to give the home an aged effect. In contrast, sleek porcelain tiles give the fireplace a more modern feel.

The home’s wide entry hallway is flanked by a pair of bedrooms, each tucked behind a set of vintage-inspired six-panel doors. Wainscoting adds an extra layer of texture to the walls.

13

Living

SHELTER

hybrid home—a structure with a historically inspired exterior and modern, updated interiors.

For the new home’s exterior, Mattison wanted to honor traditional and historic design philosophies— which he did by reincorporating cedar shake siding and gables—but with a modern spin. He executed the latter idea in the form of a fresh color palette. “A lot of Victorian cottages, like this would’ve originally been called, would’ve had the same cedar shake siding and the gables, and people would’ve painted it different colors [than what we chose]. But going to a fresher, brighter color palette brought this home’s exterior into the modern world,” he says of the aqua, gray and sage green combo he selected. Also to pay homage to the home’s original features, Mattison installed what he calls crow’s feet windows on the front of the house. Finally, the home’s cheerful, aqua-colored front door was a sort of exclamation point. “Painting the front door—not just staining it, and not keeping it a traditional

14

JUNE 2016

Above: Mattison selected dark cabinets for the home’s open kitchen to give it a traditional touch.

Right: Mattison created neutral, spa-like bathrooms for the house, including this one, which is complete with weathered vanities, a bright white soaking tub and calming gray walls.

color—allowed it to be a little more modern, fresh and vibrant,” Mattison says. “We have a lot of young families in Grant Park, and I was trying to appeal to someone who’d look at it and say, ‘This isn’t the static old color palette that everyone uses.’”

Inside, the home’s previous owners had already begun to modify its compartmentalized floor plan into a more open one before scrapping the project entirely. “We worked with some of their layout because some of the open spaces were really good and desirable in Grant Park, and you don’t get those that much in an old house without popping a weird room off the back,” Mattison says.

Now with a master suite and two bedrooms upstairs and an additional two bedrooms, a kitchen and living

area downstairs, the home’s interiors are also replete with nods to its early 20th-century origins. High ceilings, six-panel doors, wide door casings, a picture rail that rims every room and built-ins on either side of the fireplace are just a few of the vintage-inspired elements that bring a charm factor into the space.

The home has since been purchased, proof that Mattison’s intuition and design savvy were spot on.

And now with a beautifully restored home standing proudly on the spot where a cast-off eyesore once stood, the residents of historic Grant Park are, no doubt, feeling grateful. n

Carl Mattison Design 678.362.7384 carlmattison.com

Balustrade Properties balustradeproperties.com

15

Living

STYLE

STYLE TO GO We spotted this well-dressed duo taking on Ponce City Market in casual, cool and wonderfully worn wardrobe basics. | STORY: Sarah Blackman | | PHOTO: Sandra Platten |

n i d e v i L e x u L What’s your favorite thing about what you’re wearing right now?

Arianna: Probably my vintage bracelet. I found it at Paris On Ponce, which is my go-to store for great vintage finds. It’s my favorite piece because I love silver and turquoise – anything with that type of Midwestern feel.

Robert: Definitely my leather jacket. I’m one of those people who just loves the rock-and-roll vibe.

Any time I can make it work, I prefer to just throw a leather jacket on. I can’t remember where I got this one, but it’s my favorite.

Where did you get the pieces you’re wearing now?

A: The hat is from Madewell, and the shoes are from Akira. My dress is from H&M, and the shirt came from Nordstrom.

R: My boots are Diesel. I love a really comfortable, chunky boot.

My boyfriend made these jeans for me by cutting up an old pair of GAP jeans that I was going to throw away. My shirt is Chloé— it’s actually a women’s shirt.

Are you an outfit planner, or do you dress by how you feel?

A: I dress by how I feel. I’m constantly changing my style. One day I might be hippy-urban, and the next

16

JUNE 2016

Arianna Kautzky AGE: 24

OCCUPATION: Nurse

Northside Hospital

Robert Jones

WHERE SHE LIVES:

AGE: 22

OCCUPATION: Makeup

at

Inman Park

artist

WHERE HE LIVES:

Midtown and NYC

I’ll dress very chic and classic. Some days I love to be sporty in leggings and a ponytail. I love to change it up, especially since I’m a nurse, and I don’t get a chance to really dress day to day. On my days off, I like to go all out based on what personality I want to tap into.

R: Oh, I’m a planner! I actually use an app called Stylebook on my phone to dress myself. I have taken a picture of everything in my entire wardrobe, and I put together outfits for the week… It took me an entire day to photograph everything, accessories and all, but it’s such a time saver.

Where are your favorite places to shop locally?

A: I like shopping at vintage/antique-type stores, so any of the boutiques in Little Five Points. Also Zara, Madewell and Urban Outfitters.

R: Chrome Yellow Trading Co. on Edgewood is one of my favorite stores. It’s a whole lifestyle.

Where’s your favorite place to go for a great fashion bargain?

A: Rag-O-Rama in Little Five Points.

R: The Clothing Warehouse and Buffalo Exchange.

Who are your style icons?

A: Audrey Hepburn. I love to tap into her classic style when I feel like being super-chic.

R: Jared Leto and Kanye West are my main faves; I live for them.

Also, Alanis Morissette. And I love what Riccardo Tisci is doing with Givenchy right now.

Where do you find fashion inspiration in Atlanta?

A: I love finding inspiration by people watching. Piedmont Park is one of my favorite places to go and see what everyone is wearing.

R: It’s all about the people here. We love to people watch together. n

STILL YOUNG AT HEART. They just need a little more help these days.

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Sales Executives With the addition of 17th South to our Simply Buckhead family, we are looking for experienced, self-motivated media sales professionals interested in earning high commissions for their hard work.

Knowledge of Midtown is desirable.

Please forward resumes to: publisher@simplybuckhead.com

17

Living

WELLNESS

WELLNESS An At-home Massage

Summer

Pampering Bath products, body massages and more to help you get prepped for another sultry Atlanta summer | STORY: Karina Antenucci |

Organic Bath Products

Little Barn Apothecary’s Coconut and Cactus Hydrating Milk Bath is packed with skinsoothing ingredients.

18

JUNE 2016

Warm weather’s setting in for the season, and sleeveless tops, sundresses, and shorts will soon take over your closet (if they haven’t already). From organic skincare to in-home-massages— and even a few injectables—these indulgences will have you looking and feeling warm-weather ready.

Little Barn Apothecary Restock your beauty cabinet with sumptuTipple and Rose ous bath and body treats from Atlanta-based 806 N. Highland Avenue Little Barn Apothecary’s line of organic, Atlanta, 30306 678.705.7995 wild-harvested products. The botanical ingrelittlebarnapothecary.com dients—such as honeysuckle, lemongrass, mint and lavender—that make up the body scrubs, Panacea Plastic Surgery 280 Elizabeth Street, Suite C oils, bath soaks, mists and more are mostly Atlanta, 30307 sourced from nearby farmers’ markets or Little 770.929.0634 Barn Apothecary’s own backyard garden. panaceaplasticsurgery.com A must-have from the new spring collection is Soothe a divine Coconut and Cactus Hydrating Milk 866.245.4264 Bath ($34), a powder chock-full of coconut soothe.com milk, aloe leaf powder and a dash of pink clay to turn a warm bath into a restorative soak.

Next, scoop up the Rosewood and Ylang Ylang Body Wash ($16), a calming blend that produces a gentle lather and has antimicrobial and skin-softening benefits. And another one to grab: the Honeysuckle Grapefruit Body Oil ($34) that provides post-bath hydration with skin-smoothing jojoba, vitamin E, sesame and avocado oils that won’t feel greasy.

Bring the spa to your doorstep with Soothe, a new mobile massageon-demand service that recently launched in Atlanta (it’s also in 21 other locations in the U.S. and Canada). You can enjoy your 60-, 90- or 120-minute Swedish, deep tissue or sports massage in Treat yourself to an the comfort of your own home and without at-home massage with help from the new having to get up and mobile service Soothe. get out afterwards like a typical spa service (so cruel!). A massage therapist can be at your door between 8 a.m. and midnight, with as little as 60 minutes advance notice. Rest assured, all of Soothe’s massage therapists are licensed, background checked and fully certified. The cost ranges from $99 to $169, depending on the length of the massage, and includes gratuity and taxes—all you need to do is focus on relaxing and getting your snooze on post-service.

A Wrinkle Eraser Looking for a way to make your skin smooth, supple and ready for its summer glow? Then a visit to the new boutique Panacea Plastic Surgery in Inman Park might be just the ticket. (Hey, to each her own.) The luxurious space with dark wood floors and chandelier lighting is run by Emory-trained and boardcertified plastic surgeons Dr. Kimberly Singh and Dr. Nour Abboushi, who provide a personalized service from check-in to post-procedure. Choose from a variety of non-surgical rejuvenation treatments, such as Botox, Juvederm, Restylane, Voluma and the recently FDA-approved Kybella, which dissolves a double chin. CoolSculpting, a nonsurgical procedure that literally freezes fat away, is also offered as a body-contouring option. Pricing varies depending on the treatment and individual.

