Atlanta Intown - July 2022

Pets & Their People

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On the Cover Restaurateur and Chef Kevin Gillespie – who operates Gunshow, Revival, and newly opened Slabtown Public House – and his beloved pooch Haggis are the cover stars for our annual Pets & Their People pictorial. See even more furry friends starting on page 13.

(Photo by Valerie Combs)

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As we were going to press, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Fifty years of a woman’s constitutional right to choose an abortion erased in an instant. At some point in July, Georgia’s socalled “heartbeat” law could go into effect. In 2019, legislators passed a bill outlawing abortion once a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat, which is usually about six weeks – before most women know they are pregnant.

A federal judge struck down Georgia’s law in 2020, but it went to an appeals court, where it’s been held up awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision.

The same day the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, Georgia’s attorney general filed a motion in federal court to allow the state’s anti-abortion law to go into effect.

Attorneys on both sides have until July 15 to submit additional documents in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.

With abortion rights back in the hands of states, Georgia’s law will most likely go into effect before summer’s end. Despite Democratic gains in the 2020 election, the state is still controlled by Republicans who have been trying to repeal Roe v. Wade since 1973.

It remains to be seen if Democrats can mobilize voters to the polls in response to the Supreme Court decision. Some Republicans are concerned that the timing of the decision could lose them seats in the congressional elections this fall as the issue has galvanized Democrats. Polls still show that a majority of Americans believe abortion should be a legal right across the nation.

Protestors march in Atlanta on June 24 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Some House Republicans have floated a nationwide 15-week ban on abortions following the end of Roe v. Wade, but it’s not likely to get any traction, even though some states have already moved on total abortion bans.

For now, abortion is expected to remain legal in 27 states, but there is no uniform law.

For instance, Colorado, New Jersey, Oregon, and Delaware protect the right to abortion throughout pregnancy, but in Florida, a 15-week ban is set to go into effect in July. Republicans in other states, including Indiana, have called for special sessions to address abortion bans.

And now that abortion has been stripped as a constitutional right, it appears other established rights could also be on the chopping block. Justice Clarence Thomas, widely considered the court’s most conservative jurist, included in his opinion that the court should reconsider other “demonstrably erroneous decisions,” including same-sex marriage, access to contraception, and sodomy. Interestingly, Thomas was silent on Loving v. Viginina, the 1967 case legalized interacial marriage.

With the country still reeling from a presidency that ended with an insurrection to overturn a legitimate election, a pandemic, ongoing mass shootings, a looming recession, and the suppression of voting rights – the Supreme Court’s ruling further undermines a house’s foundation that is already crumbling.

For all the conservative talk about “activist judges” in the courts, it seems that five have decided that precedent, established law, and the will of the people are no longer relevant when rendering decisions that continue to rip at the fabric of our democracy.

(Photo by Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

Atlanta Scores!

Mercedes-Benz Stadium to host 2026 World Cup matches

rivaling some of the biggest clubs in the world,” Kemp said. “I look forward to the day when we will be united in this state for one of the most impactful events in our state’s history.”

Kemp also noted he signed legislation in May that eliminates sales tax on World Cup tickets. Georgia also set aside $250,000 in next year’s budget for security if Atlanta won the bid. More money will be needed for security, Kemp said. But the budget line item let FIFA know the city and state were serious about bringing the World Cup to Atlanta.

Olympics to World Cup

Kemp thanked former Ambassador Andrew Young and Olympic Committee Chair Billy Payne for their work to bring the 1996 Olympics to Atlanta. Kemp said the bipartisan public and private partnerships forged at that time “laid the groundwork” for Atlanta being selected to host two Super Bowls, three NCAA

By Dyana Bagby

The men’s 2026 World Cup soccer tournament is headed to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a goal city officials and sports fans have been hoping to achieve for years.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of the World Cup, announced the host cities for one of the most popular sporting events in the world on June 16.

FIFA also selected Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, New York / New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver as 2026 World Cup host cities.

FIFA estimated more than 3.2 billion people watched at least some of the 2018 World Cup.

‘It’s a perfect match’

The Atlanta Sports Council, a division of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, led the bid process to bring the 2026 men’s World Cup to Atlanta, one that began roughly four years ago.

“The biggest sporting event is coming to Atlanta,” Dan Corso, president of the ASP, said during a press conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after announcements of the host cities concluded. Also speaking were Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

“The global event is connecting with an international city with our international diversity and our connectivity to the world to our airport,” Corso said. “It’s a perfect match, if you will pardon the pun.”

The 2026 World Cup will be the

first played in the U.S. since 1994. The tournament is also the first time three countries are co-hosting. There will be 48 teams playing, up from the traditional 32, so the tournament will produce more games than ever.

Gov. Brian Kemp said the World Cup is returning to a much more thriving and popular U.S. soccer culture than existed in 1994. Atlanta United, the city’s championship professional soccer team, is a perfect example, he said.

“No city embodies this transition more than Atlanta, which has wholeheartedly embraced soccer and supported its growth,” he said.

“Since their inaugural season in 2017, our very own Atlanta United have set attendance records for soccer matches in the U.S,, with an average attendance

men’s Final Four tournaments, the College Football National Championship and now the World Cup.

“It’s exciting to think about the impact that this premiere event will have on so many hard-working Georgians,” Kemp said.

Dickens also praised the success of Young and Payne to bring the Olympics to Atlanta. Hosting the global event ensured Atlanta as a major player in the sports world.

And now the world now knows Atlanta is a “soccer town,” Dickens said. One of the city’s best-selling points is MARTA’s direct access from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to the Georgia World Congress Center/CNN Center Station, he said. The transit station

serves the dozens of hotels and tourist sites near Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“Atlanta is ready to welcome folks from all over the world and fill every seat in this beautiful stadium, just like we do for our Atlanta United matches,” he said.

Dickens said over the next four years, the redevelopment of The Gulch into Centennial Yards would replace acres of asphalt surrounding the stadium with hotels, office towers, restaurants and retail. These new amenities are selling points for people visiting from around the world, Dickens said.

“Atlanta is ready to welcome folks from all over the world and fill every seat in this beautiful stadium, just like we do for our Atlanta United matches,” he said.

The recent voter approval to extend a sales tax to fund infrastructure improvements would be used to beef up public transportation, repair streets and sidewalks and add bike lanes over the next several years, Dickens said. The Atlanta Beltline runs near Mercedes-Benz Stadium and will be a huge draw for tourists, he added.

“This area in the next four years is going to look a little different,” Dickens said. “Some of those areas where there are gaps in infrastructure, you’re going to see buildings and connectivity, places where good fanfare is gonna take place during the World Cup.”

FIFA won’t decide until mid-2023 what matches will be played in what cities. Corso said Atlanta is expected to host semi-final matches, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Dickens said his goal is to convince FIFA that Atlanta is the best place to stage biggest matches.

“I’m excited …, but I still want to make sure that we continue to go and try to host the biggest game the biggest matches,” Dickens said. He also said the city plans to work hard to bring the 2026 World Cup media headquarters to the Georgia World Congress Center.

The Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United both play home matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened in 2017 and seats about 75,000. The stadium has a retractable roof and artificial turf. FIFA requires World Cup tournaments be played on grass. Stadium officials said there is a plan to convert the stadium to grass for the World Cup in February 2026, after the NFL season. When the World Cup is over, the stadium’s field will return to artificial turf.

A study by the Boston Consulting Group said the 2026 World Cup could mean up to $4 billion in net revenue to North America, or about $90 to $480 million per city after accounting for potential public costs. Atlanta is estimated to get $415 million in benefits.

From left, Gov. Brian Kemp, Mayor Andre Dickens, and Atlanta Sports Council President Dan Corso celebrate the announcement.

(Photo by Dyana Bagby)

Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the 2026 World Cup matches. (Photo courtesy FIFA)

News RoundUp

The Atlanta City Council approved a $754.2 million budget for 2023 that includes pay raises for city employees and more funding for public safety.

Darin Schierbaum has been named interim chief of the Atlanta Police Department. Schierbaum, a 20-year veteran of the department, replaced Chief Rodney Bryant who retired in June. Dickens said a nationwide search was underway for a permanent replacement for Bryant.

More than 60% of voters living in Buckhead do not want the community to secede from the city of Atlanta, according to a poll commissioned by a group opposed to cityhood efforts.

Workers at two Starbucks locations –Ansley Mall and Howell Mill Road – have voted to unionize. Another location in Augusta became the first in the state in April.

City council urges Amtrak to build Downtown hub

By Dyana Bagby

The Atlanta City Council passed a resolution in June urging Amtrak to include Downtown in its planned expansion of passenger rail.

Councilmember Jason Dozier introduced the resolution urging Amtrak to consider the rapidly revitalizing Downtown as a new hub.

As Amtrak looks to expand Southern routes including connecting Atlanta to Savannah and Nashville as part of President

Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, Dozier said the benefits of a Downtown Atlanta Amtrak hub would expand beyond the city.

“We have a lot of private investment projects that are going to be transformative for our city,” Dozier said. “But I thought it was important that we have an opportunity to ensure that there’s federal investment so there’s a transformation of our region.”

Downtown is in the beginning stages of a resurgence. CIM Group is undertaking a $5 billion plan to create Centennial Yards, the massive mixed-use redevelopment of

what is known as The Gulch. A passenger terminal on The Gulch site has been floating around since 2012.

Within walking distance of Centennial Yards, Newport RE is nearing completion of its first phase of a planned $500 million redevelopment of South Downtown including adaptive reuse of numerous historic buildings.

Nearby, once-bustling Underground Atlanta could finally see a return to its heyday from new owner Shaneel Lalani,

CEO of the Billionaires Funding Group.

Dozier also noted Atlanta’s history is rooted in railroads, including its founding as Terminus, and said an Amtrak hub in the city is a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity.

Atlanta, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, has a small Amtrak station at 1688 Peachtree Station, between Midtown and Buckhead. The station is on the Crescent line that runs to New Orleans and New York City.

A 2012 rendering of a proposed Downtown Atlanta transit hub at The Gulch property.

Photo by Mike Armstrong for Amtrak

BeltLine begins construction on Northeast Trail segment

By Dyana Bagby

Construction is underway on the next phase of the Atlanta BeltLine’s Northeast Trail that would eventually connect Buckhead’s Lindbergh Center MARTA Station to the bustling Eastside Trail.

Atlanta Beltline Inc. (ABI) broke ground in June on the half-mile of work needed to finish the second phase of the Northeast Trail. The project is expected to take 16 months to complete.

When finished, the second phase will complete the 1.2-mile stretch between Westminster Drive at the northern edge of Piedmont Park to Mayson Drive near the growing Armour/Ottley commercial district in southern Buckhead.

The groundbreaking comes a month after the James M. Cox Foundation donated $30 million to the Atlanta BeltLine. Last year, ABI secured $80 million from The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. Beltline officials said the donations meant they have the philanthropic funding needed to finish the 22-mile trail corridor by 2030.

Design and construction of the Atlanta BeltLine trails are also funded through the BeltLine Tax Allocation District (TAD), BeltLine Special Service District (SSD) bond proceeds and Atlanta Regional Commission’s Transportation Improvement Program.

“The investments in the Atlanta BeltLine—including the recent $30 million donation from the James M. Cox Foundation—have made the expansion of the Northeast Trail possible, bringing more greenspace, accessibility and opportunity to all corners of Atlanta,” Mayor Andre Dickens said.

