Welcome to Best of Cobb 2023!

Ah, spring — the season of growth, rebirth, beautiful blooms, balmy weather, copious amounts of pollen and for the Cobb community, the Best of Cobb contest.

Growing up a travel soccer player, I was always on the move, packing my bags for the next adventure or in my case, the next tournament or college showcase. Weekend after weekend for 10 years, I visited virtually every city and county in the state — from the tip of North Georgia all the way down to the Florida-Georgia line, you name it, I’ve probably been there.

When my team and I journeyed to a new city, we had a tradition. During our free time, instead of staying within the bounds of our hotel rooms and ordering room service, we would fuel up on popular restaurant staples unique to the area and afterwards, explore the cities.

For me, Cobb County was always one of my favorite places to stay. From its bustling restaurant scene, eclectic architecture and constant happenings — after a visit or two — I quickly came to appreciate Cobb’s charm.

Fast forward to my current role coordinating the Cobb Life Magazine, I have gained an even greater appreciation for Cobb County and the tight-knit community of businesses that come along with it. With that said, I’m excited to present this Best of Cobb issue with readers and the community today.

Best of Cobb is certainly unlike any contest I’ve ever seen. Winners aren’t selected based on advertising or popularity of the paper. Instead, all nominations, votes and winners are selected by readers of the Cobb Life Magazine and the Marietta Daily Journal.

On behalf of the Cobb Life staff and MDJ team, we would like to thank all the participants who cast more than a whopping 380,000 votes this year! I knew this contest was popular, but the numbers definitely impress.

Best of Cobb is certainly unlike any contest I’ve ever seen. Winners aren’t selected based on advertising or popularity of the paper. Instead, all nominations, votes and winners are selected by readers of the Cobb Life Magazine and the Marietta Daily Journal.

Curious to see who received the most votes overall in some of our popular categories? Flip over to the vote-getters story on page 10.

In this issue, we chose a select few winners to highlight in feature stories: Pisano’s Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen, Good Mews Foundation, Square Threads and The Third Door. Some have been staples in the community for years and others are new members of Cobb.

While browsing through our winners, don’t forget to check out the latest April releases, noteworthy news in Cobb, familiar faces in Cobb Scene and our Now & Then photo segment.

Finally, we would like to formally invite our readers to join us at our celebratory Best of Cobb event on March 23 presented by Superior Plumbing at the Jim R Miller Event Center. Meet and hang out with the Cobb Life Magazine staff and celebrate the winners with great food, drinks and plenty of giveaways. You won’t want to miss this! Tickets can be purchased at www. mdjonline.com/cobblife/bestof. See you there!