Panacea Plastic Surgery: Wrinkles check in, but they don’t check out.

SCAD FASH MUSEUM OF FASHION + FILM AND THE SCAD MUSEUM OF ART PRESENT

Join us in Atlanta and Savannah for the premier exhibition celebrating the 35th anniversary of the House of Herrera. Experience breathtaking runway and bridal looks, day wear and red-carpet gowns worn by the world’s fashion elite.

MAY 20 – SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

MAY 20 – SEPTEMBER 4, 2016

1600 Peachtree St. NW | Atlanta, Georgia

601 Turner Blvd. | Savannah, Georgia

For more information visit scadfash.org or scadmoa.org.

Illustration used with permission of David Downton. ©2012 David Downton

Living

PEOPLE

Blast CEO Missi Wolf is changing lives one workout at a time

Just a

| STORY: Carly Cooper |

n w o t d i M

L

ooking at her, one would never guess that trim, 115-pound Midtown resident Missi Wolf was once obese.

But prior to starting Blast in 2008, the former media buyer and marketing director had never exercised a day in her life.

“After I had my second child, I had high blood pressure and was at risk for a stroke and diabetes. I went on this two-year quest and ended up losing 100 pounds,” she says. “I was spending four hours a day working out and wanted a place to get my cardio, strength and resistance training and yoga done in an hour. I realized there was nothing out there that covered everything, so I gave it a shot.”

When Wolf first opened the doors to Blast, she offered three classes a day in Buckhead, then opened an Athens studio in 2011 and a Midtown location in 2014. “At one point I was teaching 25 classes a week,” she says. In the next three to five years, her team is poised to open 15 new studios nationwide.

“How we change people’s lives— there’s nothing else like it,” says Wolf, who herself exercises five to six times a week. “It’s so empowering.”

Read on to learn how Wolf stays successful, fit and healthy.

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JUNE 2016

How has your role evolved since you launched Blast?

At first, I opened the doors at 5 a.m., checked everyone in, put out water and towels, taught the class, mopped the floors, did the marketing and followed up with clients. For the first three years, I had the calls forwarded to my cell phone. My kids, ages 8 and 10 when we opened, learned how to answer the phone—“Hi, this is Blast, how can we help you?”

Now, I teach one class a week, but my role is really to get the right people on board and make sure we stay on track with the vision.

With so many new gyms popping up around town, how do you stay successful?

The way to stay relevant is by providing a stellar product and offering excellent customer service. We do one class every week for which everyone on staff donates their time, and clients pay $5 and we give the money from it to charity. Once a month, we host a free class for all the fitness instructors in the city.

What’s the biggest success story you’ve seen come out of Blast?

I have numerous clients who have lost upward of 100 pounds.

Photo: CatMax Photography

l r i Gin a s s e Fitn ld Wor

I have tons of marathon runners or triathletes who have increased their personal records by leaps and bounds by incorporating Blast into their regimen. We have people who have been able to cut down or go off of their diabetic or blood pressure medicine.

What advice would you give to someone who’s never worked out and might be intimidated by Blast?

If you can walk, you can do Blast.

You will always hear a runner, jogger and walker speed [called out].

The 206-pound, five-foot-tall Missi couldn’t walk without holding on to the treadmill’s railings.

We have tons of people who do that, then three weeks later they’ve let go, then they move a little faster, then they’re jogging.

What are your favorite places to fuel your body before or after a workout?

My go-to is always one of Souper Jenny’s restaurants because I know that I’m getting everything organic, the most natural products you can have, and it is being made with love and care. I [also] love MetroFresh.

What do you do in your spare time?

I have a 17-year-old daughter who has been in alcohol and drug abuse recovery for 16 months, so I’m very involved in the addiction recovery community in Atlanta. I have a very cute boyfriend who is way younger.

We’ve been together for three years.

We do a lot of Piedmont Park, the BeltLine and going out to dinner.

What are your favorite local places to shop for workout gear?

Blast I love my Midtown Lululemon.

678.701.0619 theblastlife.com Their gear lasts forever. n

21

Photo: CatMax Photography, LLC

Living

OUT OF TOWN

The Inn at Sea Island Go horseback riding on Sea Island’s sandy beaches or spend a day on the resort’s awardwinning golf courses before retreating to the quaint comfort of The Inn at Sea Island.

Decadent deals Two swanky Southeast retreats are making luxury escapes more affordable for the masses.

T

wo of the Southeast’s favorite vacation destinations are making escapes to the coast and mountains a little more reasonable. Sea Island and Highlands, North Carolina’s Old Edwards Inn both offer mid-priced properties that, while offering lower cost accommodations, also give visitors access to many of the historic properties’ top-notch amenities. Continuing the same philosophy of service and comfort as their posh sister lodgings, these more casual homes-away-fromhome are ideal for a guys’ golf trip or a laid-back family weekend.

Read on to get the scoop.

The Inn at Sea Island The 85-room Inn at Sea Island offers guests the best of Sea Island’s luxe amenities at a fraction of the cost. (rates starting at $185 per night).

If anteing up the money for a few nights at the five-star The Cloister

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at Sea Island ($560 starting rate) isn’t in the budget, or you just prefer an unfussy environment where the kids can run wild, this is the ticket.

Technically, it’s located on St. Simons, but only 2 miles from the Sea Island gate. The best part: You can come and go as you please via the complimentary shuttle or with a special guest pass. Enjoy (almost) all the same perks on-island guests do—from golfing at three championship courses and spa treatments to sailing and fishing. The only catch is the Sea Island Beach Club, where Inn guests must purchase day passes from $50 to $200 per room (up to two adults and two kids) depending on the day of the week and season.

To use the Fitness Center on Sea Island, there is also a daily fee of $25 per person, but the Inn does offer its own workout room. It may not be enormous, but it does the trick.

During a recent stay at the Inn, I headed to Sea Island to dine on rustic Italian at Tavola Ristorante—don’t

| STORY: Giannina Smith Bedford |

miss the classic meat lasagna and margherita pizza with hand-pulled mozzarella—go on a salt marsh boat tour, enjoy a horseback ride on the beach and take a tennis lesson at The Cloister Tennis Center. At the end of a busy day I happily retreated back to my comfy, blue and white beach-styled room off-island.

If you don’t want to shuttle over for all activities, The Inn at Sea Island boasts its own outdoor pool and complimentary continental breakfast as well as a full-service evening bar.

One Sea Island bonus that definitely should not be missed, however, is a visit to Forbes Five-Star The Spa at Sea Island. I arrived early enough for my treatment to spend ample time luxuriating in nearly all the perks of the blissful sanctuary, from the sauna and steam room to the thermal mineral soaking tubs with solar salts (thought to alleviate tension and soothe skin). Following my heavenly one-hour facial, I relaxed in a chaise lounge in the tree-filled Garden

Atrium. As I reclined in my plush robe sipping cucumber-infused water, I thought to myself, “I could really get used to this.” Luckily, with the addition of The Inn at Sea Island, that is now an entirely realistic possibility.

200 Main The Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, North Carolina has long been a preferred mountain retreat for the well-heeled. In 2014, the legendary hotel opened a new property, 200 Main, to provide the same renowned service at a lower price point. Situated on a wooded hillside overlooking Main Street, about a half mile from the Old Edwards Inn, the more casual lodging features 49 rooms that range in price from $110 to $165 per night—a deal when compared to Old Edwards’ rates of $199 during the low winter season to $245 for a Historic Inn room in high season.

Formerly operating as the Mountain High Lodge, 200 Main underwent an extensive renovation

200 Main From top to bottom: 200 Main’s onsite amenities include an outdoor fire pit, select rooms with fireplaces and balconies and a well-appointed social gathering room.

that transformed guest rooms and bathrooms in “mountain-chic” style with plantation shutters on the windows, hardwood floors in the guest rooms and heated marble floors in the bathrooms. Some rooms even feature private balconies and fireplaces. When not lounging inside your stylishly rustic room, take a dip in the hourglass-shaped outdoor heated mineral pool or relax with a glass of wine on the outdoor terrace next to the fire pit. In the morning, 200 Main guests are treated to coffee and fresh whole fruit in the lobby.

If you’re a spa-goer (who isn’t?) make an appointment at The Spa at Old Edwards Inn and spend the afternoon enjoying the stone-bottomed whirlpools, Fireside Relaxation Lounge and Serenity Solarium. Prior to my 50-minute massage I did just that and could have stayed all day.

Guests at 200 Main can also take advantage of golf at the private Old Edwards Club—previously available

only to members or guests of Old Edwards—and indulge in the culinary creations of Chef David Young at The Grill Room, a fullservice bar and restaurant at the club. Although a tiny bit farther from the heart of downtown, 200 Main is still very much within walking distance to Highlands’ talked-about high-end boutiques, antique shops and restaurants.

