Saturday, May 14, 2016

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Decatur's Grind House Killer Burgers just Days away from Grand Opening

 From: https://www.facebook.com
Local artist Caveal just finished adding his hand-painted personal touch to the new Decatur store. We're days away from our grand opening!

Eye on Decatur

Decatur GA. E. Howard Ave.

Pure Barre 1st Year Aniv. Celebration Saturday May 14

 From: thedecaturminute.com
Pure Barre community class on the Square, 10-11 a.m.
Block party following the class until 12 p.m. Enjoy retail discounts, refreshments and giveaways.
Register for the community class at Purebarre.com/GA-Decatur

Friday, May 6, 2016

Eye on Decatur near city limits

     Dekalb Ave.

Learn more about HGTV's Fixer Upper's Chip and Joanna Gaines

From http://www.popsugar.com/home/Facts-About-Fixer-Upper-Chip-Joanna-Gaines-37457565#photo-37457565
It's only been about a year since Fixer Upper debuted on HGTV, but viewers across the country have already fallen hard for husband-and-wife team Chip and Joanna Gaines. He's a real estate and construction pro who knows how to turn an affordable but "blah" house into a sparkling gem, and she's a designer with an eye for shabby chic flea-market finds. Together, they own and operate Magnolia Homes — and raise four kids. We took a break from watching Chip and Joanna help families purchase and renovate their dream homes on the small screen to talk to the couple in real life. What we learned made us love them even more. Read on for 16 adorable facts about the Gaineses.  To  Learn even more about Chip and Joanna here: Photo credit: www.hgtv.com

Video Friday - The Band Perry - Gentle On My Mind


I love this song so much.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Eye on Grind House Killer Burgers. Look for May Opening

Decatur's new Grind House Killer Burgers. To Open in May (2 to 3 weeks)


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Monday, May 2, 2016

Rize a New Pizza Concept Could be coming to 675 North Highland

 Rize a New Pizza Concept Could be coming to 675 North Highland
from: http://www.tonetoatl.com/2016/04/new-pizza-shop-hoping-to-rize-soon-in.html#more

 New pizza concept in the oven in Atlanta.


A new "artisan" pizza restaurant is scouting Atlanta for its first locations.  Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads, an Atlanta-based restaurant without any physical location, has plans for at least two restaurants in metro Atlanta in the coming months.

While another site inaccurately reported that Rize was opening a physical restaurant at 1510 Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard, that address will instead serve as the company's "Restaurant Support Center." 

Interestingly, in the past few weeks, that other site has corrected their careless error, and more recently Rize seems to have suspended or deleted their facebook page from which the other site obtained their information.  Rize does still have active Twitter and Instagram pages, but each has been quiet for months. 

According to its website, "Rize was born from a passion for pizza, hospitality and great food prepared the right way."

"As hospitality experts with relentless spirit and a true love for our craft, we created this unique concept that will disrupt the fast casual dining world."

From what I've heard from a number of industry sources, Rize is aiming to be a family friendly, high quality, full service, economically priced, pizza restaurant.  Plans reportedly call for the restaurant to offer assorted salads and gelato in addition to the many pizza options.  Rize has no intention of being a "me-too" player in the quick serve pizza space, currently led by Blaze Pizza, Pieology and others like Atlanta's Uncle Maddio's Pizza. 

While the plans for Rize sound good, the menu and plan sound eerily similar to another would-be pizza chain, Treza. Longtime ToNeTo readers will recall the struggles of Treza, which had hoped to become a growth concept in the upscale-casual pizza space.  Opening in 2011 at TOWN Brookhaven, Treza offered gourmet pizza, gelato and assorted salads and tried to be very similar to what Rize is apparently trying to be. While Treza offered counter service rather than table service, the similarities in their growth ambitions and menu are uncanny.  After closing briefly in 2012 to attempt a   rebranding, Treza closed permanently in early 2014. 

