OPINION: PAST TENSE
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Battle + Brew = Haven for geeks and gamers By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The team behind Battle and Brew has spent the past 15 years creating a hub for all things game and geek culture in Sandy Springs, where people can find community and comfort through pop-culture offerings. Battle and Brew was the first video game restaurant, bar and venue in the United States according to the establishment’s general manager Ryan Blake. The concept came out of the “natural evolution” of gaming and its popularity. Blake pointed to the popularity of arcades in the past, usually located in shopping malls. People could go to play casually for hours. Some restaurants may have also featured an arcade game in their dining room, but Blake said the Battle and Brew team wanted to modernize the old-fashioned approach. “As times evolved, gaming systems
“For people who have never been here before, they go ‘What did I just walk into?’” RYAN BLAKE general manager, Battle and Brew became more elaborate,” Blake said. “If you want to keep their interest you have to keep up with the times.” Thus, Battle and Brew opened with a pay-as-you-play hourly game model. The restaurant and bar features various console games, including Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation models. It also offers desktop computer games, set up next to each other for potential multi-player gaming.
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DELANEY TARR/APPEN MEDIA
Battle and Brew, a video game restaurant and bar, is a hub for all things game and geek culture in Sandy Springs. Customers can pay for hourly play at any of the various video game consoles and computers.
High levels of E. Coli in Chattahoochee River linked to water treatment plant By ALEXANDER POPP alex@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Fulton County officials have confirmed that a major sewage spill which caused more than 15 miles of the Chattahoochee River to be closed ahead of the July 4th holi-
day, originated at the Big Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Roswell. Officials said July 3 that E. Coli bacteria levels, over 300 times greater than safe recreation levels, were detected in the river last week thanks to a monitoring program by the National Parks Service and
the nonprofit Chattahoochee Riverkeeper After the high bacteria levels were confirmed, the spill was tracked to Fulton County’s Big Creek Water Reclamation Facility which sits on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Roswell and treats wastewater for
North Fulton communities. Fulton County officials have found no physical leak in their system at the facility but say the sewage spill was caused by an issue in the biological processes used to treat wastewater.
See RIVER, Page 4