The best part: Since you’re saving some dough on your hotel room, you can use that extra cash to scoop up some designer duds. n

VISIT The Inn at Sea Island 100 Salt Marsh Drive St. Simons Island 31522 855.246.8166 www.seaisland.com/inn-at-sea-island

ON SALE NOW! June 21-26

FoxTheatre.org/Wizard 855-285-8499

200 Main 200 Main Street Highlands, North Carolina 28741 828.526.2790 www.200main.com

23

Living

IN-TOWN ESCAPES

Left: A marble bathroom and a soaking tub are just some of the sumptuous details in the Loews Atlanta Hotel Vice Presidential Suite.

Right: The beautiful Midtown skyline at dusk, as seen from the hotel’s higher floors.

Right: Exhale Spa invites patrons to relax and de-stress with body treatments and fitness programs.

Mid-city Refuge

Right: The chef-inspired design elements at the recently renovated Saltwood give the space a cool, casual feel.

| STORY: Joanne Hayes |

Duck out of the city’s chaos and into a calming, urban oasis at Loews Atlanta Hotel

O

n my bucket list, I imagine a week at a spa retreat, à la Canyon Ranch. Cell phones and electronics disallowed; hours of yoga and reading, plus plenty of healthful cuisine. During this daydream, reality hits. Son in high school, husband traveling on business, a world of deadlines. Sigh.

The next best thing? A staycation with almost all the required elements. For this, my husband and I head to Midtown’s Loews Atlanta Hotel, home to the internationally renowned Exhale Spa, for a Friday night check-in.

Our beautiful room, with its marble bathroom, glass shower and soaking tub, awaited us. Once settled on the 25th floor, there was barely a sound from the traffic below. We took a deep breath, called the space a “no-cellphone” zone, and started to unwind for a precious 24 hours.

First up: a visit to Exhale on the seventh floor. The 20,000-square-foot spa offers facials, massages, acupuncture, energetic therapies,

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body scrubs, detoxing, waxing and nail services. It also boasts a robust fitness program of Core Fusion Barre, Yoga, Bootcamp, Cardio, Core Cycling classes, and a large mind-body gym with top-of-the-line cardio and weight equipment.

My spa therapist, Meredith, worked her magic on me with the Fusion Massage, combining flow technique with deep pressure. Afterwards we spent a few minutes in the detoxifying coed hammam, preparing mentally for the challenging advanced yoga class an hour later. Taught by regular Exhale instructor John Merideth, who is also a teacher trainer at Atlanta Yoga School, the intense practice brought me much-needed mental clarity and worked my physical strength.

Body and mind in the right place, we headed back to our room to share some Pinot Noir and locally produced CalyRoad cheese.

At 8 p.m., Saltwood’s lively bar scene was filled with locals and visitors, while bartenders served up hand-mixed cocktails, local microbrews and artisanal wines—all set to DJ tunes in the background.

Saltwood, known for its Master Chef of France-designated Executive Chef Olivier Gaupin’s love of charcuterie, features locally sourced ingredients from The Spotted Trotter, Benton’s, Sweet Grass Dairy Farm, CalyRoad Creamery, and Sequatchie Cove Farm in Tennessee.

Dinner options include Southern Paella, Alabama Grass Fed Ribeye, Cornbread and Apple Stuffed Southeast Farm Pork Tenderloin, along with healthy choices such as the Farro Bowl with crispy Brussels sprouts, tofu, kale chips, and toasted peanut and curry dipping sauce.

The Sunday brunch with its Bloody Mary bar is a treat, and the weekday lunchtime is bustling, with the main attraction Salad Bar. Grab a mixing bowl, load up all the ingredients you desire - veggies, dried fruits and nuts, grilled meats, exotic specialty salts; the chef tosses it with your favorite dressing (the homemade Green Goddess is a favorite) plating it to-go or to sit-down.

The latter includes hand-cut potato chips with just the right amount of sea salt; addicting for sure.

Waking up refreshed the following morning, we enjoyed a beautiful breakfast buffet, which alone, makes a Saturday morning visit to the Loews worthwhile. Fresh fruit, steel-cut oatmeal, yogurts, bagels, omelets and Seattle’s Best coffee are just a few of the items served.

After fitting in another yoga class before noon checkout, we left Loews feeling completely relaxed. This modern, yet charming, luxury hotel in the heart of Atlanta—with superb customer service and attention to detail—was a perfect choice for an urban getaway. n

PAMPER YOURSELF Loews Atlanta Hotel and Saltwood Charcuterie & Bar 1065 Peachtree Street N.E. Atlanta 30309 404.745.5000 www.loewshotels.com/Atlanta-Hotel Exhale Spa 404.720.5000 www.exhalespa.com Saltwood saltwoodatlanta.com

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Comedian Brian Moote takes on a new—and unexpected—role as a voice on Q100’s The Bert Show.

JUNE 2016

25

Culture HEADLINERS A New Arena

Comedian Brian Moote brings laughs to Atlanta’s airwaves as the new co-host of Q100’s The Bert Show.

Singer, X Factor (UK) star and Brian Moote’s new wife Katie Waissel is taking on her latest role—Atlantan

.

M .

A s c i t An | STORY: Jim Farmer |

N

ow that being an on-air radio personality is his job, Brian Moote can look back and laugh—after all, it’s not exactly a gig he grew up aiming for.

In early January, Moote joined Q100’s popular The Bert Show, syndicated in 17 markets across the country, as part of a morning trio that includes host Bert Weiss and co-host Kristin Klingshirn. It’s a high-profile job that came together quickly last fall, yet the road there hasn’t been linear.

After growing up on a farm in Whidbey Island, Washington, from 2000-2004 Moote attended the University of La Verne, where he briefly played basketball and got his first taste of radio while hanging out on the set of a friend’s show. Ultimately, he earned a psychology degree but did so without any idea of what he would do with it.

For a while after college, Moote taught special education classes for at-risk youth, and at night started performing stand-up comedy. In 2007, he headed to Boston to get a master’s degree in social work from Boston College, but entertainment came calling once again and Moote moved to L.A. to do more stand-up and some television, including MTV’s Money From Strangers. In 2014, Moote found himself in the right

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JUNE 2016

place at the right time, performing on the road in Seattle, where he successfully auditioned for a co-host spot on what would become Click 98.9’s Jackie, Marco and Moote show.

But when Moote learned about the opening created by Jeff Dauler’s departure from The Bert Show last fall, he contacted Q100. “That kind of job just doesn’t come open,” Moote says. “It’s rare.” Soon after, he interviewed with Cumulus Media and The Bert Show crew. A few in-person visits followed, as did an offer. Moote accepted the job and made yet another move East.

Mootse says his first day on The Bert Show was fun, albeit nerve racking. “It is a big show,” he admits.

He’d been listening and getting used to the format and made sure he

wasn’t too overeager that morning, and everything clicked immediately.

“We have a natural chemistry, like we’re friends talking,” Moote says.

“No one is trying to outdo anyone.”

Although he performed stand-up at Midtown’s Laughing Skull Lounge in 2011, Moote wasn’t overly familiar with Atlanta before moving here. Yet, he’s quickly taken to the city, and he has a partner—his new wife, singer and one-time X Factor UK star Katie Waissel—to explore alongside.

As lengthy as his days often get— it’s not uncommon for him to arrive for work at 5 a.m.—Moote still loves doing stand-up at night around town.

Even when he does, though, he’s in bed no later than 10 p.m. so he’s rested and ready to bring his A game to Atlanta’s morning airwaves. n

Growing up in North London, Katie Waissel promised her beloved grandfather she’d get his name in lights via her music career, and she’s been working to make it happen ever since.

By her late teens, Waissel, who took up piano at age five, was performing steadily in England, and in 2009 she earned the starring role in a YouTube series produced by The Coca-Cola Company called Green Eyed World, which followed the emerging musician—performing as Katie Vogel, the surname borrowed from her late grandfather—on a professional odyssey from Europe to L.A. and points in between. In 2010, while living in West Hollywood, Waissel headed back to England to audition for the UK version of The X Factor. She made the initial cut and landed a seventh-place finish, in the process becoming one of the show’s most buzzed-about contestants. “I gave it my everything,” she says. “It was the most insane journey of my life.”

In 2014 Waissel met Brian Moote in L.A. through a mutual friend, and they married the following year.

A move to Atlanta soon followed, when Moote began his new gig at The Bert Show. Of the Moote’s gig and cross-country move, Waissel says, “I was like, ‘Come on, let’s go!

I am so proud of him.”

Now 30, Waissel has made a few appearances on the hit Q100 show herself and, though they haven’t been in an official capacity, the singer says she’d love to do more. If Waissel’s track record is any indicator of her star power—and her staying power—it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing her name in lights all around her new hometown. —J.F.

Summer Day Camp Spots Still Available!

FOR BOYS & GIRLS AGES 2+ AT OUR 3 CENTRE LOCATIONS: West Midtown 404.873.5811 x150 Powers Ferry 678.213.5000

Buckhead 404.303.1501

Register today at

centre.atlantaballet.com/summer-programs Atlanta Ballet Company dancer Nadia Mara.

Photo by Kim Kenney.