John D.  Smith lists himself as Founder & CEO Rize Holdings, LLC ("A private equity backed holding company formed to acquire, develop and operate branded restaurant concepts with the potential to scale to a national footprint) on his LinkedIn page.  The Rize website lists Smith as Founder CEO of Rize Artisan Pizza.  While I found Smith challenging to deal with in my one conversation with him, I'm left to assume that Rize Holdings is the holding company in which Rize Artisan Pizza is being held, and with luck, grown. 
read more http://www.tonetoatl.com

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Monday, April 18, 2016

Have you Checked out the New Netflix Series "The Ranch"


Beat The Street for Little Feet 5K April 30


From:  http://www.active.com

About This Activity

Pete the Cat is back!
 Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool is proud to host the 9th Annual Beat the Street for Little Feet 5K, 1 mile and Tot Trot, featuring the beloved Pete the Cat t-shirt.

Race day includes a children's activity area, local vendors with discounts, coupons, product demos and samplings. Electronic timing for the 5K.
Family-friendly event with fun for all ages and is a great run through Decatur and Oakhurst. All proceeds from the event directly benefit the Oakhurst Cooperative Preschool.
Race Day Schedule:
7:00 am: Packet pick-up and race day registration open
8:00 am: 5K Race
Immediately after 5K finish: 1 Mile Race
Immediately following the 1 Mile: Tot Trot
9:30 am: Awards

Kids' Activities: Activity tables created and monitored by OCP parents and teachers. May include face painting, sand table play, crafts with recycled and natural materials, etc. Come out and be a kid with your kid!
Beat the Street 5K IS A TEAM DECATUR GRAND SLAM FITNESS CHALLENGE EVENT
Walk-ups welcome! Race day Registration fees: 5K=$35, 1 mile=$25, Tot Trot=$15
**Credit cards accepted for onsite registration.**

Storefront Saturday in Decatur April 23

The Eighteen Decatur shops that are participating:


Participating Shops:
Bleu Hanger
Boogaloos
Boutique Karma
Collage
Furry Tails
HomeGrown
Kismet
Little Shop of Stories
Natural Body
Splash of Olive
Sq/Ft
Squash Blossom
The Great Frame Up
Treehouse Kid and Craft
Tres Jolie
Trinity Mercantile & Design
Wild Oats & Billy Goats
Worthmore Jewelers
 info from facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/561570194021783/

Avondale Tree Walk Sat., April 23 10-12 Noon

From Nancy Martin
Third Annual Avondale Tree Walk Takes Place April 23

WHAT: 3rd Annual Avondale Tree Walk
WHO: Presented by the Avondale Estates Garden Club
WHEN: 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 23, rain or shine
WHERE: Lake Avondale near the gazebo, Lakeshore Dr.
COST: Free and open to the public

The Avondale Estates Garden Club presents the 3rd Annual Avondale Tree Walk, a conservation project, from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 23. The event is free, and all members of the public, including children and families, are invited. The walk takes place rain or shine.

The registration area is in front of the gazebo, which is just steps away from our "Tree Huggers in Training" talks for children. Other tree talks for adults are also close by. The tree walk will begin after the talks. Arborists and landscape architects will lead six different routes in Avondale Estates. One of those is a walk around Lake Avondale for those who prefer or require a short walk.


Children who participate will get a picture book from Arborguard Tree Specialists. If Avondale Elementary and the Museum School have at least five students from their school attend the walk, they will earn a book about trees by distinguished authors Gail Gibbons and Patricia Lauber for their school library.
All who go on a tree walk will receive a booklet,“75 Native Trees of Georgia,” from the Georgia Forestry Commission.
There will also be an opportunity to consult a panel of experts at the “Ask the Arborist Table” about any concerns homeowners have with trees in their landscapes

The guides at this year’s tree walk will emphasize six major roles that trees play in our environment:
• Trees make oxygen
• Trees save you money (lowering your heating costs)
• Trees keep your drinking water clean
• Trees make useful things for you
• Trees keep streets safe
• Trees Make City Life fun

Special thanks to City of Avondale Estates, the Avondale Estates Tree Board, the Avon Garden Club
and Arborguard Tree Specialists for their contributions to the 2016 Avondale Tree Walk.   