Added Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine Inc., “The influx of recent funding has been monumental in providing us resources to further enhance mobility and provide people with more travel options to reach friends, family, businesses, and jobs.”

The Northeast Trail’s second phase will include the paved trail, a connection to Piedmont Avenue, lighting and security cameras, bridgework, planting, and stormwater management systems. The multi-use trail will be aligned to accommodate future transit in the same corridor, according to ABI.

The first phase of the Northeast Trail was finished last year. The 0.7-mile section runs behind Ansley Mall to the Buford Spring Connector. This portion was constructed as a partnership between Georgia Power and ABI. The entire Northeast Trail is slated to extend 4.5 miles, from the northern end of the Eastside Trail to MARTA’s Lindbergh Center.

There are two remaining segments of Northeast Trail still in the design phase. Segment one is planned to run about a mile along Piedmont Park from Monroe Drive to Westminster Drive. Construction on this section could begin in late 2023, according to ABI.

Segment 3 of the Northeast Trail is a 2.4-mile trail from Buford Highway to MARTA Lindbergh Center. It would connect to PATH400 and the future Northwest Trail. This section is still under design. It is also the trickiest part of the 22-mile Beltline loop’s design because it does not follow abandoned rail lines. The segment also includes crossing MARTA heavy rail, Norfolk Southern freight rail, CSX freight rail, state highways and Peachtree Creek.

The City of Atlanta and ABI are pursuing a U.S. Department of Transportation Mega grant for approximately $70 million to fund construction of this portion of the Northeast Trail, according to a news release.

Grant received to preserve historic school building

By Dyana Bagby

The Atlanta Preservation Center has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant to fund emergency maintenance to one of the city’s oldest school buildings.

The National Park Service awarded an African American Civil Rights grant to the preservation center to support emergency and essential work at English Avenue Elementary School in the Westside neighborhood.

The school was built in 1910 and remained open until 1995. Since then, it has been largely abandoned and fallen into serious disrepair. A section of the roof caved in years ago, a portion of the third floor has collapsed and broken windows are boarded up.

“We are going to utilize this opportunity to go in and shore up the building … to secure the structure from further decay,” said David Y. Mitchell, executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center.

“You’ve got some real challenges out there that have to be addressed,” Mitchell said. “This is triage.”

The Atlanta Preservation Center will be the project managers and community liaisons, working closely with the site owner, the English Avenue Neighborhood Association, and Beloved Community, Inc., an organization dedicated to sustainable communities on Atlanta’s westside.

The preservation center is also teaming up with Georgia Tech Assistant Professor Danielle Willkens and the Georgia Tech School of Architecture along with construction technology specialist Junshan Liu and Savannah-based Landmark Preservation to assess immediate needs, Mitchell said.

What is known as English Avenue was once called Western Heights, a white neighborhood adjacent to Vine City, a Black neighborhood. When the elementary school was built in 1910, it served only white students. By 1950, at the onset of the civil rights movement, neighborhood demographics shifted, and the Atlanta Public Schools district designated English Avenue Elementary only for Black students.

In December 1960, as Atlanta public schools were facing being desegregated, a bomb was thrown through a window at the English Avenue school. The incident was held up as a national symbol of southern schools’ resistance to abide by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board ruling in 1954.

Mitchell said English Avenue residents have worked for years to preserve the school but have faced ongoing challenges, including decades of disinvestment from the city and developers. The hope is the $500,000 federal grant will spark more interest in preservation efforts in the neighborhood.

The Northeast Trail will pass under the Piedmont Avenue bridge. (Courtesy Atlanta BeltLine Inc.)

Women at helm of new philanthropic organization, Impact100

By Dyana Bagby

A new women’s philanthropy organization in Atlanta plans to award $130,000 to one metro area nonprofit this year, with all the money coming directly from membership contributions. The group’s aim is to not only financially support nonprofits serving their communities, but also inspire women to become more involved in the maledominated philanthropy field.

Impact100 Atlanta, founded last year, is an all-volunteer-led nonprofit organization comprised of 130 local women who have each donated $1,000 to create the $130,000 grant fund, said cofounder and president Sarah Levitt. The women uniting and pooling their money and resources to fund a project they see as

transformative not only helps the nonprofit receiving the grant, but also the women who are making it happen, Levitt said.

“I feel like a lot of women work at nonprofits, but maybe aren’t the leaders, even at femalefocused nonprofits,” said Levitt, 28, a financial consultant at global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal.

“It’s good to have representation across the board and have our voices be heard,” she said. “And it’s really empowering to have our collective funds going to fund a very transformative project in the community when a lot of times, even the big foundations in Atlanta, are mostly males or male-driven.”

AwardWinning

Rockdale counties. Impact100 Atlanta accepts applications from groups focused arts and culture; education; family; health and wellness; and environment, preservation and recreation.

Applications for the inaugural grant are being accepted through July 8 from Metro Atlanta nonprofits in Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and

Impact100 Atlanta is one of the newest chapters of Impact100 Global, the philanthropy group founded more than 20 years ago by Wendy Steele. The group has more than 60 chapters in the U.S. as well as in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. To date, the chapters have donated more than $105 million to local community nonprofits, Levitt said. For more information, visit impact100atlanta.org.

Founding members of the Impact100 Atlanta chapter have donated $130k to be awarded to a metro nonprofit. (Courtesy Impact100 Atlanta)

The dog days of summer

I was about two-thirds of the way through my final Peloton ride of my 40s when I realized a personal record was within reach. I would need to push it, I mean really push it – like somewhere beyond what my doctor would advise and closer to what a really mean personal trainer would demand – but man, what an accomplishment it would be!

May I Be Excused?

The instructor was Ben Alldis and while he isn’t mean, I find him to be quite motivational. When he says, “C’mon team – you can do this” in his British accent it sounds like he’s saying “C’mon Tim – YOU can do this!” So, I grunted and gritted it out eclipsing my best score for a 30-minute ride by two points to impress a fitness trainer I will never meet and to make myself proud.

I thought it would be euphoric, cruising into my 50s like Lance Armstrong minus the doping regimen. But I was too spent to celebrate so I peeled myself off the bike and lay on the floor thinking of how Margo might say “nobody cares, Dad” and how Kristen would explain to the paramedics that I was trying to best myself at exercising. Beans, our younger dog was lapping up the sweat from my arm and I didn’t have the energy to shoo her away. For a moment I had a good sense of just how embarrassing it might be to die.

But I didn’t, which is great because I was able to spend the long weekend in the mountains with family and friends and do a little bit of birthday celebrating. Those who already have crossed that 50-year threshold just LOVED having a new recruit. Woohoo! Tim’s old now, too! I tried pleading that my actual birthday wasn’t until the day after we returned so technically… blah blah blah. Nobody cares, Dad.

On the ride home I thought ‘hmmm I think I caught a cold…’ and minutes later it was uh-oh – “Everyone put on a mask!” COVID had been flying around the kids’ schools in May. Elliott missed a week of

exam preparation at the beginning of the month with it and Margo missed the final week of school. We were limping into the summer already and sure enough, my 50th birthday was going to be spent in isolation. Even though my kids were unlikely to be reinfected so soon after having COVID themselves, they wanted me to feel every bit the leper because they had spent their time quarantining and it was only fair. I binge-watched season four of “Stranger Things.” Through my closed bedroom door, I mentioned to Margo that the main characters – Dustin, Mike, Will, and Eleven – would have been born the same year as me, 1972. You may be surprised to hear that my daughter didn’t care much about that fact.

Kristen on the other hand, as she scrambled to handle EVERYTHING around the house, seemed a bit jealous of my forced downtime. I caught her a few times barging in before I could get my mask on, trying to catch herself just a touch of COVID and a week of rest. She didn’t catch it from me but managed to snag herself some COVID at her college reunion a week later. Team Sullivan wasn’t exactly thriving.

Typically, Kristen works from home on the main floor, and she’ll keep the back door open so the dogs can come and go from the backyard as they please. But it was 100 degrees outside that week so I closed the door before I went to work. Later that day our older dog Sleater, who is perfectly well-trained, made her way upstairs into the master bedroom, glanced at an isolating Kristen, and then continued to the bathroom. Defiantly, she pooped on the floor. She looked at Kristen as if to say, Nobody. Opened. The Damn. Door. Get it together people!

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Pets & Their People

In honor of our furry friends, we asked readers to submit photos of their beloved animals. Scan the QR code for more photos or visit reporternewspapers.com.

Sponsored by

Antoine Odom and Comere, Buckhead

Ellie with Anna Barton-Caucci at the Garden Hills duck pond.

Fernando with Chef Jarrett Stieber of Inman Park.

Chief with John Dwyer of Buckhead.

Bentley and Marli with Monica Thornton of Brookhaven.

Elton with Taylor Wingard of West Midtown.

Hope Owrtli and Prince & Penny of Buckhead

Covey Whitepaw with Barbara Bollinger of Buckhead.

Justin Harris and Sadie, Buckhead

Jack with Mimi Jerald and Raffe Gonzalez of Old Fourth Ward.

Stabler with Elodie Ptakowski of Grant Park.

Greta with Drew and Kaede-Ray Smith of Piedmont Heights.

Tootsie and Tina Lee

Bodhi with Cate, Charlie and Eli Levy of Morningside.

Miles with Bryan Schroeder of Medlock Park.

Trudy with Theresa and Mac Warren of Woodland Hills.

Janine Childs and Lucy of Sandy Springs

Smooshy with Keitha Faile of Buckhead.

Skipper with Estelle Miller of Edgewood.

Wendy and Jamie Mohr of East Cobb. Stabler with Quinn Ptakowski of Grant Park.

Vincent with Robin Shore of Buckhead.

Ginger with Wisteria Grace Brady

Delilah with Alan Vaughn of Buckhead.

Massi with Andrea Ramirez

Winston with Christopher Eskew of Westside Atlanta.

Ziggy and Arjan Wietsma of Decatur.

Mac and Zoey with Eva and Blair Barna of Decatur.

Jules with Karis Stammel of East Atlanta Village.

FREE SERVICES for

The Village Vets on falling in love, TV shows and balancing work with family

By Sammie Purcell

When Francoise Tyler and William Draper met at Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, they couldn’t have known what was coming.

The two married after vet school in 1993, but didn’t date during their time as students. According to Tyler, something changed around graduation.

“We were best friends in vet school, right up until we graduated,” said Tyler, an Atlanta native. “And then, I guess our eyes opened up.”

The two vets now run a series of practices called The Village Vets, the first of which they started in 2000. That first practice was made up of just the two of them and a couple of other employees, but now they have seven practices in the Atlanta area, one in Pennsylvania, and around 170 employees, according to Draper. That includes locations in Buckhead, Decatur and Westside Atlanta. Their newest practice is in Avondale Estates, where they primarily work at the moment.

Early Dreams

Of the two, Tyler was the one who knew

she wanted to be a vet from a very young age. She had an interest in science and math and said she couldn’t really remember a time where being a vet wasn’t on the brain.

“I was interested in medicine in general,” she said. “My dad is a retired orthopedist, so when I was little, I got to hang around with him and go see patients. I always heard about his cases, and it was very interesting.”