27

Culture CREATORS

Actor-turnedartist Katie Nesbitt turns her knack for drawing animals into a business dedicated to creating inventive pet portraits. | STORY: H.M. Cauley |

I

n the afternoon lull between crushes of customers streaming in for the next spin class at Flywheel Sports in Midtown, Katie Nesbitt found time to unleash her creative prowess. Part of her job as customer service coordinator involves listing the month’s classes and events on a giant blackboard, but she’s taken the responsibility well beyond numbers and dates.

Instead, she embellishes the notice board with mini-artworks of animals, all made out of her imagination and pastel chalk.

The inventive works caught the eyes not only of Flywheel clients, but of others who started asking Nesbitt about doing chalk works of their pets. And voilà! An artist and a niche were born.

“It really started about a year ago when I took on the scheduling board,” Nesbitt says. “I wanted a way to get people to look at it, so I started developing different artistic themes every month. The animals were huge, and then someone asked me to do a picture of their dog, and it took off from there.”

Nesbitt, who lives in the Vinings area, had so many requests for original drawings that she recently launched Southern Chalk Design, her art company that focuses on portraits done completely in chalk. The commissions have kept her busy—a surprise to the trained actor who admits to having no formal art education.

“I went with chalk because it was

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t s h i t c t r e A k S what I had, and it was fun,” Nesbitt says. “The best thing about chalk is it gives me the opportunity to start over any time I want. It’s easy to erase, not like a mold that you’d have to scrap and start over.”

Instead of a slate board, Nesbitt’s custom creations are designed on cotton canvas with chalkboard paint.

After the initial image is dry, she primes it with plain old chalk.

“Canvas is lighter and easier to hang than a blackboard,” she points out. “And when it’s finished, it looks more like traditional art. The only bad thing about it is that it is chalk, so if you put any friction on it, it rubs off. I’ve thought about putting glass over the work to protect it, but so far, people have been fine without it.”

Nesbitt works from photographs to create chalk images in either a 16-by-20 or 11-by-14-inch size, priced at $100 and $75, respectively.

So far, the only requests she’s had are for pets, but people portraits are not out of the question.

“I’m taking the business day by day, but so far the response has been incredible,” she says. “I never in my life imagined something like this would take off, but I’m following the momentum. The best part for me is being able to make people smile.

I’m having a great time with it.” n

Check out Nesbitt’s chalk art at Flywheel, 1217 Spring St. 30309, or visit her website, southernchalkdesign.com.

“I never in my life imagined something like this would take off, but I’m following the momentum”­ KATIE NESBITT

Indulge n

REVIEW n LIQUIDS n FRESH BITES

30 REVIEW

AUTHENTIC ITALIA At Ponce City Market, Bellina Alimentari brings the true tastes of Italian cooking to Atlanta

JUNE 2016

29

Indulge REVIEW

Authentic

a i l Ita O

n a trip to Atlanta’s buzzed-over Ponce City Market, you can sit down to a sizzling plate of Mapo Tofu at Jia, grab a bag of South African jerky at Biltong Bar, split a massive Cuban sandwich at El Super Pan, snag a bureka at Marrakesh and, soon, slurp a bowl of authentic Japanese ramen at Ton Ton. And while these global hotspots are dripping with flavor, intrigue and promise, sometimes, all you really want is a bowl of good old-fashioned spaghetti.

When your comfort food cravings come calling, head to Bellina Alimentari, a classic Italian market-meets-wine-bar-meets-culinaryclub that’s taking it back to basics. Though longtime Atlanta chef Dave Berry, who hails from Horseradish Grill, mans the stove, Bellina is really Israeli architect and designer Tal Postelnik Baum’s brainchild.

Baum spent the last seven years working in restaurants in Florence, Italy, before returning to Atlanta and opening Bellina to pay homage to her time there. She enlisted famed Atlanta designer Smith Hanes (you’ve seen his work at The Optimist and Le Fat) to deck out the gorgeous industrial space with

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JUNE 2016

Bellina Alimentari infuses Italian flavors into Ponce City Market’s popular food hall. | STORY: Kate Parham Kordsmeier | PHOTOS: Sara Hanna |

walnut wood tambour, marble counters, aged brass, hand-hammered metal and amber glass.

Admittedly, Bellina packs a lot into one space, but it’s the largest in the market’s Food Hall with 4,000 square feet. And yet, you’d almost miss the restaurant if you weren’t looking closely.

The grocery, stocked with imported oils, sauces, dried pastas and condiments, spans the entire front space, complete with a carry-out counter selling fresh pastas, sauces, salads and paninis.

But behind all the artisanal goodies, you’ll find a 14-seat wine bar and intimate dining area overlooking the mesmerizing dough room. During the day, you can watch Chef Berry hand-making pasta and bread.

And at night, it’s transformed into a culinary club where private dinners, cooking classes and tastings are held (think Single Mingle Pasta Making, Introduction to Amaro, Pizza Making and 3 Wine, 3 Cheese).

Quality is the name of the game here. Any of the edible ingredients that aren’t imported from Italy are made from scratch in-house or sourced from local purveyors, such as the Spotted Trotters’ meats and cheeses, and other local food champions, such as Anson Mills, Brasstown Beef and White Oak Pastures.

But Bellina’s commitment to local doesn’t stop with the food. Don’t miss the hand-patinated barfront by Tommy Taylor, the forged chandeliers featuring metalwork by Andrew Crawford, hand-blown glass lights by Janke Studios and a towering wine bar constructed by Wood Mill Lab. Even the dishware is locally made. Atlanta carpenter Koby Downs created an exclusive line of ambrosia maple serving boards (charcuterie and cheese are served on these, and they’re available for sale in the market), while Decatur pottery studio MudFire’s signature ceramic plateware is used and sold, too.

We prefer the ceramics when they come yielding pasta, such as the creamy, earthy mushroom ragù served over perfectly al dente tagliolini, a traditional long, ribbon-like pasta from Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

The dish is a lesson in minimalism, much like the rest of Berry’s thoughtful menu, where high-quality, seasonal ingredients call the shots, and no dish is trying to be something it’s not. For proof, see the polpette al sugo, a Fontina-stuffed meatball bathed in fresh and tangy red sauce and garnished with freshly shaved parmesan.

For lunch, stick with soups and pasta. A

Above: Meat-lovers will rejoice in the polpette al sugo, meatballs stuffed with Fontina, sprinkled with parmesan and served atop a tangy red sauce. Previous page: Simple yet delicious—Bellina’s pesto pasta entree, a rustic combination of fusilli, basil pesto and shaved parmigiano reggiano.

velvety butternut squash soup garnished with housemade winter pesto (kale gives it a superfood boost!) and a creamy dollop of mascarpone far outshines the prosciutto panini, which sounds good (great, even) in theory, but in reality is overpowered by cumbersome, too-thick slabs of bread.

Likewise, the inaptly named crudo was misleading and thus disappointing. What is normally a bright and vibrant raw fish or tartare dish in Italy, this crudo was a plain green salad, no more special than a bag of mixed lettuce you’d find at Publix.

Bellina’s outstanding wine program makes up for it. Though you’ll find seasonal housemade sodas, craft beers and draft cocktails (go for the Negroni, an Italian classic), the wine list really shines in the natural and biodynamic selections, most notably the extensive list of orange wine (dry white wine fermented with the skins on). Four options are available, all of which are also offered by the half-glass and glass (read: perfect for taste testing), ranging from dry and delicate to funky and full-on barnyard.

Likewise, the already impressive Amaro program continues to grow each day as more guests swap tired vodka for something with far more flavor and interest. Hint: Do it! The bitter Italian herbal liqueur is the perfect ending to your sure-to-be-fabulous meal. Cin Cin!. n

Earthy and decadent, the mushroom tagliatelle is rustic Italian cooking at its finest.

Cheers!

Come to Bellina Alimentari for the food, but stay for the wine and cocktails.

Don’t miss the negroni on draft at Bellina.

And whether you’re a bona fide oenophile or a total novice, you won’t want to miss Bellina’s orange wines.

Their extensive list of orange wine is one-of-a-kind in the city and is offered by the glass and half-glass.

Whet your appetite with an antipasti—in this case, a Misto Board bearing local and Italian charcuterie, house-baked bread, cheese and marinated olives

BELLINA ALIMENTARI 675 Ponce De Leon Ave. NE, N-131, Atlanta 30308 404.330.9933 bellina-alimentari.com Recommended: Formaggi board, $16; Misto board, $18; Tagliolini della Sorellina, $14; Polpette al Sugo, $12; Zucca soup, $5 Bottom line: An ode to simple comfort food done well.

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Indulge LIQUIDS

Photo: Tomas Espinoza

This month, take a DIY approach to imbibing with classes designed to hone your cocktail and wine savvy. | STORY: Amelia Pavlik |

Cocktail Courses T

rying to find the perfect bourbon-based cocktail or cool white wine to sip away the summer with? Some of Midtown’s favorite drink spots have you covered with comprehensive, DIY classes ranging from cocktail making to wine pairings.

Above: Always with her finger on the pulse, Grain’s Beverage Director Madison Burch is known for staying ahead of the trends.

