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A new food joint in Midtown Atlanta is proving to be a welcome respite from the new age “fusion” food that is cropping up around the city. In Old Fourth Ward, Nina And Rafi, an Italian-American restaurant, opened its doors fresh for 2019.
Check it out: The AtlantaFi Nina and Rafi review
In December, the Belt LIne-adjacent eatery teased its entry into the Atlanta dining scene before Christmastime.
Now serving in Midtown Atlanta: Nina And Rafi
“We are having a soft opening at Nina & Rafi…which means we will be serving a limited menu & will have limited hours for a couple of weeks,” Billy Streck, an Atlanta restaurateur who has brought the city Hampton & Hudson and Cypress St., said on Twitter.
Nina and Rafi’s hours are 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. during the week.
Now that it’s open, the restaurant and bar located in Studioplex at 659 Auburn Ave., has quickly caught on with Midtowners.
Where did the name Nina & Rafi come from?
Streck and Spina named the new spot after their grandmothers – Nina and Rafi – and their upbringings in New Jersey and New York. Both were raised eating grandma-style pies in their family pizzerias. Spina was schooled in the art of crafting Jersey-style pizza side-by-side with his uncle in Red Bank, New Jersey.
The dynamic duo have taken what they’ve learned growing up and transformed it into a beloved restaurant that serves pizza, Italian snacks, dessert and even has a full bar.
Where is Nina & Rafi located?
Nina & Rafi is located at 661 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312 along the Eastside Beltline. Here’s a map to help you find it.
Visiting Nina & Rafi? Here’s where to park
For parking options, patrons can park their vehicles on Auburn Avenue or pay to park in the parking deck at SPX Alley or in the corner lot on Krog Street and Irwin Strett. Street parking is also available on Edgewood Avenue – to access the restaurant, guests can walk down the steps to the BeltLine.
Atlanta has turned into quite a restaurant town, with new spots popping up by the week it seems. Follow AtlantaFi’s Restaurants tag to stay up on all the latest.
Nina and Rafi review: The down low on delicious and hearty pizzas on the Beltline #OTW https://t.co/NWDwLjN6R3 pic.twitter.com/vdK9tHUPhL
— ATLHAPS (@atlhaps) February 8, 2019
Read more: 5 metro Atlanta places to ride horses
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Atlanta entrepreneur Candice McCoy has been able to turn tragedy into triumph in a big way. The New York native is the creator of Juicee, a beauty app that allows you to request beauty products & professional services to your home.
Candice is a successful businesswoman now, but at one time in her life, she found herself in a terrible rut because of some unfortunate events. “When I was 17 years old, my mother and siblings were killed and I was the only survivor,” she told AtlantaFi.com.
Introducing Juicee: An On-Demand Beauty Services App
Under such pressure, she soldiered on to college in Washington D.C., determined to make the best of her situation. But soon things began to take their toll. “When I started my freshman year at Howard University two months later, I was diagnosed with depression and PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder],” she said.
It was during that dark time, that Candice realized a need: “I WANTED to get out of the bed and get my hair, nails and makeup done but my mental illnesses would not allow it. I had no desire to be around people,” she said. Candice wanted to give others what she didn’t have: the ability to get the beauty and cosmetic services they needed even if they were shut inside their home.
Candice, who originally wanted to be a forensic psychiatrist, knew with her newfound perspective in life, she had to make a difference in other people’s lives.
“I created Juicee with people like me in mind — new moms, disabled persons and WOC [women of color],” she said.
The app is primarily designed for people who either can’t physically visit a salon or the salon does not cater to their needs. It works like this: Go to MeetJuicee.com and you can order on-call, in-home beauty services from licensed, talented cosmetologists. Men can also get haircuts via Juicee. Women can order custom wigs as well.
Candice, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, said her motivation continues to be her family. “The only reason I was able to finish college and graduate with honors was my desire to make my mom proud and make sure my family’s deaths weren’t in vain.”
Now she’s found her calling by delivering a much-needed service to people who aren’t able to make it to the salon.
The Juice mobile app is scheduled to be released in early 2019. The web version launched recently and soon customers will be able to order online.
Learn more at meetjuicee.com & instagram.com/meetjuicee.
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With the opening of the Trap Music Museum in Atlanta, much attention has been given to the city’s musical heritage. Atlanta trap music owes much of its development to the artistry of the city’s underprivileged communities.
Rapper T.I. is largely credited with creating trap music, especially since he christened an album “Trap Music” back in the early part of the century. But others have tried to share some of the credit, or blame, for the music, which has grown from its Southern roots to all parts of the country.
Still, Atlanta is its birthplace. With that being the case, here are some other trap rappers you should get to know.