Saturday, April 16, 2016

Atlanta Motorama (Photos)

The Summit Racing Equipment Atlanta Motorama - April 16-17 at The Atlanta Motor Speedway --

Monday, April 11, 2016

Wylde Center Plant Sale April 15-17, 2016

From: http://wyldecenter.org/plant-sale/


Plant Sale is located in the front yard of the Wylde Center office at the Oakhurst Garden location. Oakhurst Garden is located in the Oakhurst neighborhood just south of Agnes Scott College in the City of Decatur.

435 Oakview Road, Decatur, GA 30030

For regular updates about what is available, planting tips, and volunteer plant sale workdays, like our Wylde Center facebook page. - See more at: http://wyldecenter.org/plant-sale/#sthash.QAfvDVJg.dpuf

Friday, April 8, 2016

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Update photos on The Comet Pub & Lanes


--- One of the guys working on this said the floor is next thing to install.
    Game room can be seen on left side.

Eye on Decatur's Grindhouse Killer Burgers

Decatur GA. Photo taken on April 6, 2016

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

New app for Highland Bakery will Deliver to your Door

From: https://www.facebook.com/HighlandBakery
Highland Bakery is proud to announce that our full menu is available on Uber Eats! Download the app today to skip the line and have your favorite benedicts, pastries and drinks delivered right to your front door! Pictured here is the spinach salad, the chicken salad sandwich, the peanut butter french toast, and the hill grill.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Sport Clips Coming to Suburban Plaza

From: http://www.tonetoatl.com/2016/03/bits-bites_30.html#more
Sport Clips will be opening locations at both Snellville Promenade on Scenic Highway in Snellville as well as in Suburban Plaza near Decatur.  Georgetown, Texas-based Sport Clips is a male-geared hair cut shop with franchises nationwide.  There are currently about 40 Sport Clips locations in Georgia.   The Snellville center in anchored by HomeGoods, Best Buy and The Fresh Market, while Suburban Plaza is anchored by Walmart, HomeGoods, LA Fitness, ROSS Dress For Less and soon Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft stores.

Learn more about Sport Clips here.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Burt Reynolds Introduces the NEW Bandit Trans Am


LA Fitness at Suburban Plaza has more Vehicle Break-ins

 Decatur Police reports

Items being taken are electronics left in the cars are wallets and cash and some were broken into anyway with nothing taken because owners left nothing of real value in the car. Last month, Decatur Police offered the following tips to help people avoid becoming victims of a vehicle break-in.
 Tips given would be for people not to leave valuables in their vehicle, and  in some of these break-ins nothing was taken, but the vehicle was broke into with the belief of hoping to find items that may have been left in the vehicle.
 They  recommend parking as close to a business as possible where foot traffic is higher in order to increase your vehicle’s visibility or parking it in front of large windows.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Eye on Suburban Plaza


--- --- Moe's gets a facelift Coment Pub & Lanes is expected to open by April.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Look for New Retail Center for Toco Hills

New Retail Center Planned for Toco Hills
From: http://www.tonetoatl.com
Crim & Associates plans to build a new 11,000 square foot retail center on LaVista Road at Toco Hill.  The property, located in an outparcel of the existing Kroger, is just under 1.4 acres and is zoned C-1 (Local Commercial District.)

A sign was erected recently announcing a new retail center. Leasing is being handled by Crim & Associates, a Sandy Springs-based commercial real estate firm.  I previously linked to a listing by LaVista Associates, Inc.,  but it would appear Crim has now taken the lead.
 I contacted Crim's Steven St. Paul, the leasing agent for the property, who indicated that they have received significant interest in the new center but that they have no leases signed. St. Paul indicated that the center is likely not to be completed for another year.  I also inquired how many spaces the center would have, to which St. Paul responded that the number of spaces would be determined by the types and sizes of users that commit to the center. 

Jerry Hendrix of Toco Properties, owner of the Kroger portion of the center, indicated that there will be no curb cuts permitted between the new center and the Kroger portion. This access restriction was reportedly among the issues that hindered development from taking place on the parcel previously. 
Photo credit: google maps