Draper, on the other hand, had a bit of soul-searching to do before figuring it out. Raised in Inglewood, Calif., he recalled a trip he took to Tuskegee with his family at age 11. Both his parents and grandparents had met at Tuskegee, and Draper was eager to follow in their footsteps. He thought that he wanted to be an engineer, just like his father.

“We happened to be in Tuskegee when I was 11, and [my father] was going over to the engineering building,” Draper said. “I walked over there with him because I wanted to see where I was going to school, and he said to me, ‘I’ve been thinking about that. To be an engineer, you really have to have a good grasp of math. And you don’t.’”

After dishing out that tough truth, Draper’s father suggested that his son put his science skills and his love of animals to

Dr. Francoise Tyler and Dr. William Draper of The Village Vets with their dog, Beau. (Photo by Joann Vitelli)

use and think about veterinary medicine. The rest is history.

TV Stars

While the practice came first, Tyler and Draper were soon presented with an interesting opportunity; a television show. Draper said the television network Nat Geo Wild approached the couple and asked them to take part in a show called “Love & Vets.”

“They were looking for a married vet couple in a major market who owned their own practice, and they found us,” Draper said.

The show ran for one season of three episodes in 2017 and didn’t get picked up for more. But now, with the show available for streaming on Disney+ and rental on other streaming services, Draper said he’s noticed a slight resurgence in its popularity.

“It’s funny, people will come to me and tell me they’ve seen … all eight episodes,” Draper said. “And I’m like, ‘There are only three.’”

The couple thought about trying the television lifestyle again after that spike in popularity, but ultimately decided not to. They still had children in school at the time, and Tyler in particular said she couldn’t see a way to make it work.

“I pride ourselves on being involved parents, and it was getting in the way,” Tyler said.

Balancing Family with Work

Now that the couple’s children are older and out of the house, balancing family life with work responsibilities has become a bit easier. But that wasn’t always the case.

“When they were smaller, I will say that I struggled,” Tyler said. “Will and I come from the old school thought that you work, you work, you work. Especially being business owners, it’s your responsibility. Ultimately, everything eventually falls on your shoulders. I took that to heart, and Will too.”

Running both a business and a family can take its toll on anyone. Tyler said she felt a pressure to excel at both of her jobs and at times found it difficult to thread the needle of being there for her patients and being there for her children in equal measure. She remembered that when two of her daughters were both playing softball, there were times when she would mix up who had a game and who had practice, and accidentally send them off in the wrong uniforms.

“I wanted to do 110% for both jobs, as a vet and as a mom,” Tyler said. “But I struggled. I was running, I mean literally, physically running, out of the hospital, or

to this game, or back to the hospital.”

The couple both said they wouldn’t have gotten by without the help of their friends and family, and despite any mix ups or times when they were running on fumes, they made it work and showed up for their kids.

“Fran and I are a great team, and somebody was always at that game,” Draper said. “Somebody was always at that dance recital. We made sure that they saw us there and that we were involved.”

Taking Responsibility

Both Tyler and Draper talked about the responsibilities they felt being a successful minority couple in a predominantly white profession. According to Data USA, 81.9% of veterinarians in 2019 were white and non-hispanic. In the same year, 67.3% were female.

“One of the things that is important to Fran and me – and we take it seriously and understand it’s a responsibility we have just

because of who we are – is the fact that we’re minorities in a profession dominated by old white guys, and now by young to middle-aged white women,” Draper said.

“There’s still people to this day … that will come in and have never seen a Black veterinarian before.”

Draper said that because of that reality, he thinks if the proper vehicle for a television show ever came around and didn’t invade the couples’ lives as much, he might think about taking it on.

“We understand our responsibility to use the gift of this great profession to encourage other young minorities to pursue positions in medicine and the sciences,” Draper said.

You can learn more about The Village Vets at thevillagevets.com.

The vets with their dogs Beau and Louie.

Farm Hounds finds success with all-natural dog treats

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By Dyana Bagby

Farm Hounds is an ecommerce business that sells dog treats and chews. Not your typical chews, though. They package and ship duck heads, pig snouts, pork hearts, turkey feet and chicken jerky. Their products also include hog hide rolls, turkey gizzard sticks and duck strips. Dehydrated beef blood churned into sprinkles make yummy food toppers and a best seller.

The Atlanta company gets the raw materials for its all-natural dog treats and chews from its partner farms dedicated to humane animal treatment, including no use of antibiotics or hormones. The farmers also follow regenerative agriculture practices that promote a healthy ecosystem for livestock and the land.

“You’re seeing just a huge movement of people who want their pets to have quality food and they also want to give them quality treats, which is where we come in,” said Stephen Calsbeek, co-owner of Farm Hounds.

The history of Farm Hounds goes back to 2004 when the owners opened a dog boarding company that featured an area where they sold a selection of treats and food. The popularity of that retail space, dubbed The Whole Dog Market, became so popular, several more stores opened. The Whole Dog Market now has stores near Piedmont Park, in Vinings, Sandy Springs and Westside Village.

In 2015, a farmer from White Oak Pastures, a farm in Bluffton, Ga., came into one of the stores and asked about

developing all-natural treats and chews direct from the farm.

“And it opened our eyes to farmers having access to products that cannot go to human markets, but that dogs love to chew,” Calsbeek said.

Today, Farm Hounds partners with White Oak Pastures and numerous other family farms to produce and sell treats and chews made from raw animal materials. The company has a manufacturing facility in Marietta where the animal parts are dehydrated and a warehouse in Smyrna where a team packages the online orders for shipping. And business is booming.

In 2019, Farm Hounds received 2,212 online orders; in 2020, the company did 8,200 orders.

In 2021, as COVID-19 continued and ecommerce soared, Farm Hounds filled nearly 32,000 orders.

Summertime historically means a drop in orders because people are traveling, Calsbeek said. But so far, the company is close to 50% over where it was this time last year.

“We’ve done a really good job building a community and doing something that has a little bit of a nice niche that isn’t really replicated to the level we’re doing it,” he said.

“We let people know where the treats and chews come from and put the farm’s name on every single product,” he said.

“This connects our customers to the small regenerative agricultural farms that we’re working with to source good products and to make good treats. Dogs love it and their parents are happy.”

Atlanta-based Farm Hounds dehydrates animal parts to create nutritious dog treats and chews. (Farm Hounds)

A dog prepares to snack on a duck head from Farm Hounds. (Farm Hounds)

As uncertainty looms, local tech leaders and

get back to

what is really happening on the ground and what teams are focused on now as they prepare for tomorrow.

Slightly counter to what national headlines are suggesting, local investors told Hypepotamus they are more optimistic when they think about how startups in the area will fare overall in the coming months. The main reason: The Southeast has a higher concentration of promising early-stage ventures.

Startup founders themselves gave a bit more of a mixed reaction when we asked how they are feeling about building up a business and raising capital in this market.

By Maija Ehlinger

It started with whispers in offices, during company happy hours, and in Zoom meetings. The startup success wave had been good — great, really — for tech ventures that raised record funding rounds at sky-high valuations. From HealthTech to WorkTech to FinTech, startups were solving some of the biggest challenges facing our post-pandemic world. It was fun to watch startups over the last two years. And it was even more fun to be part of one. VC funding was up 4% year-over-year in 2020, hitting a record $335 billion, only to be eclipsed in 2021 by the staggering number of $643 billion.

Of course, it was a golden age for

startups. Why wouldn’t it be?

Then tweets and thought pieces and white papers from global firms started to float around. How long could the good times last? Geopolitics, war, inflation, and talk of a looming recession changed the calculus over the last few weeks. Companies like Netflix, Loom, and Carvana announced big layoffs. Cuts reached some of the darlings of the Southeast’s late-stage startup scene as well. Funding press releases, which were published at a rate no one could keep up with just a few months ago, became more sparse.

While no one has a crystal ball with all the answers, economic uncertainty has everyone asking: What’s next for local startups? We talked to investors and ecosystem leaders to get a better sense of

“At the early stage, we’re a bit insulated from what’s happening in the later-stage markets,” Vasant Kamath, Partner at Tech Square Ventures, told Hypepotamus. “We take a longer-term view, so what happens now matters to us less than what is going to happen in the coming years. In the early stage, it is about focus. And so some of that is actually dialing out what’s happening around you in the outside world because that can be really distracting.”

Tech Square Ventures is still actively deploying capital, having most recently invested in Gridline and Saleo, two Atlantabased startups.

“I think Atlanta is uniquely positioned because the ecosystem skews so early-stage,” said Jaisa Gooden, VP of startup banking at Silicon Valley Bank. “If there were a lot more companies looking for growth capital, they may have a harder time because valuations are becoming more conservative.”

Gooden told Hypepotamus that market changes will impact how long it takes to close deals in town, but that could ultimately benefit founders who are hyperfocused on solving a specific problem with their tech.

One founder in the MarTech space, who asked not to be named for this article, said they’ve decided to hold off on fundraising until 2023 in hopes that conditions might be a bit more favorable than they are now. Another mentioned they worry that a more conservative approach to investing will keep potential founders from even getting their idea off the ground any time soon. Over the last few months, we’ve interviewed several local founders who moved up their fundraising timetables to capture new capital now instead of testing where the market might land later in the year.

Other founders see an opportunity to build now.

“Being early stage, we’re super excited about the environment right now. Bear markets challenge customers to re-evaluate their products and services, and there is a growing interest in learning how to invest in all kinds of different opportunities,” founder Graham Gintz said. “Being in Atlanta, we know that this is a “prove it first” town when it comes to raising capital. The downturn just keeps us focused on hitting our sales numbers and growing with cash flow instead of through VC dollars. Our team is hyped to grow with solid financial fundamentals that can support growth even if the market goes into deep decline.”

Up in the coastal North Carolina region, Jim Roberts is working with earlycontinued on page 22

Atlanta Intown has partnered with Hypepotamus, the go-to source of startup and technology news in the Southeast. hypepotamus.com

stage founders and “communicating to our entrepreneurs about the potential of an upcoming POSSIBLE recession and talking about getting additional capital now, valuation changes, and working to close sales now.”

Joey Womack, founder/CEO of the nonprofit Goodie Nation, is also spending his time preparing founders to ride out the potentially bumpy ride ahead.

As overall funding slows down, Womack said he is telling founders in the Goodie Nation network to contact their investors and mentors now to better understand their roadmap for the months ahead. For those founders without institutional investors, he suggests focusing on conserving cash, driving revenue, and “doubling down on what’s working, with perhaps a little less experimentation.”

Lessons learned from the pandemic, mainly how to conserve cash and operate without cross-country business trips, could come back into play as startups hunker down, Womack added.

Gooden also gave some tangible advice based on what she is seeing in the ecosystem. “I think [founders] should be prioritizing customer acquisition because being able to generate revenue and driving your company’s growth in that way in the early stage is honestly the best path,” she added. “And be open to capital outside venture capital.”

For A.T. Gimbel, Partner at Atlanta Ventures, this is a time for founders to return to the basics.

“We always go back to those core principles around why someone starts a business. And that’s because they’re solving a must-have, mission-critical problem for customers. And if you’re serving that niche for your customers, you’ll be fine. Things may take longer to grow. The valuations may not be exactly what you want at this point. But you’ll be able to weather the storm,” he told Hypepotamus.

He added that the “fundamentals of the business” will do more to attract investors now than most other metrics right now.

