January 2018
Features
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Powering Down: Mayor Kasim Reed says goodbye to the only job he’s wanted since he was 13
In the Coretta Scott King suite on the second floor of the Hyatt Regency, Kasim Reed, the 59th mayor of Atlanta, was doing something he’s never enjoyed nor been particularly good at. He was waiting.
Joe Gransden’s big band magic at Cafe 290
Twice a month, in a cramped bar in Sandy Springs, Joe Grandsen and his crew of more than a dozen musicians make big band magic.
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The Connector
Don’t Miss List: Our top 5 event picks for January
The Lion King at the Fox, College Football National Championship, and Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture & Conversation Series, and more.
Kenny Blank on the enduring success of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
When the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival launched in 2000, it unfolded over 10 days in four theaters. Today, the organization holds year-round events at area theaters and campuses, and its annual 23-day showcase attracts nearly 50,000 people, plus Hollywood hotshots like Lawrence Kasdan and Judd Hirsch, making it Atlanta’s largest film festival.
How one Atlantan turned her homelessness into hope for others
When not working part-time at Pizza Hut, she would while away hours downtown at the library or the Five Points MARTA station, writing poetry or listening to a CD if she had batteries. It planted the seed for ChopArt, a nonprofit that Whitley, now 28, founded to help homeless children and teens find dignity, community, and opportunity through art.
Atlanta 2040: What life will look like in the city’s third century
Atlanta’s future has always belonged to people with big ideas. But in 2040, will we have enough room? Will we have enough jobs? Will we continue to spend all our waking moments in traffic congestion? What developments and visions will fill in the gaps—and fix our past mistakes—to set a new framework for the future metro?
Coyote howls have you cowering? Don’t fear, says this Atlanta advocacy group
Coyotes have been documented in every county in Georgia. Last year, concerns prompted state officials to launch the Georgia Coyote Challenge, a program to trap or kill more of the animals. But the Atlanta Coyote Project believes the program is inhumane and counterproductive.
By the numbers: Honda Battle of the Bands 2018
On January 27, the Honda Battle of the Bands will shine a spotlight on the high—stepping theatrics and thundering musicianship of historically black college and university marching bands. We look at the famously spectacular showcase.
4 grand development ideas that could revolutionize Atlanta
How an aerotropolis, the “Ray” sustainable road, the Gulch redevelopment, and the “Stitch” park over the Connector could change Atlanta.
The Bite
Fresh on the Scene: Donetto, ARI Korean Steakhouse, Muchacho, Janet’s Kitchen Atlanta
West Midtown’s new destination Tuscan food spot, John Creek’s design-forward Korean barbecue, a Reynoldstown cafe that sounds like—but definitely isn’t—a Mexican restaurant, and Filipino cuisine gains a stronger foothold in Atlanta with Janet’s Kitchen Atlanta.
Ones to Watch: The new guard shaping Atlanta’s food scene in 2018
The chef. The farmer. The entertainer. The cocktail mavens. Meet seven Atlantans who will shape the dining scene this year.
Will Atlanta restaurants soon serve insects? This scientist hopes so.
Eighty percent of the world’s countries already consume insects. They have nutritional benefit—toasted grasshoppers are rich in protein, fatty acids, and iron—and environmental benefits—it takes 2,000 times the amount of water to produce a pound of beef than it does for a pound of crickets.
The Christiane Chronicles: Who serves toast in a bowl?
Bowls have their place when serving food, but please, don’t put toast in a bowl ever again. Plus, nut milk from Virginia-Highland’s Press & Grind has made me a convert.
With lower-alcohol Suppressor cocktails, less is more
“With the cocktail renaissance came a bent towards stirred, boozy drinks,” says Greg Best. “But Manhattans and martinis aren’t what we want to drink on a regular basis.” Enter the Suppressor.
The Goods
4 popular Atlanta workouts to start your new year
Free fitness groups, calorie-crushing classes, and high-intensity yoga to burn off those December desserts.
The art of the thank you note
There are two reasons people don’t send out thank you notes: lack of time and no stationery. But don’t minimize the importance of the handwritten card, says Atlanta stationery artist Kelli Hall. Here are three bits of advice for carrying on this tradition.
Closet cleanse: Tips from a professional organizer on keeping your clothes arranged
If getting dressed each morning feels like a chore, it might be time to clean out your closet, says Shannon Loe, founder of the professional organizing company Live with Less. Here, she shares three tips for getting to a clear and clutter-free space.
You detox your body. Now detox your makeup bag.
Detoxing your makeup bag can be as therapeutic as a juice cleanse—and it’s probably easier to do—especially at clean beauty mecca Aillea, which recently opened in Buckhead.
8 products that’ll help you get a better night’s sleep
Often, a good night’s sleep requires engineering your environment for maximum relaxation. From soothing aromatherapy to relaxing teas, here are eight goodies to help ease you into the Land of Nod.
Need to relax? Try this Atlanta-based meditation app
Atlanta-based meditation app Welzen is like a gym for the mind. CEO Esteban Gonzalez launched the platform in 2016, applying his e-commerce background to the mental relaxation industry.
Room Envy: One bold, colorful closet in Virginia-Highland
Everyone’s wardrobe should have a few surprises in it, so it follows that our actual closet should, too. Interior designer Eryn Houck chose neutrals for most of her Virginia-Highland house, but the closet addition she and her husband Craig share is a jewel box of rich color.
Miscellaneous
Editor’s Note: City of the Future
In 2011, as part of Atlanta magazine’s 50th anniversary celebration, we invited all the living mayors to the Atlanta History Center for a conversation with Pulitzer Prize–winning author Doug Blackmon. At the time, Kasim Reed, who was just 22 months into his tenure, said, “I view my job as a job of finishing things that […]
Flashback: Atlanta City Hall, 1974, when Maynard Jackson was the city’s first black mayor
He may have been born in Dallas, but Maynard Jackson was an Atlantan through and through.