GRAIN The Secret Ingredient Your Punch Has Been Missing WHEN: June 18, 2-4 p.m.

COST: $59 for two (includes cocktail and food instruction, one drink and plate of food per person and a takeaway with recipe cards)

Below: Ration & Dram’s co-owner, Andy Minchow, and bar manager, Kysha Cyrus, teach guests the necessary tools, spirits and tips for making a great cocktail at their monthly Shaken or Stirred cocktail class.

Bar Margot A Barrel of Bourbon WHEN: June 26, 1 p.m.

THE DETAILS: Get more bang for your girls’, guys’ or date night buck by learning how to mix a party-perfect spiked punch. You’ll receive a take-home treat of oleo-saccharum (a citrusy syrup) and a BBQ spice rub. Participants who stay after class will get a discount on a second round of food and drinks. Tickets to GRAIN the weekly event are 856 West Peachtree St. NE Atlanta 30308 available through 404.881.5377 Scoutmob’s Handgrain-bar.com Picked Local Events (scoutmob.com).

COST: $52 (includes cocktails, snacks and valet parking)

Parish Uncorked

THE DETAILS: Spend a Sunday afternoon with

WHEN: June 3 & 15, 7:30 p.m.

Bar Margot’s Bartender Joe, who will teach participants how to mix up three taste bud-tantalizing Bar Margot cocktails, including a 75 14th Street NE Whisky Sour, a Manhattan Atlanta 30309 and an Old Fashioned, 404.881.5913 each with an upscale twist. barmargotatl.com Reserve your spot at tinyurl.com/fsatlevents.

COST: $30 (includes wine,cheese and charcuterie)

Ration & Dram Ration & Dram Shaken or Stirred: 130 Arizona Ave. Champagne Cocktails Atlanta 30307 WHEN: June 18, 4 p.m.

THE DETAILS: We all know that learning about— and drinking—good wine is best enjoyed in the company of others. That’s why Parish has created its monthly Uncorked event, which is held on the first Friday and third Wednesday of each month. Guests will enjoy wines, ranging from Champagne to chardonnay to Chablis, and bites Parish while taking in the scenic 240 North Highland Ave. BeltLine and the sounds Atlanta 30307 404.681.4434 of DJ Dillon Maurer. parishatl.com Call 404.681.4434 to make your reservation.

678.974.8380 rationanddram.com

Photo: M-Squared Public Relations

COST: $50 (includes four cocktails and hors d’oeuvres)

Above: Want to start summer off with a bourbon-soaked bang?

Head to Bar Margot’s Barrel of Bourbon class.

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en or Stirred class to teach guests all they need to know about the tools and spirits that make a great cocktail. And with days of summer on the horizon, Andy Minchow, Ration & Dram’s co-owner and cocktail guru, will be teaching participants how to mix up perfect poolside sips, including the French 75. Snag your seat by calling 678.974.8380.

Photo: Heidi Geldhauser

THE DETAILS: Each month, this eatery hosts its Shak-

Above: At Parish’s monthly Uncorked event, guests have a chance to sample unique wines and bites while overlooking the scenic BeltLine.

From that big, juicy, cut-it-with-a-butter-knife, fit-for-aking filet mignon that you can only get at the swankiest steakhouse in Buckhead to that discovered-by-theroadside southern-fried comfort food that’d make your grandma question her cooking skills, Atlanta Eats has the dish on what can’t be missed in and around Atlanta.

Yeah, we’re gonna make your mouth water.

atlantaeats.com

Sat 7:30 pm | Sun 10:30 am

Indulge

FRESH BITES What’s New & Noteworthy in Food

| STORY: Sarah Gleim | Whatever you’re hankering for, you can likely find it in Ponce City Market’s food hall.

Photos: AFWF/Raftermen Photography

BeltLine Food Trek

Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Returns The sixth-annual Atlanta Food & Wine Festival rolls in to Midtown June 2-5. We caught up with festival co-founder Elizabeth Feitcher to see what exciting new events she and co-founder Dominique Love have cooked up for attendees.

What changes can attendees expect this year?

We have a lot new this year. Learning Experiences will be held at Loews Atlanta Hotel again this year, and classes will be Friday and Saturday. Sunday we are expanding our brunch and making that a larger, more active experience.

What can we expect this year at the Tasting Tents?

We moved the Tasting Tents this year to the Greensward Promenade at Piedmont Park. I love the area. It has a grassy area and fountain, and gives us more opportunity for café space and guests to cop a squat on the lawn. Another thing that’s different is that we’re moving the Friday Tasting Tents to Friday night from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. We’re calling it Friday Night Bites. The tents will be lit up and it will be beautiful. We’ll also have a tailgate area with the Fox Bros. and other pitmasters from around the South.

What else will be a first for the AF&WF this year?

We are building a pop-up vineyard on 14th Street

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across from the Four Seasons hotel— it’s the first time one has been built in U.S. We are moving the vines from North Georgia and re-planting them to create the vineyard in a vacant four-acre lot. We’ll use the space for events during the festival and guests will get the feel of being in an actual vineyard.

It will also remain open for about six weeks after the festival, and we’ll continue to have events there.

What are you most excited about for this year?

We continue to shape talent through our advisory council. We have folks continue to join us every year. We have amazing new relationships that we’ve developed over time.

One of my favorite things is seeing all of these people come back time after time and hang out together and kick back and relax.

I’m excited about the talent and new faces that we continue to discover along the way. n Atlanta Food & Wine Festival atlfoodandwinefestival.com

T

his time of year, the Eastside Trail on the BeltLine can seem as congested as the Downtown Connector on any given Friday.

But a crowd isn’t going to keep us away—summer in Atlanta is what we live for. So next time you hit the trail, make a point to trek from Ponce City Market to Krog Street Market, and hit one (or more) of these spots to refuel along the way.

If you start out with lunch at the Food Hall at Ponce City Market, you’ll have your pick of several top spots, including a Latin-inspired sandwich at Hector Santiago’s El Super Pan, one of the famed burgers at Linton Hopkins’s H&F Burger and fish tacos at Sean Brock’s Minero. Or just grab a sweet treat from Honeysuckle Gelato.

Start heading south on the BeltLine, then stop at Two Urban Licks and chill out on the patio that overlooks the trail with a

glass of vino from one of the 72 kegs of on-tap. Or keep strolling past the Old Fourth Ward Skate Park and take a break at Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall.

The restaurant just doubled its outdoor space on the BeltLine and now includes large teepees, Adirondack chairs and retro metal gliders, plus a number of communal beer tables.

It’s also dog-friendly, so furry friends are welcome.

Once you reach Irwin Street in the heart of Inman Park, you’ll have your choice of restaurants.

In the mood for Mediterranean tapas and wine? Hit Kevin Rathbun’s Krog Bar. Ford Fry’s Superica features his mashup of “Mex-Tex,” while Serpas True Food’s menu includes Louisianainspired cuisine from chef/owner Scott Serpas. Of course, for even more offerings, head to Krog Street Market, where you can dine at food stalls and restaurants like Craft Izakaya, The Luminary and The Cockentrice. n

The Cockentrice thecockentrice.com Craft Izakaya craftizakaya.com El Super Pan 404.600.2465 H&F Burger hfburger.com Honeysuckle Gelato honeysucklegelato.com Krog Bar krogbar.com Krog Street Market krogstreetmarket.com Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall ladybirdatlanta.com The Luminary theluminaryatl.com Minero mineroatlanta.com Ponce City Market poncecitymarket.com Serpas True Food serpasrestaurant.com Superica supericaatl.com Two Urban Licks twourbanlicks.com

Food News n Linton Hopkins, chef and owner of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman and Finch Public House, and his wife and business partner Gina have opened their newest restaurant at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Linton’s in the Garden is one of the world’s few restaurants located in a botanical garden, and is helmed by Executive Chef Jason Paolini. Paolini has worked at Restaurant Eugene, Holeman and Finch Public House and H&F Burger. The restaurant also features an exclusive collection of Dale Chihuly paintings, one of only two Atlanta destinations featuring his art.

Diners at Linton’s in the Garden enjoy pretty views aplenty.

Rendering: Courtesy Perkins+Will

n Ponce City Market is soon to be home to its own City Winery—the urban winery, concert venue and restaurant concept from Michael Dorf, founder of the iconic Knitting Factory in New York City. Executive Chef Jeffrey McGar will be in charge of the kitchen when it opens on June 3. Musicians announced for the opening month lineup include 10,000 Maniacs, Robby Krieger, Todd Snider and more.

City Winery 650 North Ave. Ponce City Market Atlanta 30308 citywinery.com/atlanta Linton’s in the Garden Atlanta Botanical Garden 1345 Piedmont Ave. Atlanta 30309 404.585.2061 lintonsinthegarden.com

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COVER STORY

e h t o t e Welcom

d o o h or b h g i Ne The heart of Atlanta is home to some of the city’s most dynamic neighborhoods.

For our debut issue, we’re breaking down the history—and hot spots—in each. | STORY: H.M. Cauley | PHOTOS: Sandra Platten |

From the BeltLine and the Masquerade to the Sweet Auburn Curb market, we’re giving you the 411 on the neighborhoods 17th South calls home. As individual as these areas are, they share a common thread of history.