Trouble – Selfish
Lotto Savage – Errythang
Gunna – Top Off
Brodinski – Split
Dae Dae – Bae With Me
Shad da God – Strawberry Syrup
Duke – Better Days
Young Nudy – One Dolla
Trap music is not just an Atlanta thing. Spreading like kudzu on Metropolitan Parkway, trap music has expanded throughout the Southeast, the United States and across the world. Here are some other artists you should know about.
Hitter – Fugazi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI2tVXqmVaQ
Buddah G – Slide GMix
Lonzo Da Menace – Strictly For My Opps
New Gangsta – Drill Trap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1gSermXSsU
Summerella – ‘Pretty B__ In The Trap’
Got an event or know of something opening in and around Atlanta? Holla: CJ@AtlantaFi.com. See what’s poppin’ in the ATL! Subscribe to our news alerts here, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Read more: The essential bars in Little 5 Points
Food & drink specials: How to eat for cheap in Atlanta EVERY DAY
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The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) has released its slate of films for Opening Night. The first evening of the festival, Young Professionals Night presented by ACCESS, and Closing Night to be included in the 2019 festival, has been set.
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival announces full 2019 movie lineup
The 19th annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival kicks off Wednesday February 6 at 7:30 p.m. through February 26 2019. Opening Night takes place at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre with the Atlanta premiere of the Israeli dramedy “Shoelaces.”
Atlanta Jewish Film Festival kicks off Feb. 6
Nominated for eight Israeli Academy Awards including Best Film, this tender family story follows the complicated relationship between an irascible father and his special-needs son, while raising serious questions about society’s attitudes towards the disabled and the importance of human connection. Actor Nevo Kimchi gives an outstanding performance as the son Gadi, filling his role with humor, optimism, and charm that is not frequently seen in the depiction of special-needs characters.
The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival will also feature Kimchi in a Q&A discussion after the screening. Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Opening Night general admission tickets are available for $36 and include complimentary parking as well as the screening and post-film Q&A.
“Shoelaces”
On Saturday, February 16, AJFF will feature the North American premiere of “Leona” at Young Professionals Night, presented by ACCESS, the young leadership division of American Jewish Committee at the Woodruff Arts Center.
The night begins with a pre-screening party at 6:30 p.m. and will be followed by the film at 8:00 p.m. Making the transition into adulthood, a young woman from Mexico City finds herself torn between her Syrian-Jewish family and a forbidden love, in this delicate, melancholic romance.
The story dives into the divide between generations and different cultures but becomes a hopeful journey of self-discovery and female empowerment. Audience members can look forward to a post-film Q&A discussion with filmmaker, Isaac Cherem, and lead actress, Naian González Norvind. Tickets are $36 and include the party and screening.
Audiences can expect diverse films from this year’s Atlanta Jewish Film Festival . A first look at what to expect in this year’s lineup was recently announced and is available here. The preview includes the following eight films: “Alt-Right: Age of Rage,” “Family in Transition,” “Fig Tree,” “Holy Lands, It Must Be Schwing!: The Blue Note Story,” “Redemption,” “Who Will Write Our History,” and“Working Woman.” The full lineup and official schedule, along with the release of program guides, will be announced on Thursday, January 10. Tickets go on sale via AJFF.org beginning Monday, January 28. Tickets for the festival are $13 for Matinee/Seniors/Students/
Children and $15 for General Admission. The festival closes out with food options and a screening of “Chewdaism: A Taste of Montreal” on Tuesday, February 26, at 7:00 p.m. at the Byers Theater at City Springs. In this nosh-umentary, Canadian funnymen and best friends return to their hometown to explore their heritage by eating their way across the city. Comedy duo Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman are creators and co-stars of YidLife Crisis, a successful Yiddish language web series exploring, with charm and jocular snark, the burning questions and absurdities of contemporary Jewish life. Now nearing middle age and their own proverbial YidLife Crisis, they’re back in Montreal to delve into a hundred years of the city’s rich Jewish history…and to stuff themselves with its even richer Jewish food.
There will be a post-screening Q&A discussion and a post-screening food tasting that begins at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $36 and include complimentary parking, the screening, and a post-screening food tasting. For those that are unable to attend to the evening showing, there will be a matinee screening earlier in the day at 2:25 p.m. also with a post-screening Q&A. Tickets for the matinee will be $13.
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When it comes to all the wonderful Cajun dishes like et toufee, gumbo and anything with crawfish, Louisiana Bistreaux in East Point and Decatur rule the roux. Now, Louisiana Bistreaux in Buckhead will too.
Louisiana Bistreaux is set to open a Buckhead location in mid-2019, according to news reports. This will be the restaurant’s third metro Atlanta location.