The startup and investing ecosystem is forged in up and down cycles. There will certainly be moments of stress, rebuilding, and uncertainty to come. But downturns have historically given way to industry-changing ventures and new household tech names.

And that creates an opportunity for local early-stage companies that are ready to dive in and tackle a new problem for customers or explore an emerging technology space. And that is something local ecosystem leaders are ready to see.

“We’re at an inflection moment,” Womack added. “Over the last year and a half, we’ve seen the start of the next era of the web…and that opens up opportunities for new technologies and new ways of solving problems.”

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2022!

By Collin Kelley

Clarion Partners, LLC, and Westbridge have started 926 Brady, the adaptive reuse of a 1930s-era warehouse that was once part of the Miller Union Stockyards and meatpacking plant in what is now called West Midtown.

The warehouse is the final undeveloped building in the Stockyards Atlanta project, which was redeveloped by Westbridge in 2017 and has since become a popular dining and entertainment destination.

926 Brady will have more than 36,000 square feet of large-format creative office space with a second-floor addition featuring an outdoor rooftop terrace with skyline views. Construction is currently underway, with estimated delivery in the second quarter of 2023.

“We are thrilled to start work on the final piece of this three-acre campus steeped in 120 years of Atlanta history,” said Joshua Mandelberger, Vice President, Asset Management Clarion Partners. “926 Brady will complete the original vision of Stockyards Atlanta and tie into West Midtown’s rapidly evolving urban core with something truly unique in the market as the area transitions to mid-rise and high-rise new construction projects.”

Stockyards Atlanta is now home to the regional headquarters of energy drink giant Red Bull, global manufacturer Mannington Commercial, and advertising and marketing firm Fitzco. Painted Duck bowling alley, Italian restaurant Baffi, and neighborhood gathering spot Nick’s Westside are also part of the development.

A rendering of the 926 Brady building.

The property at the intersection of Brady Avenue and West Marietta St.

A Great Legacy Worth Reimagining

A Contributed Article by A.J. Robinson

Congressman John Lewis gave us reason to celebrate his life, but, frankly speaking, it is not enough to revere him. We must instead emulate his actions. We must use his memory to not only seek the moral clarity that resided deep within him, but as an opportunity to reflect on the many questions one of the world’s greatest troublemakers asked his entire life

If not us, then who? If not now, then when? What legacy do you want to leave behind?

These are questions that must be internalized, personalized, and answered by each and every one of us, regardless of race, political party, religion, or zip code.

On July 30th at 10:00 a m , Central Atlanta Progress will host a mural rededication ceremony at the John Lewis Hero Mural at the corner of Auburn Ave and Jesse Hill Jr. Dr.

At 11:00 am, the ceremony will end with the ringing of bells for 80 seconds, representing the Congressman’s 80 years of life on the day he was laid to rest and initiating a community-wide moment of reflection Following the ceremony and moment of reflection, the public is invited to participate in a variety of community activities

“If not us, then who? If not now, then when? What legacy do you want to leave behind?”

Congressman John Lewis

He left us with a modernized blueprint for kindness.

At this moment in our nation and history, there are many exciting conversations about the life of John Lewis, all equally as important as the other. But after the dialogue lessens, the commemorative bells stop ringing, the celebrations stop, and in between the national and global crises we face daily, each of us -- all of us, will still be faced with answering those same fervent questions.

John’s last book, “Carry On,” demonstrates the unrelenting confidence he had in our future. More importantly, it provides his final thoughts on the topics most important to him, like justice, courage, faith, mentorship and forgiveness. It is my hope that we not only read about him and celebrate him, but that we use this moment and the days ahead to live up to the legacy he left with each of us.

Those of us who were fortunate enough to know him and call him our friend know that it’s just like John to be thoughtful and forward thinking, even in his final days.

He left us with a modernized blueprint for kindness and a reminder that we have a responsibility to care for our common home and guidance on how to pass the torch and engage future generations. Thank you, Congressman for reminding us that the legacy belongs to all of us. Thank you for helping us reimagine the legacy.

May you rest in power.

REIMAGINING THE LEGACY

Over the last year, my team at Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District has spent time reflecting on the organization’s relationship with the Congressman, whose district office was located in the heart of downtown Atlanta at 100 Peachtree Street, and who was a longtime friend and supporter of our work.

We thus felt it fitting and proper that, as an organization known for creating opportunities to convene people in downtown, honoring Congressman Lewis with a community-wide celebration was a perfect way to observe the anniversary of his passing. Further, we sought to create an experience in which people could reflect on legacy, learning, and action in spaces directly impacted by his leadership and vision.

And so, we hope you’ll make plans to attend “Reimagine the Legacy,” a celebration of the life and legacy of Congressman John Lewis on Saturday, July 30, beginning at 10 a.m. Details can be found at: www.reimaginethelegacy.com.

A.J. Robinson is President of Central Atlanta Progress

The mission of the APEX Museum is to interpret and present history from an African American perspective to help all Americans and international visitors better understand and appreciate the contributions of African Americans to America and the world.

apexmuseum.org

Please join us, as houses of worship across Atlanta ring bells for 80 seconds at 11:00AM/EST, on Saturday, July 30th. This will initiate a community-wide moment of reflection and signify the beginning of the observance of Congressman John Lewis’ life and legacy.

MILLION-DOLLAR MARKETING IN ALL PRICE

Downtown Love

Visiting John Lewis’ favorite city spots

Congressman John Lewis dedicated his life to building “The Beloved Community” in Atlanta and beyond, and you don’t have to look far to see the lasting impact he made on our city. Keep reading for a list of places around Downtown Atlanta that were important to him, his work, and his legacy.

100 Peachtree Street

Congressman Lewis’ office was at 100 Peachtree, formerly known as The Equitable Building, for over 30 years. He loved the location because it placed him at the center of his congressional district and made him accessible to his constituents whether they came by car or MARTA; all

Historical Park and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Congressman Lewis took great pleasure in walking around the neighborhood. Whether it was to his barber, a restaurant, the bank, or the post office, he used those walks to connect with folks, frequently asking strangers about their background, where they were from, and where they were going. He loved to converse with people, and his kindness and grace are remembered by all he touched.

Even after his passing, his legacy lives on across our country and in his neighborhood, as well as at 100 Peachtree. Congresswoman Nikema Williams, who holds Congressman Lewis’ 5th District Congressional seat, now occupies the Congressman’s old office, where she continues his work and builds her own

Mocha Pops owner Keisa Manning

John Lewis viewing the 2017 solar eclipse from Woodruff

Congressman Lewis greets Ambassador Andrew Young

Ebenezer Baptist Church

101 Jackson Street NE

Throughout its long history, Ebenezer Baptist Church, located Downtown, has been a spiritual home to many citizens of the “Sweet Auburn” community.

Congressman Lewis was a parishioner for years at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached and Warnock remains pastor. Warnock was called to Lewis’ bedside days before his death and presided over his funeral service.

Mocha Pops

57 Forsyth Street NW

Congressman Lewis enjoyed an occasional treat from Mocha Pops following a trip

to his barber shop next door. His favorite flavor was banana pudding.

Vintage the Barbershop

55 Forsyth Street NW

“Congressman Lewis always made time for conversation. If you needed a moment to talk, he’d make that moment happen no matter how busy he was,” says Clarence Hutchinson, Manager of Vintage of the Barbershop. “For nearly a decade, John Lewis would stroll over the shop by himself, sometimes for a haircut but sometimes just to chat. He never said no to an autograph or picture, especially if there were children around, and he wouldn’t leave the shop until he shook everyone’s hand. John made a point to pay and tip the barbers, even after they told him he didn’t need to. He truly

wanted to support our business. That’s just who he was; he was so genuine. He made sure to do the things that would enhance our community.”

Hyatt Regency Atlanta

265 Peachtree Street NE

Congressman Lewis was a frequent visitor and guest at the Hyatt over the years, and he had a yearly tradition of eating lunch at the hotel during DragonCon. He was also a regular attendee at the Hyatt’s Annual Heritage Celebration and was honored at the 2019 event.

Woodruff Park

91 Peachtree Street

Congressman Lewis was a frequent visitor to Woodruff Park. In 2017, hundreds of Atlantans flocked to the greenspace’s main lawn to experience a rare solar eclipse. Attendees were delighted by Congressman Lewis’ surprise appearance at the event, making the day even more festive and memorable.

Busy Bee Café

810 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SW

It’s no secret that Congressman Lewis loved the fried chicken at the recent James Beard Award-winning restaurant. The café, in business since 1947, was a favorite of the civil rights leaders and is still a must-stop for locals and celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and VP Kamala Harris.

Woodruff Park

Fried Chicken from Busy Bee Café

OUR HERO

Atlanta is a better city — and America a more perfect union — thanks to the leadership of John Lewis.

Centennial Yards honors and celebrates the enduring legacy of Congressman Lewis, whose service to humanity continues to inspire the creation of a Beloved Community, here in Atlanta and beyond.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Atlanta Blockchain Center is now open on Old Ivy Road in Buckhead, offering coworking, learning, and hub space for the development of crypto, Blockchain, and Web 3.0 technologies. Founder Marlon Williams told Hypepotamus that Atlanta’s strong fintech and enterprise scene make it ripe for Blockchain innovation. The Center will also be home to the upcoming BitAngels Atlanta chapter, an investor network with chapters in different cities.

►Ephemeral – the tattoo studio that pioneered made-to-fade ink – has opened its first Atlanta studio at 696-A Cleburne Terrace. The ink used by Ephemeral begins to disappear in 9 to 15 months but is applied the same way as a traditional tattoo – by an artist with a needle. The ink is made from medical grade, bioabsorbable, and biocompatible polymers. For more, visit ephemeral.tattoo.

rag & bone will open its latest retail location at Buckhead Village this fall as the clothing store marks its 20th anniversary. The new shop in will house the men’s and women’s readyto-wear, denim, footwear, and accessories collections.

Atlanta-based real estate investment and development firm Branch Properties has announced two Piedmont Healthcare tenants – Piedmont Urgent Care by Wellstreet and a primary care office – will open at the upcoming Summerhill Station in the Summerhill neighborhood. The development, which will be anchored by a 50,000-squarefoot Publix, is set to deliver in Summer 2023.

◄Kirkwood Car Wash owner Stuart Brady has installed two self-service dog washes at the business at 2003 Oakview Road SE.

▲The former W Hotel Midtown has been rebranded at The Starling in conjunction with the property joining Curio Collection by Hilton. The rebrand includes a revamped lineup of hotel programming, updates to the spa and lobby bar, and a reintroduction of the food and beverage concept, Lantana. The restaurant will offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, and latenight drinks led by new Executive Chef Cole Pate, formerly of Gypsy Kitchen.

WorkSuites, a Dallas-based coworking space, is expanding into Atlanta with its first two locations outside of Texas. The company has taken 26,716 square feet at Pennant Park in Atlanta and 25,933 square feet at Preston Ridge II in Alpharetta. WorkSuites has taken a full floor at both locations.

◄ANT/DOTE, a multi-brand boutique for women and men, is now open at 525 Bishop St. NW. Founded by Lauren Amos, the owner of Wish ATL, she is joined by partner Eugene Rabkin, the editor of StyleZeitgeist magazine and a noted fashion journalist. ANT/ DOTE is the exclusive Atlanta stockist of many brands, including Comme des Garcons, Craig Green, GUIDI, Hyke, Jil Sander, Junya Watanabe, MUGLER, Noir by Kei Ninomiya, Paco Rabanne, Undercover, and Y/Project. For more, visit antidotestyle.com.