Many came into existence by growing beyond the shadow of the city’s center, either as a working-class community or the latest “suburban” development. Those deep historic roots play a role in what these neighborhoods are today—some of our city’s most vibrant and exciting enclaves.

37

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Midtown Y

es, it’s a district. And yes, it’s a neighborhood. That’s the tricky thing about “Midtown,” says Tony Rizzuto, professor of architecture at Kennesaw State and president of the Midtown Neighbors Association who has lived there for 30 years.

“It’s our official, legal name, but it’s also the area between downtown and Buckhead.” So let’s consider the neighborhood: It’s one of the city’s most populous, with residents in single-family houses, condos and apartments and represented by the neighborhood association.

It’s also one that’s seen dramatic changes. “In the ’60s and ’70s, we were the Haight-Ashbury of the East Coast,” says Rizzuto. “Then we transitioned into a yuppie neighborhood in the late ’80s.” Today, Midtown is the hub of technology, with Georgia Tech nearby and a plethora of start-ups and tech firms calling the neighborhood home.

The area’s wealth of undeveloped land contributes to its energy. “We have about 8,000 new residential units coming out of the ground over the next three years because we have the lots to do that,” Rizzuto says.

“We’re also developing an arts walk that connects public spaces throughout the neighborhood and are looking at areas around Crescent Street where we could commission works of art.” And though not technically in the neighborhood, Piedmont Park “is a big part of our identity,” Rizzuto adds, since residents are impacted by major, metro-wide events such as the Atlanta Dogwood Festival every April and the Atlanta Jazz Festival over Memorial Day weekend.

Supporting the neighborhood is the Midtown Alliance and the Midtown Improvement District, both designed to meet the needs of property owners and businesses. n

midtownatlanta.org

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Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Photo: Jeff Roffman

Midtown is Atlanta’s leading arts district, with more than 30 cultural institutions, including the Woodruff Arts Center, the High Museum and the Fox Theatre. They fit in Midtown’s broad geographical span that extends south from the Brookwood split on Peachtree down to North Avenue.

Other highlights include the restored Margaret Mitchell House and Rhodes Hall, headquarters of The Georgia Trust and a prime example of a structure built from Stone Mountain granite. Take a break from the art and history action to dine at curbside tables at Tap, on the deck at Ecco or in the elegant dining room of Park 75, the restaurant of the Four Seasons Hotel. Other notable eateries here include South City Kitchen, Livingston in the Georgian Terrace and Chef Hugh Acheson’s Empire State South.

Margaret Mitchell House

Photo: Courtesy Atlanta History Center

Where to go and what to do:

Ansley Park

and Peachtree has been anchored since 1913 by the columned and classically designed First Church of Christ Scientist. The neighborhood is also home to the Ansley Golf Club on Montgomery Ferry Drive, a private country club that dates back to 1912 and offers members a range of sporting options, including 27 holes of golf.

Mark McDonald, president and CEO of the Georgia Trust, has called Ansley home since 2008. “It’s a great neighborhood centrally located to cultural institutions, schools, parks and businesses,” he says. “It has great architecture, a sense of history and a string of parks for walking dogs, playing tennis and social gatherings.” n

ansleypark.org

Cook’s Warehouse

Smith’s Olde Bar

Photo: Erik Meadows Photography

A

nyone who’s ever been lost in Ansley’s maze of winding streets has had time to take in the pocket parks and stately homes of this historic community. And that’s not an accident: As the area was being developed in the early decades of the last century, the goal was to blend landscaping, wide streets and houses together to create the sense of a public park. Some of the oldest homes have been lost to new construction, including the former Governor’s Mansion that sat on the Prado from 1925 until the present residence was built in Buckhead in 1968. The properties that remain reflect an eclectic mix of styles, including Queen Anne, Colonial and Craftsman. Ansley’s entrance at 15th

Ansley Park is rife with leafy residential streets and quiet spots for a stroll.

Where to eat and shop: The neighborhood center is the open-air Ansley Mall, 1544 Piedmont Avenue, where the Publix grocery is surrounded by an LA Fitness, always-busy Starbucks and Pier One, to name a few.

Foodies flock to Cook’s Warehouse, which is here, for supplies, as well as gourmet treats and hands-on classes. When it comes time to dig in, neighborhood favorites include Bantam and Biddy, Atmosphere and Hob Nob. Cowtippers, noted for its expansive deck, serves up steaks, oversized desserts and more than 100 varieties of tequila. Smith’s Olde Bar draws patrons from around the metro area for the eclectic line-up of live music acts.

Morningside /Lenox Park M

ention “Morningside” and the idea that may leap to mind is the charming housing stock of classic brick Tudors that date to the 1920s and ’30s. The next may be the farmers market, one of the first in town that draws shoppers to the commercial district around University Drive and North Highland every Saturday year-round. Another is the neighborhood school, Morningside Elementary, which opened in 1929 and continues to be one of the mostcoveted schools in the city system.

“This is a true neighborhood school with a strong sense of community,” says Michelle Constantinides, a 20-year resident and president of the 500-member Morningside PTA. “It’s also one of the best schools in

the state. The majority of families could choose where they send their children, but they’ve invested in the neighborhood school. It’s one of the things that’s driven up prices; you can’t find a fixer-upper bungalow now for less than $600,000.”

Religious education was behind one local landmark, the Rock Springs Presbyterian at the corner of Piedmont and Rock Springs roads.

Founded in 1868, the church drew families whose names—Cheshire, Luckie, Plaster—are now part of the city’s fabric. Today, the neighborhood association pulls in the area’s original developments: Morningside, Lenox Park, University Park, Noble Park, Johnson Estates and Hylan Park. n

Morningside Elementary School

Where to shop and dine: Two vibrant commercial districts call the neighborhood home. In the Piedmont Avenue – Cheshire Bridge corridor is a recently opened Sprouts market that anchors a new mixed-use development of apartments and shops. Along Cheshire Bridge are some of the city’s long-time favorite dining spots: The Colonnade (cash only!), Red Snapper and the original Taqueria del Sol. The northern stretch of Highland Avenue is home to Alon’s, the food emporium filled with gourmet treats and meals to go. Nearby is the Original El Taco, the Family Dog pub, Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and Morningside Kitchen, a new project by local chef Tom Murphy.

mlpa.org

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DID YOU KNOW? The original Taco Mac opened in Virginia-Highland in 1979 and still sports the original signage.

Virginia -Highland place from 1909 into the 1920s. One of the area’s original country homes, the Adair mansion on Rupley Drive, was built in 1895, but when the family moved out in 1911 it was converted to apartments that are still in use today.

One of the oldest structures is Atlanta Fire Station 19, the 1924 brick edifice at 1063 N. Highland that residents have rallied behind to restore. Another area landmark is the Ace Hardware store that’s been in business on N. Highland for more than 30 years. n

on’t make the mistake so many newbies do: There’s no “s” on the end of “Highland.” Historians know it’s an easy mistake to make, given the neighborhood’s pastoral beginnings as rolling farmland. But the continued expansion of streetcar lines into these bucolic areas created suburban communities that allowed residents to enjoy the countryside while having an easy commute to the downtown business district. Houses began sprouting up in the late 1890s, but the bulk of development took

vahi.org

What not to miss: The neighborhood boasts an active homeowners association that stages a variety of events that pull in visitors from around the city. Each June, the Virginia-Highland Summerfest features a 5K and an extensive artists’ market; the annual Tour of Homes in December offers a glimpse inside private residences.

And there’s no possibility of going hungry Murphy’s in this ‘hood: Among the noted eateries are the perennial favorites Murphy’s, Highland Tap and Fontaine’s Oyster House, along with La Tavola, Osteria 832 and American Roadhouse. Check out the local blues music scene at Blind Willie’s or the vibrant nightlife at Dark Horse Tavern and Limerick Junction pubs.

Photo: Courtesy Murphy’s

D

With its plethora of bars, restaurants and music venues, there’s no going thirsty or hungry—for good food or entertainment—in Virginia-Highland.

Westside

(Midtown West)

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Photo: Courtesy Atlantic Station

art studios, performance venues, a coffee shop and the backdrop for many “Hunger Games” scenes.

The refurbished King Plow factory at 887 West Marietta Street is another example of re-use that turned an 1890s structure into a warren of offices, art galleries and theater space.

The 1910 White Provisions Company building at 1100 Howell Mill anchors a complex of retail and restaurant spaces, as well as condos that afford residents the option of walking home after a late night at the nearby hip-hop nightclub, Compound. n

midtownwest.com Bacchanalia

Where to eat:

Photo: Andrew Thomas Lee

he term “westside” covers a lot of ground, starting with the expansive Atlantic Station to the revitalized commercial district along Marietta Street and Howell Mill Road.