Hampton Inn restaurant: Louisiana Bistreaux in Buckhead
The restaurant will open inside the Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Buckhead Place located off Piedmont Road and Peachtree Road, WhatNowAtlanta reports.
As Cajun cuisine goes in metro Atlanta, there have been many that have tried to master (imitate) it, but the results have fallen flat. But inside the perimeter, Louisiana Bistreaux has came the closest to authenticity.
Dishes like Cajun BBQ Shrimp, Crawfish Combo and Eggplant Atchafalaya have been standouts in the two metro Atlanta locations. As the restaurant continues to expand, Louisiana Bistreaux is poised to give seafood king Pappadeaux, which has two metro Atlanta locations, a run for its money.
When it comes to restaurants, Atlanta is quickly gaining ground on some of the dining capitals around the United States.
Fast-casual is the dining trend du jour around metro Atlanta restaurants. The concept involves mixing the quick accessibility of fast food with the casual dining experience. Food in Atlanta is also adapting to the various tastes of the migrants that come here to live.
Read more: 5 essential soul food spots in Atlanta
Patrons typically order off a menu board like they would at a burger joint, but the convenience of sitting down to leisurely enjoy their food has made the segment a popular one with the restaurant industry.
The craze hasn’t escaped metro Atlanta’s food and drink scene, which has seen a fast-caz explosion in recent years.
Read more: Here are the best Atlanta restaurants opening in 2019
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The Canopy By Hilton, a new hotel on 1414 West Peachtree St. NW, opened in Atlanta in mid-December. It’s first-floor restaurant, Xhibit, opened in early January to the delight of hotel guests.
Canopy boasts 170+ rooms in a gem of a location just off the Interstate 75 corridor between 14th Street and Atlantic Station. The hotel has a number of art installations from local artists that gave the lobby and adjacent rooms a decidedly ATL flair.
Canopy hotel opens in Midtown Atlanta
The hotel’s restaurant, Xhibit Studio Kitchen & Bar, is a small but mighty restaurant helmed by chef Christian Messier. The eatery, which will serve seafood dishes, American cuisine and tasty desserts. After personally tasting the cobbler, I can say this is one of the best hotel restaurants in Atlanta.
Here are some of the best features at the Canopy hotel in Midtown:
- Just-Right rooms with comfy beds, free W-Fi and a 55-inch TV
- Xhibit features a café, bar and complimentary evening tastings
- Three meeting rooms and an elevated outdoor terrace with fireplace
- 24-hour fitness center and complimentary Canopy Bikes
The Canopy branded was first conceptualized in Iceland in 2014. Four years later, the concept was brought to the United States. Atlanta’s Canopy hotel opened just in time for the Super Bowl. For that weekend, the first in February, the hotel has only a handful of rooms left, a manager told AtlantaFi.com.
The rooms at the Canopy are all the same size and are distinguished by either two queens or a king-size bed. The layouts are drastically different though, with guests being able to have access to refillable water in the hallways.
I haven’t been to all the hotels in the ATL, but the Canopy hotel ranks pretty high among the boutique variety.
Got an event or know of something opening in and around Atlanta? Holla: CJ@AtlantaFi.com. See what’s poppin’ in the ATL! Subscribe to our news alerts here, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
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The end of the year shakeup at Atlanta’s No. 1 urban station V-103 — Wanda Smith and Miss Sophia were let go — has been surpassed by the fact that the company snagged a new talent worth her salt in every way: Jade Novah.
Novah blew up on social media by not only singing popular song covers, but doing a killer Beyonce impression. Novah was based in Los Angeles, but the V-103 team, which hired her for some singing events, has solidified their relationship in a big way.
Jade Novah and JR join Frank Ski Morning Show in Atlanta
It was V-103 who took a chance on the indie singer by playing her song “All Blue,” which has turned into quite the banger.
Now V-103 who needed to fill some positions on Frank Ski’s morning show, has hired Novah and JR, who both began their new jobs on Jan. 22, 2019. JR comes from Entercom Sports 660 WFAN/101.9 WFAN-FM New York where he filled in on occasion. But it’s Novah who has social media abuzz these days.
“I look forward to joining the team at V-103 and kicking off 2019 by hitting the ground running,” said Novah. “Atlanta is where I started my career as a solo artist and content creator and I’m excited to come back to the city to represent the voice of a free thinking generation.”
Here are 5 things to know about Jade Novah
- She is an accomplished writer of pop and R&B songs. Novah wrote for Mya and Christina Milian, Melanie Fiona (“Watch Me Work”) and more.