Peachtree Battle Antiques & Interiors has moved from its longtime location on Peachtree Road to 1391 Chattahoochee Ave., located in the city’s Westside Design District. “We had to move from The Historic Book Bindery when the building was demolished to make way for a 17-story high-rise condo development,” said owner Robert Ahlers. “Before, we had 14,000 square feet of space. Now, in the new location, we’ve got 15,500 square feet.”Ahlers said the new space allows for more mid-century modern items, as well as a lighting and lamp repair shop. For more, visit peachtreebattleantiques.com.

Paddling a river has never been easier

Paddling my kayak—just a few inches above the water’s surface—I am mesmerized by river currents, swirling eddies, and underwater rocks, logs, and aquatic plants. Agile dragonflies speed toward my boat, then turn away suddenly using their powerful, transparent wings. Kingfishers dart about, hunting for fish; I pretend that these small birds with their large heads and long bills are leading me downstream. Smells are suggestive of fish, small animals, flower blooms, muddy riverbanks, and decaying plants, when I take deep breaths of the cool, moist air.

In retirement, I have hiked far more miles than I have kayaked; however,

on the Etowah River with a small group organized by my friend Alan Cressler—a federal scientist, intrepid adventurer, and outstanding photographer. Other participants were naturalists, birders, and hydrologists. The river was higher than usual on the beautiful, late spring day, so we had few shoals to navigate. Again, and as always, I finished the trip feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. I drove back to the city, thinking about my next kayaking and snorkeling adventure on the Conasauga River in late summer with Georgia River Network.

New river guide app

Water is magical. It’s not only a liquid that sustains all life, although that should certainly be far more than enough; the molecules of oxygen and hydrogen also inspire, energize, and soothe.

There’s a scientific reason why we love flowing, plunging, and spraying water— why being around moving water can improve our moods. It’s called negative ions. Molecules that have gained or lost

Above the Water Line

Sally Bethea

Sally Bethea is the retired executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and an environmental and sustainability advocate.

an electrical charge are created in nature when air molecules break apart due to a variety of influences from sunlight to moving water.

The action of falling water and crashing waves (or even a bathroom

shower) creates negative ions that bond with air particles. When we breathe in this charged air, the negative ions enter our bloodstream. They produce biochemical reactions that can relieve stress, boost energy, and reduce depression. By increasing the flow of oxygen to the brain, the negative ions can also enhance alertness.

As the Chattahoochee’s riverkeeper for more than twenty years, I benefited regularly from the stimulating negative ions at memorable waterfalls (Horse Trough, Hilly Mill, and Vickery Creek Falls) and shoals (Buck, Smith Island, Bush Head, and Daniel Shoals) in the watershed. In these places, I always felt fully alive, immersed in the moment. Blissful, yet energetic.

The paddling life

I am not an expert kayaker, but I really love to be on, or near, flowing water. Usually, I can manage rapids of medium difficulty (Class II), unless my attention wanders to something interesting nearby and I collide with a rock. Rhythmically dipping my paddle into the water—left, right, and repeat—is a powerful and also relaxing movement.

these walks have regularly included water features: rocky streams plunging down steep slopes, lakes, canals, and ocean shorelines. We are drawn to water—the precious liquid that constitutes sixty percent of our bodies.

This past spring, I joined friends to paddle on two iconic Georgia rivers: the Flint and the Etowah. On Mother’s Day, the nonprofit Flint Riverkeeper offered a six-mile trip through Yellow Jacket Shoals in Upson County to see the emerging blooms of the spectacular shoals spiderlilies. (We did not run the most difficult line through the challenging, Class III shoals; in fact, I dragged my boat around and over a few rocks.) The adventure was every bit as wonderful, as I had anticipated. Spanish moss, eel grass, clear water, shoal bass, forested riverbanks, and no trash! The Flint’s riverkeeper, Gordon Rogers, does a great job of protecting his river.

A week later, I paddled nine miles

Founded in 1998, Georgia River Network (GRN) works to empower everyone to enjoy, connect with, and advocate for clean, flowing rivers. The nonprofit offers day and multi-day paddle trips (including the annual Paddle Georgia event), water safety classes, a river user guidebook series, and advocacy action alerts. GRN has also supported local efforts to create water trails statewide for public access and enjoyment.

Recently, GRN released a free Georgia River Guide mobile app—a new tool to help people experience our state’s more than thirty water trails, totaling 2,500 miles of accessible waterways. It’s amazing! For each water trail, you can find outfitters, river access points, mileage, waterfalls, and other points of interest. Importantly, safety information is included, such as river difficulty, potential hazards, and rapids. Know before you go!

In the works for many years prior to its release, the River Guide app was curated by river experts, water trail groups, riverkeepers, government agencies, and various publications. Teams of interns from the University of Georgia and other institutions supported the research.

Photos courtesy Georgia River Network

I downloaded the app—available in Apple and Google Play stores—and found it very easy to use, even for an oldster like myself. One of my favorite features is the gauge data, which provides a river flow range for recreation expressed in cubic feet per second (cfs), and a link to the gauge on the water trail with realtime data. It is not fun, or safe, to paddle a river that is extremely low or high.

Paddling takes a mix of knowledge and skills and a bit (but not too much) of daring. GRN has helped thousands of people learn how to feel comfortable and safe on the water; their new app is making it even easier to plan your own trips. As Kenneth Grahame wrote long ago in The Wind and the Willows, “There is nothing—absolutely nothing— half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

For more information, visit garivers. org.

ECO BRIEFS

The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition is now known as Propel ATL to reflect the nonprofit’s expanded mission it adopted in 2019 — to reclaim Atlanta’s streets as safe, inclusive, and thriving spaces for people to ride, walk and roll. The name change also follows the organization’s merger with Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety (PEDS) last year. “For nearly 30 years, the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition advocated to make biking safe, equitable, and appealing,” said Rebecca Serna, executive director of Propel ATL. “This name

conveys our goals and guiding principles, and we’re excited to create a unified voice to make Atlanta’s streets measurably safer for residents and visitors.” For more information, visit LetsPropelATL.org.

Georgia Power is asking the state Public Service Commission (PSC) for a rate hike of nearly 12% during the next three years, with the vast majority of the increase front-loaded into 2023.

According to Capitol Beat, the proposed increase would raise the average residential customer’s bill by $16.29 per month. Of that amount, $14.32 would take effect next Jan. 1. Another $1.35 would be tacked onto

monthly bills in 2024, followed by an increase of 62 cents in 2025. The increase is needed to strengthen Georgia Power’s electric grid, add more renewable energy to its power-generation portfolio and improve customer service, said Chris Womack, the company’s chairman, president and CEO.

Georgia is home to three of the nation’s 100 dirtiest power plants, the Atlantabased Environment Georgia Research & Policy Center. Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen near Cartersville topped the Georgia list for carbon emissions and is ranked 23rd in the country. The report ranked Plant McDonough, a gas-fired plant near Smryna, as the state’s second dirtiest, while coal-burning Plant Scherer, near Macon, was third on Georgia’s dirtiest-plants list.

The Rounds delivers sustainable, cost-saving shopping to Atlanta

By Kathy Dean

Back in the day, milk was delivered to people’s doorsteps in glass bottles every morning. The next day, the milkman would pick up the empties to be cleaned and refilled. It’s a simple concept that’s gotten lost in our supermarket, single-use plastic world.

The Rounds, a zerowaste refill and delivery service, has brought the milkman concept into the 21st century. Co-founders

Alexander Torrey and Byungwoo Ko began their startup in 2019 with the belief that convenience can be sustainable, and sustainability can be convenient.

General Manager Edward Sun explained that The Rounds was inspired by an Amazon delivery of hand soap.

“It arrived in a cardboard box the size of a kitchen table to replace a perfectly good bottle which had nothing wrong with it besides being empty,” Sun said. “It hit him that everyone else in his

Market, according to Sun. The company was formally started in Philadelphia while Torrey was attending Wharton’s MBA program.

The way The Rounds works is simple. Members shop online from 120+ products on the website. The Rounds team, on e-bikes, deliver the products, in reusable containers and canvas bags, during their weekly rounds. And they pick up the empties.

Members only pay for their products, with cost savings up to 40% thanks to group buying, and a monthly fee of $5.95.

The Rounds is booming in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Miami. Now it has reached Atlanta.

Torrey said that Atlanta had a record launch. “Atlanta has really shown us it is ready for The Rounds. Sustainable convenience really matters for people here,” he said. “We are currently operating our e-bikes in a relatively small area that spans from Grant Park north to Peachtree Road up in Buckhead and east to around Candler Park.”

Sun noted that The Rounds is working quickly to cover more ground and reach more Atlantans. “We will be opening large parts of Decatur and East Atlanta in early July, as well as West Midtown, and continuing to grow from there,” Sun said.

“We’re also excited about all the interest we’ve heard from OTP [outside the Perimeter] and are working hard to

apartment building was doing the same exact thing, and it got him thinking, ‘there must be a better way.’”

Torrey started toying around the idea for The Rounds while he was an Entrepreneur in Residence at startup accelerator Techstars at Ponce City

get out to our future members as quickly as possible,” he added.

Visit therounds.co for more info on membership and products. You can also get on the waitlist to stay informed once it launches in your neighborhood.

A Community of Care on a Mission to Heal

Buckhead’s distinctive Round House keeps its character

Perspectives in Architecture

Melody Harclerode

Melody Harclerode, FAIA enjoys connecting the public to wondrous places as an award-winning architect, author, and executive director of Blue Heron Nature Preserve.

ABuckhead mid-century modern home designed by noted architect Cecil Alexander for his family had been on the market for more than a year before a visit from Ted and Susan Pound.

While prospective buyers saw a house completed in 1957 as a structure in need of updates, Susan envisioned this home, affectionately called the Round House, as “a wonderful place to raise their family.”

Alexander, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects who died at age 95 in 2013, founded the architectural firm

FABRAP (1958-1984) and was a wellrespected civil rights leader, who designed the 2001-2003 Georgia state flag.

Alexander added his distinct design sensibilities to the Round House, just as he did with prominent Atlanta structures like the former AT&T building, Georgia Power headquarters, and the now-demolished Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

A dramatic atrium with a skylight, reminiscent of the oculus in the ancient Pantheon, centered the rooms in the circular home. Scenic views of the 3.75acre wooded property from five bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, and a light-filled living room and the joyful vibe of the home could imprint a creative mindset for their two children. As the son of a Columbus, GA-based architect, Ted aspired to honor the unique design of the home featured in national magazines.

Since their 2006 purchase of the Round House, the Pounds have been careful with renovation projects to preserve the character of the home. Bathrooms have been renovated. Additional lighting into the atrium has encouraged nighttime use of the space. The roof, electrical wiring, and mechanical systems have been replaced. New exterior windows have transformed the basement into an inviting multi-purpose room.

Until Alexander’s death in 2013, the couple formed a friendship with the architect and his wife Helen as they consulted with him about major home improvement projects.