Once a predominately industrial and meatpacking district, the area is now awash in oversized warehouses that lend themselves to loft apartments and work studios. Mixed in with the old are new complexes, stores and restaurants that have turned a once dingy corridor of rail and truck traffic into one of the hottest sections of town. The largest of the new is Atlantic Station, 138 acres of shopping, entertainment, dining, working and living space carved out of the former Atlantic Steel site in 2005. On the edge of the development is one of the Westside’s new landmarks: A replica of Paris’s Arc de Triomphe that houses the private Millennium Gate Museum.

One of the oldest properties in the area is the Goat Farm, a 12-acre swatch of land alongside the train tracks where former industrial buildings have been turned into

Hungry? Westside is now home to some of the city’s top and favorite eateries, starting with the continually top-rated Bacchanalia and its market, Star Provisions. Since it opened as the urban pioneer restaurant in 1992 when not much else existed, Bacchanalia has been joined by a bevy of great dining spots, including Cooks & Soldiers, Le Fat, Five Seasons Brewing, The Optimist, JCT. Kitchen and Marcel, one of the most expensive steakhouses in town where a Porterhouse for two costs $125.

Clockwise from top: An evening at Atlantic Station’s “Movies in Central Park”; the Goat Farm; the refurbished King Plow factory

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Old Fourth Ward I

Below: One of Atlanta’s most successful developments, Ponce City Market is home to an always-buzzing food hall, plus residential, retail and professional space.

Photo: Courtesy Ponce City MArket

That convenience has electrified the back-to-the-city movement of new residents who want to be close to employment centers, nightlife, restaurants and the connectivity offered by the BeltLine. The area’s distressed properties and vacant land have been ripe for development, resulting in a plethora of apartments, townhouses and condos, as well as commercial enterprises.

For Sutherland, the new-found vitality of the neighborhood demonstrates how resilient the area is.

“In 1917, we lost a lot of property when a fire burned for 12 hours.

We went through ‘white flight’ and the foreclosure crisis of 2008. But Old Fourth Ward can reinvent itself and overcome adversity.” n

What to see and do:

Photo: Sweet Auburn Market

n 1990, what used to be a city voting district morphed into four separate neighborhoods: Old Fourth Ward Alliance, Old Fourth Ward Neighbors, Fourth and S.A.N.D. (Sweet Auburn Neighborhood District) and Fourth Ward West. But the overall name, Old Fourth Ward, stuck and still applies to the geographic area that encompasses all four. They’re also linked to the Old Fourth Ward Business Association, an organization of both residents and businesses that oversees issues relating to the area’s explosive growth, a welcome change from the area’s lackluster past. In its earliest days, the O4W population comprised workers who walked to often unskilled jobs in the bustling downtown district.

The lure of the suburbs depleted the area, says Kit Sutherland, community liaison for the Business Association.

“In 1960, we had 21,000 residents; in 1980, we had 7,000 and nothing was going on. We just had vacant properties and absentee landlords.

But now, we’ve come back because of where we are. Suddenly, we’re incredibly convenient.”

Above: Historic Fourth Ward Park, which surrounds a stormwater retention basin, is a favorite spot for leisurely bike rides and walks.

Sweet Auburn Market

One of the most successful developments to date is Ponce City Market, the former Sears center on Ponce de Leon Avenue that is now home to apartments, retailers and restaurants on the edge of the BeltLine. Next door is the Historic Fourth Ward Park, a 16-acre greenspace that disguises a storm water retention basin, and The Masquerade, a long-time music venue.

The south side of the neighborhood has also seen changes with the arrival of the Atlanta Streetcar and the refurbishing of the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, an historic building filled with food vendors and grab-and-go eateries such as Arepa Mia, Bell Street Burritos and Grindhouse Killer Burgers.

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Welcome to the Neighborhood

What to see and do:

I

n the 1880s, the land that is now Inman Park was ripe for development. The men with the vision were Joel Hurt and Samuel Inman, who enticed city dwellers to this planned suburb by building the first electric streetcar that ran east from downtown along Edgewood Avenue. The first homes were built in lavish Victorian style, with wide front porches and plenty of gingerbread accents. Other styles were added as the years went by.

Two of the grandest homes were built

by Coca-Cola magnates Asa Candler and Ernest Woodruff. The heart of

the neighborhood is still Springvale Park, a greenspace enhanced by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1903. But by the middle of the last century, properties were being chopped up into apartments or neglected. It wasn’t until the 1970s that residents mounted a grassroots effort to reclaim the community. They launched the Inman Park Festival to showcase homes in various stages of renovation; April 30 to May 1, 2016, marked the 45th year of celebrating the neighborhood’s heritage and its spot on the National Register of Historic Places. n

inmanpark.org

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Hop City at Krog Street Market

Photo: Krog Street Market

Inman Park

Along with swift access to downtown and Midtown, Inman Park also borders the funky Little Five Points shopping district at the intersection of Euclid, Moreland and McLendon avenues. This cool corner is where you’ll find vintage dresses (Junkman’s Daughter), a craft brew pub (Wrecking Bar), two spots selling vinyl LPs (Wax ‘n’ Facts, Criminal Records) and a bar where smoking is still allowed (The Vortex), all within a short stroll of each other.

The district is also home to a thriving arts culture, with the Variety Playhouse, Horizon Theatre, 7 Stages and Dad’s Garage offering a mix of music, improv and drama. The BeltLine on the neighborhood’s southern side has spurred the growth of residential and restaurant outlets along Highland Avenue and has inspired the development of Krog Street Market, a refurbished nine-acre complex that blends office spaces, apartments, shops, restaurants and food outlets.

Where to eat and shop: The neighborhood’s busiest thoroughfare may be its northern border along Ponce de Leon Avenue, where commercial sites range from antique stores and art galleries to a well-stocked Urban Outfitters.

The outdoor store is in the same center as the Plaza Theatre. Next door to the Plaza is the landmark Majestic Diner, where glam couples wrapping up date night can perch on a counter stool next to college kids and working stiffs coming off the late shift. The corner of North Avenue and North Highland, long the location of the iconic Manuel’s Tavern, is being refurbished with a mixed-use project that promises to bring the local hangout back to life in the future.

Meanwhile, locals meet for meals at Babette’s Cafe and recharge with coffee and wine at JavaVino.

Poncey -Highland T

his neighborhood south of Ponce de Leon Avenue is a work in progress. Redevelopment projects are creating more residential units and commercial districts that will significantly transform the landscape. Two cases in point: The landmark Manuel’s Tavern on the corner of North and Highland avenues is being blended into a new mixed-use concept; the grounds around the former Druid Hills Baptist Church, built in 1914 at 1085 Ponce de Leon, are also being reworked into a similar design.

The Kroger shopping center beside the BeltLine on North Avenue—long known among Atlantans by the sinister nickname “Murder Kroger” because of killings that occurred in its parking lot in 1991 and 2015—is slated to be revamped, providing better walkability to the housing developments nearby and a revised business model suited to an urban location.

The new additions will exist alongside established centers such as the Plaza, one of the city’s first “strip malls” and home to one of the longest-operating

Cabbagetown

J

ust how this area of town came to be called Cabbagetown is largely rooted in lore. The most popular story says a truckload of cabbages overturned on one of the neighborhood’s narrow, almost slitlike streets, and residents snapped up the cargo and ate it for dinner, so the entire vicinity reeked of cooking cabbage. While there’s little documentation to support that tale, what is known about Cabbagetown is that it began as a mill village that housed workers from the adjacent Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills. The factory opened in 1868 and during its peak employed about 2,000 workers who lived in frame shotgun houses and cottages nearby. A changing economy closed the business in 1978 and, 19 years later, it was redeveloped into an apartment and condo complex. Today,

the mill site and the former workers’ homes are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are particularly popular with artistans whose works are featured in a number of nearby galleries and spaces. n

cabbagetown.com

Where to eat and shop: The neighborhood’s bohemian style is reflected in its three top gathering spots. At The Cabbage Pie, a favorite for lunch and brunch, diners linger over the rough wooden tables and mismatched chairs. Carroll Street Cafe, which has a full bar, draws crowds for lunch and dinner to it’s sidewalk tables. And Agave, opened in 2000 in the building that once housed the mill’s general store, still serves a loyal clientele that comes in for its Southwestern dishes.

Photo: John Becker

The Carter Center

movie theaters (that still draws crowds for its midnight showings of “Rocky Horror Picture Show”).

Poncey-Highland is also home to The Carter Center, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Freedom Park, 200 acres of passive park created on land that had been cleared in the 1970s for an expressway that was never built. “We used to have more homes, but now we have the park that’s a great asset,” says Rob Brawner, a former neighborhood association president and deputy executive direc-

tor of the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, which he admits is a huge draw. “Having the BeltLine and PATH trails makes this a very walkable neighborhood,” he says. “At the same time, Freedom Parkway gives easy access to the highways. And we’re in the Springdale Park Elementary district, one of the top-performing Atlanta public schools, and offer a neighborhood with a good mix of housing price points. But we’re still a small neighborhood where most people know each other.” n

ponceyhighland.org

Photo: Courtesy Zoo Atlanta

Welcome to the Neighborhood

DID YOU KNOW? The biggest year-round draw is Zoo Atlanta, which opened its doors there in 1889. “The Zoo is a vital partner and part of Grant Park’s community,” says CEO Raymond King. “The neighborhood is unique for its historic charm and important links to the story of Atlanta, and [the two] have evolved together over the years.” And there’s more evolution in store. In 2014, zoo officials announced the takeover of the 1921 building that used to house the historic Cyclorama painting, which is moving to the Atlanta History Center. Plans call for the space to have community rooms and a restaurant overlooking new exhibits.

