Sunday, October 30, 2016
Friday, October 28, 2016
Complimentary Wine Tasting TOMORROW at Wahoo! Wine & Provisions Saturday, October 29
Complimentary Wine Tasting TOMORROW at Wahoo! Wine & Provisions
Saturday, October 29
Tomorrow's complimentary wine tasting takes us to Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. We will start with a white wine whose origins date back to the Venetian Occupation of Crete (between the 14th and 16th Century A.D.). This wine has an impressive fresh and unique bouquet with a dry flavor and refreshing acidity. The second wine of the afternoon is from Crete, as well, and is a blend of indigenous, intense dark red Kotsifali grape with Syrah. This wine shows a complex bouquet, reminiscent of forest fruits with hints of green pepper, and is well structured boasting a velvety taste with balanced acidity and a long after taste. Next, we're off to Macedonia for a fantastic dry wine with an intense ruby red color, made of the local Vranec grape. Aromas of blackberries, dried plums and currants lead to a full-bodied, fruity wine featuring soft tannins and a lingering finish. The last sips of the afternoon will be a late harvest Pinot Noir from Romania. This wine has a slightly higher residual sugar content, which is a result of using an ancient technique to allow the grapes to hang on the vine for an extended time. The extra sugar helps create a rich concentrated wine that will make everyone wanting more.
As always, guests will enjoy samples from local products, including cheeses from Nature's Harmony Farm, meat from The Spotted Trotter , Banjo Cold Brew Coffee , Emily G's Jam of Love and Doux South .
Pouring will begin at 4 p.m. and continue until 7 p.m.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Monday, October 24, 2016
Friday, October 21, 2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Church's Chicken across From Suburban Plaza has Closed
The Church's Chicken at the corner of North Decatur Road and Church Street, near Decatur, has closed. The restaurant, which seemed destined for closure given the development around it, quietly shuttered within the past 48 hours. Permanent signage has been removed from all portions of the property aside from two forgotten promotional signs in the grass out front.
The Decatur area restaurant was reportedly a franchised unit, owned and operated by "FRIS CHKN LLC," a franchisee who once had nearly 200 Church's restaurants.
Church's, previously part of AFC Enterprises, was once paired with its larger rival, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits. Following AFC's 2004 sale of Church's to First Islamic Investment Bank (today known as Arcapita), the two brands once again became independent entities with Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc (the new name of AFC) growing far larger. Interestingly, both corporations are based in metro Atlanta.
Overall, Church's, which still operates a number of metro Atlanta locations, has been on retrenchment rather than expansion mode in the metro area. Following the North Decatur closure, the next closest Church's are on Candler Road, Moreland Avenue, Mountain Industrial Boulevard and Bankhead Highway, none especially convenient for those in the Decatur area.
Church's, which once operated a location on Ponce de Leon Avenue and Boulevard, opened in a converted KFC in 2011 before closing in early 2013.
Friday, October 14, 2016
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Clermont Hotel Renovations Back on Track
For three years now, the renovation of the storied Clermont Hotel on Ponce de Leon Avenue has been up in the air.
After numerous false starts, spanning from 2014 to this year, transformative work is (allegedly) really starting ... for real. In fact, site work is already underway behind the hotel, addressing complications encountered due to a 100-year-old sewer line running through the site.
And according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, a private groundbreaking will be held next week. Hopefully that means work will soon start on the building itself, which has languished — windows broken out, etc. — since the hotel was shuttered in 2009.
Plans first released back in 2013 envisioned a boutique hotel with around 100 rooms. Additionally, the building was slated to include a full-service restaurant and a rooftop bar with sweeping skyline views (yes, please), a parking structure built behind the 1924 building, and, of course, the preservation of the
Clermont Lounge.
Raise a Fork - Fix a Home Oct 18
Dine out in Decatur on October 18 to support the Decatur MLK Jr. Service Project.
