Atlantafi.com is bringing you the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta under a state of emergency.
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Atlanta’s newest pizza place, The Local Pizzaiolo, opened its doors Tuesday, January 23 on the West side. “It’s officially official! Our doors are open! Head on over and let us have a 🍕your ❤!” the eatery said on Facebook.
The restaurant offered free pizza to those who donated $2 to the Atlanta Community Food Bank & No Kid Hungry! The owner, Giulio Adriani, plans three more locations in the Atlanta area, including one in Reynoldstown, Toco Hills and Sandy Springs.
Patrons are already lauding the establishment’s authentic Italian pizza. On Facebook, one commenter said this: “Best pizza in town! Incredible dough from Italy… with unique and fresh toppings… all created by 4-time international pizza competition winner Giulio Adriani from Naples, Italy. This takes Atlanta pizza to a whole new level. And they have gelato, wine, beer and espresso… I think that covers all the important food groups! Can’t wait to go back!”
Another said, “Great new pizza spot. Very authentic Italian pizza with fresh ingredients. Gelato flavors were very creative. Glad to have his new option close to home and work.
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Atlanta’s Fort McPherson has been undergoing redevelopment since being sold in 2011 to filmmaker Tyler Perry, who plans to make a film and TV studio. The former military installation is being developed by Macauley Investments, who is charged with developing about 145 acres of the land, according to the AJC.
The project has been met with significant community resistance by some who say that the city of Atlanta undervalued the property in its sale to Perry. After getting input from local residents, the redevelopment authority is ready to offer a “sneak peak” of the master plan, the AJC reports.
The project is the result of the Oakland City/Fort McPherson Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) study update and master plan, which came about after extensive community outreach.
Fort Mac LRA will reveal some of the details at a community engagement subcommittee meeting Wednesday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 1794 Walker Ave. SW.
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Big-time white collar jobs are coming to the Atlanta area as AtlantaFi has learned that Fulton County is getting a new world headquarters. Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced plans Tuesday for Groupe PSA, the French automaker that brought the world the Peugeot and Opel, to build its new North American headquarters in Fulton County.
“We are thrilled that Groupe PSA, the second-largest carmaker in Europe and one of the top mobility providers in the world, has picked Atlanta for its new North American home,” said Deal. “Groupe PSA joins a growing family of innovative automotive manufacturers and suppliers operating here in Georgia. This announcement is a great win for our state and yet another testament to the strength of our business environment and infrastructure.”
Groupe PSA, known for its prestigious line of cars and motorcycles, is the second-largest automaker in Europe.
“We looked at every aspect of the Atlanta community and found it to be the most suitable location for us,” said Larry Dominique, president of PSA North America. “While the overall business environment, tandard of living and university system played an important part in our decision, our unique needs in terms of technology, mobility innovation and car culture ultimately identified Atlanta as our perfect choice.”
The move comes as Atlanta recently made the shortlist for Amazon’s second world headquarters.
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The first detailed images of the surface of a giant star have been published in the journal Nature, according to Georgia State University researchers. The photos come from an international team of astronomers, who produced them as part of a recent study.
The giant star, named π1Gruis, is shown to have a nearly circular, dust-free atmosphere outside our solar system. The star is part of the constellation Grus (Latin for the crane, a type of bird), which can be observed in the Southern Hemisphere.
π1Gruis is 350 times larger than the sun and is approaching the end of its 5-billion year life cycle.
“This is the first time that we have such a giant star that is unambiguously imaged with that level of details,” said Dr. Fabien Baron, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Georgia State University. “The reason is there’s a limit to the details we can see based on the size of the telescope used for the observations. For this paper, we used an interferometer. The light from several telescopes is combined to overcome the limit of each telescope, thus achieving a resolution equivalent to that of a much larger telescope.”
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This week Chick-fil-A is opening a new restaurant on North Decatur Road in Decatur and giving customers a chance to win free food for a year. The new location at 650 Decatur Village Way will bring about 90 jobs to the corridor and join a thriving food scene anchored by strong retail development just off Interstate 285.
To celebrate, all participating Atlanta-area Chick-fil-A restaurants are giving away a free chicken biscuit during breakfast hours up to 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 23. There is no purchase necessary, one per customer.
At the new Decatur location, the first 100 eligible adults in line when the doors open on Thursday, Jan. 25 will win free Chick-fil-A — 52 meals made up of a Chicken Sandwich, medium Waffle Potato Fries and a medium drink — for a whole year. The new eatery is the brainchild of franchise owner Rodney Johnson, who will also ask that patrons donate children’s books to a local youth organization during the festivities.
The location is expecting people to arrive a day or so in advance, so they are providing organized games, prizes, and a block party in the evening with lip sync battle and more activities.
The North Decatur Chick-fil-A restaurant is the last of four local locations to open in the first month o f 2018. On Jan. 11, the North Druid Hills restaurant reopened, along with Braselton’s first location and just last week on Jan. 18, a Vine City location opened near Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Combined, the four restaurants awarded to customers more than $120,000 in free food and have brought upwards of 400 new jobs to the metro area.