2. She sang background for Eminem and Rihanna, including touring with her not once but twice. Last year, served as vocal producer and mentor on Fox’s music competition show, “The Four: Battle for Stardom”
3. Novah, a former ATL resident, actually met her husband in Atlanta, so it’s all love, y’all!
4. She said Beyonce has not commented publicly on the impression that Novah does, but she’s aware of it. Beyonce isn’t the only thing Novah can do. Her covers of H.E.R. and Erykah Badu show that she came to slay!
5. Novah released her first album, “All Blue,” which debuted at #2 on the iTunes R&B charts and has gotten more than 6 million streams. Cop that joint.
Got an event or know of something opening in and around Atlanta? Holla: CJ@AtlantaFi.com. See what’s poppin’ in the ATL! Subscribe to our news alerts here, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Read more: Another Whole Foods is popping up in Midtown -
UPDATE: The Colony Square restaurant at 14th Street and Peachtree will now be filled by Rumi’s Kitchen, a Persian eatery.
If you’ve ventured anywhere near 14th Street and Peachtree recently, you couldn’t miss the orange construction barrels and traffic cop directing people out of harm’s way as one of the city’s most prominent corners endures yet another renaissance. This time, in the form of Iselle Kitchen + Bar.
Iselle, the latest new Atlanta restaurant to join the revitalized Colony Square development, is getting readied for a fall 2019 opening, according to a press release on the new Atlanta restaurant. The eatery comes to us from the rich creative mind of Chef Chris Gentile, who has made a name for himself by preparing West Coast-inspired Italian cuisine among other culinary delights.
Iselle Kitchen + Bar opening in Midtown’s Colony Square
For Gentile, whose family lives in metro Atlanta, the opening of Iselle is a homecoming of sorts. “I can’t wait to cook for my parents when they come in,” Gentile said a written statement. “It already feels like home for me.”
Menu favorites from Iselle will include such dishes as Seared Ora King Salmon, Ricotta-Stuffed Squash Blossoms and Burrata Gnocchi plus mouth-watering desserts.
Atlanta’s dining scene is taking off in pockets of the city far and wide. Gentile said that his decision to plant roots in Colony Square is indicative of what he sees happening in Midtown.
“There’s a level of urban vibrancy here that you just can’t find elsewhere,” Gentile said. “Colony Square is in the midst of an incredible renaissance, and we’re eager to introduce our own take on Italian to the area while we’re right here in the center of the action.”
Got an event or know of something opening in and around Atlanta? Holla: CJ@AtlantaFi.com. See what’s poppin’ in the ATL! Subscribe to our news alerts here, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Read more: Another Whole Foods is popping up in Midtown -
One of Midtown Atlanta’s most talked-about high-rise developments is entering the final stages of construction and now leasing. Hanover West Peachtree is signing up its first residents as completion on the project nears its end.
After nearly 24 months of building work, what used to be a homely street corner with a Checker’s on the backside is now one of the fanciest high-rises in Midtown ATL.
Situated in close proximity to Georgia Tech and Old Fourth Ward, Hanover West Peachtree is offering some pretty cool amenities for those looking to live in Midtown above the sky.
Now leasing: Hanover West Peachtree high-rise
Amenities in the 330-unit development include a state-of-the-art 24-hour fitness center and media room with stadium seating.
Hanover West Peachtree, located at 1010 W Peachtree St NW, contains studio, one- and two-bedroom units with 22 different layouts for the choicest of residents.
What are the rents at Hanover West Peachtree?
Billed as luxury apartments, Hanover West Peachtree is a short walk to some great dining options in Midtown. But reports on the pricing show that it caters to an upscale clientele.
The studio apartments, which measure more than 500 feet, come in at a starting price around $1,600 a month. From there, the one-bedrooms begin at $1,760 to $2,450.
Got an event or know of something opening in and around Atlanta? Holla: CJ@AtlantaFi.com. See what’s poppin’ in the ATL! Subscribe to our news alerts here, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
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Did you know that if you want to renovate a business that you own along Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta, you can do that with a $12,000 grant?
The Campbellton Road Small Business Renovation Program is powered by Wells Fargo and aims to help fix ailing establishments on one of southwest Atlanta’s most notable corridors.
How to Apply For The Campbellton Road Small Business Renovation Program
Before you can apply for the program, your business must meet a number of requirements, like being current on your taxes. Here are other requirements:
- Applicants must be independent owners/operators (owning no less than 20%) of the business.
- The business must have been in continuous operation since 11/01/16.
- The business has no more than $200,000 in annual gross revenues.
- The business must have a valid U.S. tax ID number
- Owners of more than one business location or franchised businesses are not eligible.
Once you’ve satisfied the above criteria, you’re good to go apply. Here’s how
- Complete the full application at Rebuilding Together Atlanta.
- Submit 3 to 5 photos of the interior of your business.
For full eligibility requirements, click here.