From: thedecatur.com A percentage of the day’s proceeds goes to the Decatur MLK Service Project, a large-scale volunteer initiative to help low income seniors live safely, comfortably and affordably in their homes by completing needed repairs, weatherizing, adding handicap accessible features and doing yard work.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Lee Ann Harvey, City of Decatur
leeann.harvey@decaturga.com
678-553-6548
MLKServiceProject.com
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Big Tex Cantina to Reopen this Fall
Big Tex, just west of downtown Decatur, will return with a slightly different partnership mix sometime around Thanksgiving.
The bar/restaurant was open from late 2011 until December 2014, then for a year after closing served as a catering outlet for Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q. In fact, though no longer involved, brothers Jonathan and Justin Fox were partners in the original Big Tex venture.
But original partners Dan and Beau Nolen are returning. The Nolens founded and still run Smith’s Olde Bar in midtown and remain partners with Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q.
Other partners include Robin Vaughan, Big Tex’s general manager during most of its first incarnation, and Scott Drake, a Decatur commissioner who has an interest in several restaurants.
Drake describes the refurbished Big Tex as “a neighborhood bar with really good food—sometimes maybe even great food.” Though not precisely a sports bar, the restaurant will feature eight to 10 televisions, Drake said, and carry all the major sports packages.
The building is deceptively large, about 4,500 square feet. Decatur veterans may recall that it was DeKalb Chrysler Plymouth in the 1950s through 1960s, and a tire store in the 1970s.
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Related post when they first opened: http://next-stop-decatur-ga.blogspot.com/2011/04/first-look-inside-decaturs-new-big-tex.html
Remembering Smith's Grocery on E. College Ave
Friday, October 7, 2016
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Oakhurst Porchfest Saturday Oct 8, 2016
When's it happening?
Everything goes down Saturday, October 8, 2016, from Noon to 6pm, followed by a closing throwdown in Harmony Park thereafter.
Where does it take place?
Oakhurst is in the southwest
corner of Decatur, sandwiched between Agnes Scott College to the east
and Kirkwood to the west. The fest is spread across the entire
neighborhood, filling roughly one square mile. Included streets are
shown here.
Is Porchfest a replacement for the Oakhurst Arts and Music Festival?
While it’s true that Porchfest was born to fill a void in 2015
when Harmony Park construction prevented the Arts and Music Festival
from taking place, the two events are otherwise unrelated. We can’t
speak to whether or not Arts and Music will return but we’re certainly
supportive of any efforts by its organizers and supporters to get it
going again. The more art, the better.
What's new for 2016?
We learned a lot from Year One and have a number of new things in store. See the summary here.
I want to play or host a band.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Bass Pro Shops is Buying Cabela's for $5.5 Billion
Hunting and fishing company
Bass Pro Shops, which was started nearly five decades ago when billionaire Johnny Morris started selling fishing lures out of his dad’s liquor store, has agreed to pay $65.50 per share for Cabela’s. This represents a 19% premium over Friday’s closing price.
Cabela’s had been exploring strategic alternatives for its business after coming under pressure from activist investor Paul Singer’s Elliott Management, which took a position in the company a year ago and called its stock undervalued.
The deal will create an outdoor retailing giant with almost double the store count that sells fishing, hunting, camping and boating gear. Both companies have “an abiding love for the outdoors and a passion for serving sportsmen and sportswomen,” said Morris, founder and CEO of the privately-held Bass Pro Shops, who Forbes estimates is worth $3.9 billion.
Cabela’s, which was founded in Sidney, Nebraska in 1961, has struggled in recent times and saw sales at its existing stores fall 1.3% in the first half of 2016. The company attributed this to a decrease in demand for its clothing and footwear.
Under the newly combined company, Morris will continue to act as CEO and majority shareholder. Bass Pro Shops communicated its plans to retain Cabela’s operations in its home state, but it’s not immediately clear if jobs will still be lost.
Bass Pro Shops is acquiring outdoor gear competitor Cabela’s in an all-cash deal valued at $5.5 billion, the companies said on Monday.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Madison Ave Soapbox Derby 2016 (Photos)
Photos: D G Whitefield (Next Stop...Decatur)
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