Grant Park J

Where to eat: Photo: Courtesy Atlanta Preservation Center

ust south of Cabbagetown, this community of Victorian-era homes sits on the land once owned by Atlanta railroad magnate, engineer and businessman Lemuel Grant. His home on the rise of St. Paul Street afforded clear views of the burning of Atlanta in 1864. After years of neglect and deterioration, the house is currently under extensive renovation by its owners, the Atlanta Preservation Center. In 1882, Grant donated 100 acres for the city park that bears his name.

Around it, streets were filled in with grand two-story homes and Queen Anne cottages. After years of neglect,many of those properties have been restored and the neighborhood rejuvenated. n

Above: Thanks to the Atlanta Preservation Center, Lemuel Grant’s historic mansion is getting a welldeserved restoration.

gpna.org

Reynoldstown J

ust east of Cabbagetown, Reynoldstown has a similar reputation as a magnet for artisans. But long before its affordable bungalows made it popular, the neighborhood had established itself as one of the first African-American communities in Atlanta. After the Civil War, the railroad and a sawmill drew workers, many of whom had been slaves. The influx expanded the residential district, and in the 1880s, the streetcar line was extended into Reynoldstown, creating an easy commute to downtown. Today, residents who live in refurbished cottages or new apartments and condos use the BeltLine for the same purpose. n

reynoldstown.net

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Clockwise from right: A row of cottages; a fun—and funky—welcome at WonderRoot; and an eye-popping paint job at the ParkGrounds cafe and sandwich shop.

Eats, arts and more: Neighborhood eateries along Memorial Drive include Home Grown, a popular breakfast and brunch spot that serves produce from its urban garden.

ParkGrounds serves up Counter Culture coffees and water for furry, four-footed guests as well.

Area artists as well as art-lovers flock to WonderRoot, a community arts center that houses a recording studio, ceramics workshop, dark room, performance venue and library.

Grant Park’s restaurants draw diners from around the city: Six Feet Under, Augustine’s, Ria’s Bluebird, Republic Social House and Daddy D’z barbecue joint are just a few. Crowds also come for the annual Summer Shade Festival that will take over the park August 27 and 28 with music, crafts and activities.

The park is home to one of the city’s few Sunday farmers markets, held seasonally from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm.

Happening WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND TOWN

Photo: Dale Chihuly

| STORIES: Lindsay Lambert Day |

GARDENS OF GLASS

W

ith their spiraling and spiky spindles, colors from every spot on the spectrum and larger-than-life scale, Dale Chihuly’s imaginative glass sculptures might just as easily be giant flora from far reaches of the universe.

Happily, Atlanta fans of the Tacoma artist’s eye-popping creations don’t have to travel that far this spring to see them. Instead, now through October 30, the Atlanta Botanical Garden is playing

host to Chihuly’s art with an exhibition comprising 21 sculptural installation sites scattered throughout the Garden’s pretty, peaceful setting.

Highlights of “Chihuly in the Garden”—the artist’s first return to Atlanta since 2004, when his first exhibition at the Garden drew a recordsetting 375,000 fans—include extended hours on evenings called “Chihuly Nights,” giving guests a chance to see his colorful work at nighttime, lighted against a backdrop of

DALE CHIHULY’S ARTFUL GLASS RETURNS TO ATLANTA the city’s skyline. In addition to fan favorites, such as Chihuly’s chartreuse “Hornet Chandelier,” onlookers will also notice two new, original installations created in honor of the Garden’s 40th anniversary, which it celebrates this year.

Insiders at the Atlanta Botanical Garden say that guests can see the otherworldly artwork displayed throughout the grounds, including a “gardens under glass” installation in the Fuqua Conservatory and Fuqua Orchid Center. The glass

sculptures are displayed floating in pools, suspended in air and interspersed with plantings. Chihuly’s second showing in Atlanta follows the Garden’s 2010 expansion, which means that his sculptures have twice the space to call home this time around. n Chihuly in the Garden Atlanta Botantical Gardens 1345 Piedmont Ave NE Atlanta 30309 404.876.5859 atlantabg.org

JUNE 2016

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Happening

EVENTS

FOURTH ANNUAL ATLANTA MOON RIDE

Coming up...

JUNE 10

VIRGINIA-HIGHLAND SUMMERFEST

Have you ever wanted to break out your bicycle and take to the city’s streets, only to be deterred by dangerous traffic? Well, now’s your chance to wheel around town without a care and in the company of thousands other cyclists.

The first weekend in June, the historic Virginia-Highland neighborhood will become a hub of fine art, free live entertainment and outdoor activities when the 33rd annual Summerfest sets up shop on Virginia Avenue between North Highland Avenue and Park Drive. Summerfest events will include a 5K run on Saturday morning (followed by a Tot Trot just for kids), children’s activities and, of course, plenty of locally made food and drinks.

vahisummerfest.com Photo: Adam Davila Photography

On June 10, when the moon comes out, so will Atlanta bike enthusiasts for the city’s fourth annual Moon Ride, a six-mile nighttime bicycle journey.

The Moon Ride will take cyclists through several Atlanta neighborhoods, starting in Piedmont Park and winding through Virginia-Highland, Old Fourth Ward and Midtown before its conclusion back at the park.

And while a nighttime bike ride through one of the South’s biggest cities is exciting enough, 100% of the event’s proceeds will benefit Bert’s Big Adventure, a non-profit organization that sends children with chronic and terminal illnesses on a five-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Walt Disney World, along with their families.

June 4-5 Historic Virginia-Highland

Pre-event festivities go from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m., and the ride gets under way right at 11 o’clock.

If you prefer to keep your feet on the ground but don’t want to miss out on the fun don’t worry—you can still make a difference by volunteering at Moon Ride (visit

atlantamoonride.com/volunteer for details). Registration fees range from $30 to $90 depending on which package you select, and non-riders can make donations via the event’s site.

Ready, set, pedal! n atlantamoonride.com

ATLANTA SUMMER BEER FEST June 18 Historic Fourth Ward Park After six years at Masquerade Music Park, this year the Atlanta Summer Beer Fest will take over Historic Fourth Ward Park with more than 200 beers, including suds from national and local breweries.

Attendees can expect indulgent eats and live entertainment, including Nashville indie rockers Ocean Street, who will take to the main stage. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 before June 9 and $55 when purchased on the day of the event.

atlantasummerbeerfest.com

“THE WIZARD OF OZ”

HIGH MUSEUM SUMMER ART CAMPS This summer, treat the tiny Picasso in your house to a fun hands-on and enriching art camp at the High Museum.

The immersive weeklong camps—which are making their debut this summer—will be held in five separate sessions throughout the summer, with each session offering art camps in four different themes.

Creatively minded kids ages 6 through 11 can explore crafting, travel-themed art with tours through the High’s galleries, painting with oils and other mediums and the design of everything from furniture to ceramics to sneakers.

Each camp includes hands-on

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JUNE 2016

art-making and the exploration of artworks with professional teaching artists. A bonus? Your mini Monet will likely make some new best friends to share in the messy fun with. Sessions are offered June 13-17, June 20-24,

June 21-26 Fox Theatre

From JUNE 13 June 27-July 1, July 11-15 and July 18-22 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Advance registration is encouraged, and rates are $350 for museum members and $400 for non-members. n high.org/programs

In June, follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Fox Theatre, where Broadway in Atlanta will bring “The Wizard of Oz” on stage. This new production includes the beloved Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg songs from the Oscar-winning film score, as well as new songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Dorothy and Toto will be there, too.

atlanta.broadway.com

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA “YOUTH OF THE YEAR” GALA June 23 Georgia Aquarium Boys & Girls Clubs of America will honor its six finalists from Georgia’s statewide Youth of the Year program and reveal the winner from the Southeast Region at its 2016 Southeast Youth of the Year Gala at the Georgia Aquarium on June 23 with a reception, dinner and program.

The Southeast Region winner will compete at the Natioal Youth of the Year Celebration in Washington, D.C.

bgcma.org

Captured

Two in Time

| CAPTURED BY: Andrew Hunter |

How it went down: “It was our first visit to Piedmont Park [after moving to Atlanta] and my wife and I were just taking a Sunday stroll. The two people are total strangers.” | TWITTER: @andrewhunter927 | INSTAGRAM: @rewhunter | CAMERA: iPhone 6s |

If you’d like submit a photo to appear in Captured, please email captured@17thsouth.com with the photo attached (or provide a download link) and tell us: 1) Your name, 2) where the photo was taken, 3) a brief story behind the photo, 4) your Twitter and Instagram handles and 5) what you used to shoot the photo with.

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MAY/JUNE 2016

(THE WAITING IS OVER)

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