The Pounds also engaged talented architects, contractors, and artists, such as Noel Dent and Anne Terhokoski, for over a decade for modernization projects at the Round House. The married artists enlivened the kitchen recently by replacing a copper backsplash with their handcrafted art-tile. Clean lines and simple shapes in the design reflect a Scandinavian-influenced design. A shared love for craftsmanship has built admiration between the Pounds and Dent and Terhokoski.

Recent exterior modernizations

include a finely detailed small addition to the home by architect Steve Robinson of Axios Architecture, LLC that resolves longstanding structural problems from the deck. New walkways allow the homeowners to stroll around the home, to access a new outdoor spa and fireplace pit, and to enjoy the flora and fauna of the property. While extreme home makeovers attract attention and television viewers, the Pounds demonstrate the value of restrained improvements and kindhearted stewardship of architecturally significant homes. For these distinctive landmarks, great renovations are assessed by how thoughtfully the home is improved and preserved.

REAL ESTATE BRIEFS

will provide 170 affordable and workforce housing apartments adjacent to Mercy Care health center on Gartrell Street. The first phase will include studio, one- and twobedroom apartments available at 30% to 80% of the area median income. Ten units will be transitional/respite units for Mercy Care patients. An additional 30 units will supply permanent supportive housing.

Avenue in Old Fourth Ward. According to Urbanize Atlanta, the development would mostly front on Highland Avenue and sit on the property currently home to Desperate Housewares and a single-family home. Currently, the plan calls for 301 apartments, 53,000 square feet of retail space, and 4,000 square feet of restaurant space. The location’s zoning allows for 591 parking spaces, but Fuqua plans to request a variance for 723 spaces. The project would also back up directly to the popular Freedom Barkway dog park, which will remain.

Residents of Crescent Place Apartments in Midtown were evicted at the end of June to make way for a massive new mixed-use development. Some residents expressed frustration for receiving only a 30-day notice to vacate. With rent at a well-below median price of $1,200 a month, residents doubted they would be able to stay in Midtown. The Crescent Place Apartments’ property is included in plans for the Midtown Exchange project by Selig Development. Midtown Exchange – bounded by 12th Street, Peachtree Walk and 13th Street – would include a 37-story residential building with 465 units and street-level retail at the corner of 13th Street and Peachtree Walk, and a 26-story office tower located along 12th Street.

Related Group submitted plans for the second phase of its Icon Buckhead apartment project at 3372 Peachtree Road. Called “Uber Icon,” the new tower would feature 209 luxury apartment units over 32-stories, according to plans released by Livable Buckhead.

▲A groundbreaking ceremony was held June 22 for McAuley Station, a 270-unit apartment building for families and seniors in Old Fourth Ward. The development

Fuqua Development has presented plans to neighborhood groups for an eightstory mixed-use development at the busy corner of Boulevard and Highland

▲Parkside, a new affordable housing community in Bankhead/Historic Westin Heights, opened in June. The new apartments include one-, two-, and threebedroom options with open floor plans are now leasing. The community includes a wellness/fitness center, business center, conference center, and multiple community spaces. For more information, visit parksideqy.com.

▲The transit-oriented development (TOD) adjacent to MARTA’s King Memorial Station and Oakland Cemetery is now open at 240 Grant St. Known as Marchon, the community offers 305 apartments and 11,000 square feet of office and retail space. Marchon has 98 apartments available through its Workforce Housing Program, with rentals ranging from $1,350 for studios to $1,736 for two bedrooms. For more, visit livemarchon.com.

The City of Atlanta extended again enforcement of short-term rental regulations approved by the city council more than a year ago to allow for more time to consider how to implement them. The Department of City Planning pushed back a June 1 deadline to Sept. 6 to meet new requirements for thousands who list properties to rent on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO.

Pellerin Real Estate has completed The Marbut, a 21-unit apartment building on Glenwood Avenue in the heart of East Atlanta Village with an Art Moderne facade. The ground floor of the building has space for retail tenants, while the 21 one-bedroom apartments are spread across the second and third floors. Find out more at themarbut. com.

Ground covers for your garden

The Environmental Gardener

In the American Dust Bowl of the 1930’s, we learned the perils associated with soil left bare of vegetation. It’s not a good for the environment, and it really isn’t good for your garden, either.

Bare ground can easily be eroded and does not retain moisture for the living plants that we all love. It can become compacted and nearly impervious, causing rainwater to run off quickly and flood streets, sewers, creeks and homes. Planting groundcovers helps aerate the soil, adds organic material, and helps stormwater infiltrate and replenish our groundwater, creating a healthier ecosystem for humans, plants, and animals.

In our gardens, we have so many possible ground covers that it can often be overwhelming. Including them in a master plan for your home landscape is a good start. Remember, plans are guides and sometimes changes are OK or an improvement as our gardens grow. Ground covers may need to change over time. When thinking about ground covers, consider that there are as three major types: living plants, organic materials, and inorganic materials.

Some materials are inappropriate from an ecological point of view. Plastic mulches, netting, weed prevention fabrics and artificial turf have limited environmental benefits and may be harmful and should be considered a last choice. While there is some usefulness of such products for saving time on mowing, mulch replenishing and weed reduction, their use is bad for the environment and should be avoided. Plastics and microfibers are polluting our planet both physically and chemically. Plastic turf also heats up–as opposed to cooling down–the environment, has no wildlife benefits, and has less water permeability.

Living plants as ground covers are my first choice in the garden, and there are so many beautiful choices for gardeners. Native plants are the best solution as they provide the best habitat for our native pollinators and other animals.

Native pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens) has been mentioned in the past because few plants are more beautiful. It holds up pretty well in mild winters as an evergreen and takes the deepest shade. You can’t walk on it, but there are few native plants that can compete with its ability to create a low growing mass.

Native sedges are really gaining popularity for their toughness. Of the dozens native to the region, Cherokee

Sedge (Carex cherokeensis) is an excellent evergreen groundcover that can take sun or shade, high water or low. Non-native ground covers can be a bit aggressive for some, but a handful are manageable, including Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonicus) and Dwarf Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’). I have seen it used in partial sun to full shade. It is quite attractive, and the dwarf version looks more like turf that you never have to mow and it reseeds much less than the former.

Low-growing meadows are best for full sun areas. A sharp mowed edge helps tidy up the appearance for most people. Taller native grasses like muhly grass and switch grass cultivars are also great for full sun and a more uniform appearance.

Turf Grass – This is a typical most obvious choice for human and canine recreation because as it can take foot traffic and mild compaction without detriment to the plant, but certain types require ample amounts of water, which limits the use in

areas of low rainfall.

Fescue grass is best for light shade. Many in Atlanta are becoming rather fond of the carpet -like appearance of Zoysia for full sun, but Bermuda may be the best choice as it has higher drought tolerance. For small properties, like my quarter-acre lot installing Bermuda may be more of a problem than solution, as it gets in flower beds causing havoc visually and aggressively competes with perennials.

Attractive organic ground cover materials for weed prevention, water retention, and playground surfaces include hardwood mulch, pine straw, or bark. It is best to stay away from colored mulches as they are adding chemicals to your yard. Cypress

mulch performs well, but it’s created by destroying important flood control and habitat, cypress swamps, for the sole purpose of creating mulch for gardens.

Most local tree companies will give you free wood chips or have a small fee for dropping it off, which keeps this resource from going to the dump. Try layering newspaper or cardboard then mulch on top of it to kill weeds naturally, this is called “sheet mulching.” Weed cloth eventually breaks down or tears and creates plastic waste that gardeners prefer to avoid and makes digging and planting extremely challenging.

This leaves inorganic materials and hardscapes as a final groundcover solution. Good design goes a long way. In your planning, understand what you are trying to accomplish with your hardscape, such as creating seating, grilling, and eating areas. Most hardscapes are impervious, preventing water from absorbing into your soil, and contributing to flooding issues in Atlanta.

There are pervious choices as well. such as stone aggregates (slate chips, pea gravel, or granite fines) that provide a walking surface and allow water to infiltrate into the ground. Most cities have a maximum area of impervious surface allowed, so make sure you are getting the appropriate permitting and avoid costly design mistakes.

Some materials are inappropriate from

an ecological point of view. Plastic mulches, netting, weed prevention fabrics and artificial turf have limited environmental benefits and may actually be harmful and should be considered a last choice. While there is some usefulness of such products for saving time on mowing, mulch replenishing and weed reduction, their use is bad for the environment and should be avoided. Plastics and microfibers are polluting our planet both physically and chemically. Plastic turf also heats up–as opposed to cooling down–the environment, has no wildlife benefits, and has less water permeability.

Groundcovers are an extremely important component in the garden. Making thoughtful choices can contribute to improving the beauty in your garden, enjoyment of all that visit and habitat for all living things.

Native pachysandra

Cherokee sedge

Meadow in bloom

Greg Levine co-executive director of Trees Atlanta, describes himself as happiest when his hands are in the dirt.

Dinner Discussion

Nonprofit brings together strangers to talk about race and more

NEW RESTAURANT RADAR

The first retail location for Meherwan Irani’s acclaimed spice brand, Spicewalla, is now open in Ponce City Market’s Central Food Hall. Info: spicewallabrand.com.

Asian noodle house Wagamama has opened at Star Metals, 1050 Howell Mill Road, on the Westside for takeout and delivery. Info: wagamama. us

By Clare S. Richie

An ambitious plan to seat 5,000 Atlantans around 500 dinner tables to learn more about the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre is in the works thanks to a nonprofit that has its origins in one of the city’s theater companies.

Equitable Dinners Atlanta a collaboration between Out of Hand Theater, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, The King Center, Partnership for Southern Equity and more will host the special event on Sept. 18. Attendees will watch a short play, then participate in a guided conversation about

If you need a Southern/sushi fix but aren’t flying anywhere, the second location of One Flew South is now open on the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail, 670 DeKalb Ave., in Old Fourth Ward. Info: oneflewsouthatl.com.

anti-racism and Atlanta’s past, present, and future.

“We want to create a positive meaningful interaction among racially diverse strangers around the subject of race,” said Ariel Fristoe, Out of Hand Theater founder and artistic director. “There is something magical about being in someone’s home and sharing a meal together that calls out the best in people kinder, more respectful, and better listeners.”

Founded in 2001, Out of Hand works at the intersection of art, social justice, and community engagement – pairing short plays or films with information to inspire conversation, empathy, and action. Rather

Taqueria and gastropub D Boca N Boca has finally opened at 39 Georgia Ave. in Summerhill. Info: @bocaatl on IG.

Out of Hand Theatre’s Adria Kitchens, left, and Ariel Fristoe.

than a brick-and-mortar theater, Out of Hand meets audiences where they are, such as in homes, community centers, and online.

“We wanted to make events about issues that matter…where the audience has a vital role,” Fristoe said. “We realized what we really care about is racial justice and economic justice – so now those are the pillars of everything that we do.”

The nonprofit is led by a three-member executive team that includes a director of equity and activism, artistic director, and managing director. More than 90% of its artists are people of color, mostly Black.

“Here we are an organization founded in white leadership and we’re talking about anti-racism,” said Director of Equity and Activism, Adria Kitchens. “Our commitment is – we are on a journey. We will probably get some of it wrong but are still trying to move forward.”

That journey includes recruiting 200 host homes across metro Atlanta by the end of July for the September Equitable Dinners event. Each host is responsible for coordinating the food (usually potluck style) and welcoming the actor, facilitator and guests.