In February, a Northridge restaurant is going to reopen as well. The expansion is part of an effort to build 140 stand-alone Chick-fil-A restaurants around the United States.
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We all know Sheree Whitfield is an expert in branding, from her She By Sheree outfit to her mansion in Sandy Springs, she knows how to get the juice out of the moment.
She’s back on the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” for the 200th episode after taking a hiatus a couple of seasons ago. Ironically, that’s when she uttered the most-repeated phrase of the whole RHOA franchise.
Here is that moment and how it has taken on a life of its own.
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If you ever wanted to open up your own restaurant and bar, this one in the Smyrna Vinings Area comes with a patio. It’s a short drive away from the Atlanta Braves new stadium, SunTrust Park as well as Cumberland Market.
The listing says it is 3,600 square feet and has a “Stunning $850,000 Buildout with high ceilings.” The full-service kitchen is up to code and the dining room sits about 100 guests.
The spot is available for a long-term lease with options to renew at $8,200 all in per month. Sales from 2016, the most recent data available, shows that revenue hit nearly $2 million and paid management staff almost $150,000.
For more information check out Shumacher.com.
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And then there were 20. That’s the number of cities that have made the shortlist to be the site of Amazon’s second world headquarters. Atlanta joins cities such as Austin, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Toronto and Washington, D.C., the company said Thursday.
As we reported earlier, Amazon, the world’s No. 1 online retailer, is poised to move to the next phase of its hunt for the best HQ2 city: Tax incentives.
“Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” Holly Sullivan, an executive with Amazon Public Policy, said in a statement. “Through this process we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation.”
Texas is said to be offering some tax incentives on par with Georgia’s $1 billion on the table. The stakes are high: Amazon said it will invest up to $5 billion in the local economy and create 50,000 jobs for the city it chooses.
The Inc. quoted Jeremy Bodenhamer, who runs a $13 million shipping and logistics firm,: “We believe they will select Atlanta,”he was quoted as saying. He cited the area’s deep well of tech talent as well as the region’s reputation as harboring people with top logistical knowledge (UPS as well as Lockheed is based here) a top reason.
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After two days of freezing temperatures, the mercury will rise Thursday to about 41 degrees, still too cold to run outside in your bathing suit but much better than it has been earlier this week.
Many employers let their workers stay home for a second consecutive day as roads in some parts of town remained ice-covered. The National Weather Service said warned commuters that if they had to drive, be careful.
“Due to snowfall that has occurred, roads will remain icy and treacherous as temperatures remain below freezing the remainder of today through Thursday morning.”
A wind chill advisory remains in effect for metro Atlanta until 10:00 a.m. Temperatures will begin to warm up this afternoon. If you must be outside, please dress in layers to stay warm. pic.twitter.com/0vpOA6eXcC
— City of Atlanta, GA (@Cityofatlanta) January 18, 2018
Going into Friday and the weekend, things are going to warm considerably. A high of 70 degrees is forecast for Sunday.
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If you’re looking for a new place to down some brews and spirits, City Tap Kitchen & Craft is set to open in Midtown on Sunday, Feb. 3 2019, AtlantaFi has learned.
The much-anticipated gastropub located in Midtown at 848 Peachtreet St NE will host a Super 53 watch party in collaboration with NFL Hall of Fame Players, and NFL Hall of Fame Players and NFL Legends will be there to mix, mingle and talk football with guests throughout the game.
Read more: 53 Atlanta events happening for Super Bowl 53
City Tap will open in the former space of Gordon Biersch, which closed in 2017. The address is 848 Peachtree St. NE.
City Tap brewery coming to Midtown Atlanta
City Tap is a national brand that sprang up in Philadelphia in 2010. Today City Tap has breweries in Philadelphia’s University City and Logan Square, Washington, D.C.’s Penn Quarter and Dupont developments, Boston’s Fort Point and Nashville’s Sobro location.
In addition to the new Atlanta location, a City Tap Kitchen & Craft is also slated for Chicago’s Fulton district in 2019.
“To properly represent the evolution of craft beer, we use our taps to show just how diverse craft beer can be, highlighting strong local brews, celebrating the success of long-standing regional partners, and enjoying centuries-old European traditions as well,” Andy Farrell, brand director at City Tap, said in a press release. “It’s fun to see the story of craft unfold across a dynamic beer list.”
Gettles to serve as executive chef at City Tap
Executive Chef Greg Gettles will helm City Tap, overseeing a food menu full of tempting dishes, like Elote “Street Corn” Dip with jalapeño, chili powder, cotija, cilantro, and chips; Ten-Spice Wings with blue cheese ranch and crisp vegetables; Corn and Crab Hushpuppies with citrus remoulade and honey-thyme butter.
City Tap’s formula for success lies in its wide, open bar, a huge selection of taps, a readable draft list and an unintimidating cuisine that appeals to local tastes.
When it comes to its brew list, City Tap says this: “Every beer is categorized by style and given a detailed flavor description so you know exactly what you’re drinking. We also provide you with the beer’s brewery of origin and proper pour size.”
Read more: The essential bars in Little 5 Points
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