Starting in August, guests can register

for the free event and will be assigned to a host location based on diversity software by Mixtroz, a Black-led event management, and networking platform.

“We are intentional about racial diversity first, gender, as well as age [for each location],” Kitchens said.

Guests are invited to bring a dessert, side dish, or bottle of wine but more importantly, an open mind.

“You show up at the host’s house and meet a small group of [8-10] people,” Fristoe said. “We send a facilitator for every table and actor for every location.”

The host will share a prepared welcome speech with a narrative about the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre written by the Equal Justice Initiative in collaboration with the Fulton County Remembrance Coalition (FCRC).

“We acknowledge this painful moment in Atlanta’s history and how that contributes to race and racism in Atlanta today,” Fristoe said. “We feel like we have to acknowledge the past to make a better future.”

This commemoration is also aligned with National Center for Civil and Human Rights’(Center) Truth and Transformation project which seeks to

memorialize hidden or forgotten history to shed light on today’s challenges.

“Part of the dinners is to bring to life.. [what] happened in Downtown Atlanta where at least 25 Black people were lynched by a mob of 5,000 white people,” Jill Savitt, Center President and CEO said. “There are echoes of our life today because they were incited to violence because two candidates for governor were trying to out sensationalize each other by scapegoating the Black community.”

The Center is working with the city to have elected officials attend the September dinners. A grandson of Luther Price, who witnessed and survived the 1906 massacre, will also be among the guests.

At all the gatherings, the focus will shift from the past to the present, with a 10-minute one-person play about the experience of being Black in Atlanta in

2022, coming out of the pandemic, and a year of racial reckoning.

“We hire about 100 actors – adult Black men, women or nonbinary people, and send them to different locations all over Atlanta,” Fristoe said.

After the play, as guests share a meal, the facilitator will invite them to discuss “your own personal experience with race, how the play touched you, what actions can we take individually and collectively to help make a better Atlanta,” Fristoe said.

This large-scale endeavor is a bold next step for Equitable Dinners Atlanta, which began in 2019. During the pandemic, the organization pivoted to virtual presentations.

For the next two years, the Equitable Dinners Life Every Voice online series addressed an antiracism topic each month – health, housing, criminal justice, voting rights, and more – with a guest speaker, a 10-minute play, and facilitated Zoom breakout-room conversations.

“It is important that we all get comfortable discussing and acknowledging what has happened and what continues to happen in this country,” shared, Allison Bantimba, FCRC co-founder and Equitable Dinners design team member. “By engaging in this discussion with strangers, you are able to step outside your bubble and listen to experiences that you have not had. To me, this is an experiment that tests our ability to empathize, to question and challenge what we may believe is the norm, and to take what we learn and create positive change in our communities.”

For more details, visit equitagbledinners.com.

Buenos Dias Cafe, a Salvadorian pupuseria pop-up kiosk from husband-and-wife team Ken and Jeannette FloresKatz is open at Ponce City Market.

Bene Korean Steakhouse joining Uptown Atlanta, formerly known as Lindbergh City Center, in 2023. The concept is from the creators of Miss Gogi and Yuki Izakya.

THE FLYING BISCUIT CAFÉ ALSO OFFERS YOUR FAVORITES FOR LUNCH AND DINNER!

California Love: A brief history of winemaking

Women + Wine

of wine per year, which is sold to help fund the sites. In 1830, the sale of wine was outlawed by the church and many vineyards were abandoned. The remaining vineyards were nearly all destroyed during the 1920s Prohibition era when wine had to be smuggled in from Mexico.

The Mission grapes, a variety of Vitis vinifera, have seen a resurgence further north with plantings in both Mexico’s Baja Peninsula as well as some niche vineyards in California.

The birth of commercial winemaking

The birth of commercial winemaking

immigration and more demand for wine. In the later half of the 1800s, European immigrants from Austria, Hungary, France, and Finland established commercial wineries, notably Buena Vista in Sonoma County and Gundlach Bundshu and Inglenook in Napa Valley. Josephine Tyschon became the first female winemaker, vigneron, and winery owner in 1881 when she began cultivating in St. Helena. Her winery would become today’s Freemark Abbey and Coglin Wines, which both produce wines dedicated to her.

Along with Mission vines, the first plantings in this area were mostly Zinfandel and Petite Syrah. For white wine: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscatalle.

when Robert Mondavi opened. Mondavi was originally a farmer but traveled and trained extensively in Europe and brought modernized production, oak barrels for aging, and promoted exportation that truly ushered in a new era in California.

Another notable event was the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 when several U.S. wineries were invited to present their wines to French oenophiles. The wines were put in bags and blindly poured in competition with French Burgundies and Bordeaux. Local judges awarded the highest marks to California Cabernet and Chardonnay, which expanded their recognition as a world-class production area. This led to the modern era of big wineries, extensive production, and marking California as the fourth largest production area in the world.

And let’s not forget the effect of the acclaimed 2004 film “Sideways,” which gave California’s Napa Valley “wine country” a huge ttourism boost and increased pinot noir production in the state 170 percent. Officials said the “Sideways side-effect” increased total wine grape production 7 to 8 percent during the time.

The month of July is synonymous with all things USA so we decided to do a deep dive into America’s favorite wine-growing state –California.

Not only does this state produce the most wine, they also are the largest consumer – 30 million gallons more than the next highest, Texas! It seems only fitting that we feature the Golden State’s contribution to the wine industry, especially the famed region of Napa Valley.

The first recorded planting of vines in California dates to 1683 by Jesuit missionaries, but the most prevalent planter was Father Junípero Serra, a Franciscian Missionary who established vineyards from San Diego to San Francisco to make wine for religious sacraments.

By 1790, the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was producing 35 million gallons

began in Los Angeles with Jean Louis Vignes in 1833. Several other wineries followed in Southern California, but it wasn’t until the 1850’s that Oak Knoll was first planted by Joseph Osborne. This original vineyard designation still exists and has been split into benchmark vineyards.

However, a true wine pioneer was George Calvert Yount (Yountville bears his name) who began cultivating vines as early as 1836 before statehood. The famed To-Kalon vineyard sits on his original site. John Padgett began making wine out of the first winery in 1859 with winemaker Charles Krug. They were reviewed in “California Farmer Magazine” in 1860 which said, “The white wine was light, clear and brilliant and very superior indeed; his red wine was excellent.”

The California Gold Rush meant more

While Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir are popular today, they were secondary at this time. The winery Inglenook really embraced Bordeaux varietals and actually submitted wines to the world’s fair in Paris in 1889, which won a gold medal. Inglenook’s accolades made it the premier winery of the day leading to more Cab and Merlot plantings.

Into the modern era

It wasn’t until the repeal of Prohibition that the wine industry really blossomed, but recovery was slow due to the Great Depression and World Wars. The 1950s led to a resurgence including much more land dedicated to Cabernet Sauvignon with better land studies and knowledge. The second new winery in Napa didn’t come until 1964

A more inclusive future

It must be noted that the history of California wine does not exist without controversy and overlooked truths that date back to its origin. The land planted by Father Junípero Serra was home to several indigenous tribes, so his actions were instrumental in the destruction of native culture and subsequent deaths.

Another stumbling block was the treatment of Chinese immigrants who came to California via the railroads that they built across the nation. Many workers helped to plant and harvest vineyards, dig caves, and build the original commercial wineries, some even assisting as winemakers. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed which pushed many out in favor of white labor erasing their contribution to what has become a billion-dollar industry.

The modern California wine industry shows minimal resemblance to their past indiscretions. More BIPOC winemakers are entering the conversation, and poor labor practices are being rectified. They have become a benchmark for changes that many trades can follow.

Katie Rice & Sarah Pierre Rice owns VinoTeca in Inman Park and Pierre owns 3 Parks Wine Shop in Glenwood Park..

QUICK BITES

peach-centric dishes and drinks including an exclusive peach beer from Wrecking Bar Brewpub and the Vinoteca Wine Lounge featuring wines from Spain. This year’s culinary lineup will feature Atlanta’s best chefs and beverage artisans who are dedicated to supporting local farmers, including Stevenson Rosslow & Mikey

demonstrates consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, hospitality, and operations while contributing positively to its broader community.”

Shake Shack’s Summer Comedy Series is running every other Tuesday evening through Sept. 27 at the Buckhead location, 3035 Peachtree Road, of the burger joint. Tickets can be purchased at buckheadrooftopcomedyseries22. splashthat.com.

▼The Highlander bar and grill in Midtown Promenade closed suddenly on June 20 after 30 years in business. A favorite hangout spot after movies at Midtown Art Cinema, and known for its bingo, karaoke and trivia nights, The Highlander opened in 1992. The owners cited “unforeseen circumstances and hardships” as the reason behind the sudden closure.

▲Tickets are on sale now for the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, which returns for its 11th year Sept. 15-18. A celebration of Southern culinary culture, attendees can sample creations from an array of the finest chefs in the South – from Texas through Georgia, and all the way to D.C. – with proceeds benefiting Children of Conservation’s school lunch program, providing nutrient-dense meals for children in Africa. Tickets are $99 per day for the tasting tents, which include unlimited food, wine, cocktails, live chef demos, and more. The $150 VIP tickets offer priority access to the tasting tents. Find out more at atlantafoodandwinefestival.com.

Cocktail haven The James Room will open a second location in Buckhead Village later this summer. Restaurateur

Aaron Mattison, who operates Bar Vegan and Excuse My French at Ponce City Market, has partnered with Harold Brinkley, the owner of The James Room on the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail, to open the new spot. Find out more @ thejamesroom on IG.

Atlanta’s popular PeachFest returns to Peachtree Center in Downtown on July 26 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The Plaza will be filled with the city’s best chefs, pastry chefs, and barkeeps for the fifth annual peach-filled extravaganza. Expect plenty of

Staniewicz of Wrecking Bar Brewpub, John Short of Pearson Farm, Drew Van Leuvan of Farm Burger, Jon Jackson of Comfort Farms, Nolan Wynn of Banshee, Casey Burchfield of The Burch, Tyler Edwards of Elsewhere Brewing, Davis King of Betterstaff Brewing, Jason Waters of Georgia Routes, and Grant Wallace of Our Apothecary, to name a few.For more details, visit peachfest.org.

Communion, the backyard-inspired outdoor beer garden, has reopened for the season behind Chef Kevin Gillespie’s Decatur restaurant Revival. Every Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. until closing, guests can enjoy a menu of down-home classics like cornbread with honey butter, pimento cheese, chopped pork sandwiches, smoked wings, pies, and more. And of course, there is a big selection of beers and cocktails to wash it down. Find out more at revivaldecatur.com.

The James Beard Foundation named the Asheville, NC flagship location of Chai Pani its 2022 Outstanding Restaurant Award winner. A second outpost is located in Decatur. The Outstanding Restaurant Award goes to “a restaurant that

Pop-up Gigi’s Italian Kitchen will permanently take over the Gato space in Candler Park on July 23. According to Atlanta Magazine, Gato owner Nicholas Stinson is closing the restaurant and moving to New Mexico with his family to write a book and start a new restaurant concept. Gigi’s founders Eric Brooks and Jacob Armando will be welcoming other pop-ups to the space every week. Virginia-Highland’s 8ARM, which was opened six years by the late Chef Angus Brown, shocked patrons last month when it announced it would close Oct. 8 after its property at the corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Ponce de Leon Place was sold to a developer. 8ARM said it would end its current food program on July 2 and open its kitchen to a “variety of up-andcoming and established chefs.” Service will run each week from Thursday-Saturday, and include past chefs like Maricela Vega of Chico and Duy Huynh of Yee’s Vietnamese, plus Cleophus Heathington from Ebi Chop Bar, Molli Voraotsady from SoSoFed, Mike and Shyretha Sheats from Plate Sale, and more. For more details, visit 8armatl.com.

The James Room

IT’S COOLER IN THE MOUNTAINS

and now is the time to search for a second home or condo

Experience the best of mountain living just two hours from Atlanta. With an average high temperature of only 78°, abundance of farm fresh dining options, award winning golf courses, boutique shopping, outdoor activities and live music, the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau offers a little something special for everyone. And the views are nothing short of breathtaking! Whether you plan to spend your days exploring nature or enjoying world-class amenities, we’ll help you find your oasis.

From Visionary to Protégé

Bill Lowe Gallery appoints Donovan Johnson as new executive director

vision for the gallery. What was important to me was the spiritual aspect of this work; there’s a profoundly spiritual element to art in general. They channel some type of spirit or energy to create these physical manifestations.”

Johnson’s childhood was marked by transition, as he grew up on military bases and moved frequently from place to place. His family lived in a number of locations including Texas, Panama, and Germany, which lent him a unique understanding of the world and society. Eventually they settled in Atlanta when Johnson was in middle school. His school experience here was, to put it gently, not great.

“Being a Queer Black man in the South is not easy. It was horrible.” He speaks of his experiences with the wisdom that comes from persevering despite the challenges he faced. In his youth, Johnson leaned on his tenacity and found that art could act as an armor as he moved through the world. It also became a language through which he was able to speak and be heard beyond the spoken word. As a teenager, he began drawing and painting, with a deep love for fashion.

By Isadora Pennington

The Miami Circle arts district is known for a number of galleries and design firms that call this area of South Buckhead home. Chief among them is the Bill Lowe Gallery, which, over 33 years, has grown to become a driving force of contemporary art in the Southeast and beyond.

Founded by William “Bill” Edward Lowe to bring elite artists and art lovers together, the gallery embraces a kind of “concierge approach” to provide a curatorial experience for clients. The team is able to pull from their extensive collection and established relationships with artists in Atlanta and around the world to source museum-quality works that perfectly suit their clients.

When Lowe died from lymphoma at the end of 2021, the loss sent shockwaves through the gallery and the arts

community in Atlanta. The gallery team, described as more of a family than a group of coworkers, was devastated by the loss.

Lowe, a legendary figure in the local arts community, was incredibly knowledgeable, insightful, humorous, and personable. He was the kind of leader who was easy to talk to and always eager to learn new things. In one conversation I had with Lowe towards the end of 2020, he spoke about how much he loved the magic qualities of art; the ability for an artist to take a vision and make it reality through transmutation.

To Lowe, art has the capacity to create a shift both in perception and feeling. His interest in metaphysics lent him an otherworldly approach to curating his gallery, seeking works that were evocative and, in a way, divine. Showcasing works of luminaries such as Thornton Dial, Todd Murphy, Ida Applebrog, Michael David, Dale Chihuly, Markus Lűpertz, and Jimmy O’Neal, Lowe proved that the Bill Lowe Gallery could be an outlet for

museum-quality exhibitions in Atlanta.

“Good God, he was extraordinary,” reminisced Donovan Johnson, the newly appointed executive director of Bill Lowe Gallery.

Johnson worked closely with Lowe, someone who he considers both a mentor and a friend, for the past decade. His career at Bill Lowe began when he was a gallery intern in 2012, later promoted to media coordinator, then a brief stint away when he was recruited to work in the now shuttered Lisa Cooley Gallery in the Lower East Side of New York City.

After his return to Atlanta, Johnson took a job in sales at the Hathaway Contemporary Gallery before following his heart right back to the doors of the Bill Lowe Gallery in 2018. Shortly thereafter, Johnson was appointed to the position of assistant director.

“Bill and I always had a really dynamic working relationship,” explained Johnson. “I think that he really understood me, and I really understood and believed in his

One of his first formative interactions with art was when he saw an Alexander McQueen show in late 2007. McQueen, an openly gay fashion icon from the United Kingdom, was known for his dramatic and theatrical catwalk shows. Describing it as a pivotal moment in his life, seeing this show opened Johnson’s eyes to the possibility that he, too, could make a career out of art. Meeting Lowe, also a gay man from the South, further cemented Johnson’s belief that he deserved a place in the art world.

“Bill was an iconic figure for me,” recalled Johnson. “He was my best friend for a really long time, and my biggest mentor and inspiration. He was my foundation for just about all of what I’m doing now. He was really a huge part of my formation as a human being in general.”

Towards the end of his life, Lowe appointed Johnson to the position of executive director. After Lowe’s passing, Johnson has stepped up to lead the gallery equipped with the knowledge and wisdom passed down from its legendary founder. When asked about the direction of the gallery now, his perspective of the gallery’s future, and the way Lowe’s vision lives on through Johnson, he made one thing perfectly clear: he intends to build on Lowe’s work, not simply continue it.

Bill Lowe Gallery Executive Director Donovan Johnson.

(Photo by William Twitty)

“We cannot just rest on the fact that this is the Bill Lowe Gallery. We have to move into 2022 with the rest of the world. My vision for the gallery is to help it evolve.”

The gallery’s 2022 schedule has been curated as a sort of homage to the history and legacy of Bill Lowe’s evolution since it was founded in 1989. Each show will highlight artists who were foundational cornerstones in the gallery’s history. In this way, Johnson seeks to pay respect to Lowe’s legacy, the gallery itself, and the work which has made it what it is today. Come 2023, Johnson is refocusing on evolution.

“This gallery has always been, as Bill would say, a portal to global visual culture. I love that. My hope is to make good on that vision.”

For more, visit lowegallery.com.

Hot Reads

8 books to keep you turning the page all summer long

By Jacob Nguyen

Whether you’re looking for a love story or thriller to chill out with by the pool or to gain perspective on politics or a famous author, these new books will keep you turning the page all summer long.

Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa Riley

A woman sold into slavery and another born free play pivotal roles in the Haitian revolution.

CHRISTIAN SIRIANO

Don’t Cry For Me by Daniel Black

A father on his deathbed tries to reconnect with his gay son through a series of letters that recount the tumult and tragedy that led to their estrangement.

The Emma Project by Sonali Dev Jane Austen’s classic “Emma” gets an Indian-American twist in Dev’s latest rom-com about a Continued on page 50

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Continued from page 49

well-to-do philanthropist and a woman working to bring financial independence in South Asia.

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

A young high-school dropout finds herself drawn into the world of prostitution on the streets of Oakland, CA. while trying to take care of an abandoned boy. The novel was recently selected for Oprah’s Book Club.

Flipped: How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly on Republican Power by Greg Bluestein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s political writer looks back at the bruising 2020 election and how it flipped the balance of power in a one deeply red state.

Metropolis by BA Shapiro

Six people of various means living and working out of a storage warehouse find themselves caught up in a murder investigation when a stranger falls down an elevator shaft.

Harley Quin: Reckoning by Rachael Allen

The first book in a trilogy of novels detailing the origin of DC Comics villain Harley Quinn during her college years and her participation in a vigilante girl gang.

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker edited by Valerie Boyd

The late Boyd organized 50 years of Walker’s diaries to create a portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and her development as a writer and activist.

Friends go from middle school bandmates to Juilliard grads

By Dyana Bagby

Kevin Oliver Jr. and Joshua Williams bonded over a love for music while attending a Metro Atlanta middle school. Today, the best friends are graduates of The Juilliard School, one of the world’s leading performing arts schools based in New York City.

The young men are now pursuing professional music careers in the Big Apple. Kevin, 21, a jazz alto saxophonist, received a $20,000 entrepreneurship and career advancement grant from Juilliard he is using to record an album. Joshua, 22, a tuba player, is pursuing a master’s degree at Juilliard and auditioning with different orchestras.

Both say they would not be where they are without the other’s encouragement, support, and challenging each other to make better music. Before they were friends, though, they were rivals.

“We started off as mortal enemies,” Kevin said with a laugh.

Both ended up attending Sandtown Middle School in South Fulton where they both sought to play saxophone for the school band taught by Sarkino Walker. Kevin said playing the saxophone came almost naturally in elementary school, sealing his love for the instrument. Joshua, who was born in New Orleans, envisioned himself a young jazz protege connecting with his hometown roots.

“We would have auditions for who gets first chair in the sixth-grade band, and only a certain amount of saxophone players got chosen to be in the jazz band,” Joshua said.

“So we were in competition with each other. And we did not like that because, of course, you want to be the best even at the age of 12,” he said.

But there were too many saxophone

players, so their band teacher, Ms. Walker, asked if anyone wanted to play tuba. Joshua’s brother played tuba and he liked the sound the large horn made. So, Joshua switched to tuba.

With the rivalry now out of the way, Kevin and Joshua quickly became good friends because they shared a passion for being the best musicians they could be. They liked other stuff, too.

“We loved going to the band room in our spare time to just play music,” Joshua said. “We both go to the same church. We both really like football, playing video games. And we just realized there were more things we have in common — so it was, like, how can we not be friends?”

Kevin said Joshua’s friendship at Sandtown Middle School made him want to be a better musician.

“We kind of grew with each other, and pushed each other to be better,” he said.

“I just fell in love with music and the

saxophone. And by the time I was in seventh grade, I knew that that’s what I wanted to do for a profession,” he said.

“By that time, I knew I either wanted to go to Juilliard or Southern University, an HBCU in Louisiana,” Kevin said.

“I knew the prestige that surrounded Juilliard even in the seventh grade,” he said. “I didn’t know much about anything, but I knew that. And I wanted to study music at the highest level, so that was definitely the place to do it.”

Joshua went to Tri-Cities High School in East Point and Kevin went to Westlake High School in South Fulton. Both continued to play in the school bands and also played with various Atlanta university jazz bands, studied with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as well as district honor bands and all-state bands.

Juilliard is notoriously difficult to get into. About 7% to 8% of applicants are accepted at the school with enrollment

now at roughly 800 undergrad and graduate students. Tuition and other expenses can run about $80,000 year to attend.

Kevin and Joshua applied to several schools not expecting to get into Juilliard. The application process is a rigorous one, including performing live. But they excelled during the process, were accepted and were awarded scholarships.

The love of music only grew, they said.

“I like the saxophone because I feel like it gives me a voice,” Kevin said.

“Being able to express yourself artistically, it does so many good things for you emotionally,” he said. “Growing up, I loved math and science … and language was definitely one of the more difficult things for me. I just feel like I can tell my story the best way possible on the saxophone.”

And Joshua wants people to understand the beauty of the tuba beyond its massive size and perceived clunky, loud booming noises.

“A lot of times when you think of a tuba, you don’t really think of anything necessarily very melodic or very virtuosic,” he said.

“But the tuba is kind of a reflection of how I just like seeing people in general, in the world — never assume what anyone can or cannot do know based off how they look,” he said. “I feel like that reflects through me through the tuba.”

Kevin Oliver Jr.

Joshua Williams