Happy Birthday, Zesto!

Atlanta ice cream and burger institution celebrates 70 years

By Annie Kinnett Nichols

One of Atlanta’s true icons, Zesto has been serving signature treats like the Nut Brown Crown (soft serve ice cream dipped in milk chocolate and rolled in dry roasted peanuts), Arctic Swirl cones, milkshakes, sundaes, banana splits, chili dogs and the Chubby Decker, Atlanta’s first ever double cheeseburger, for 70 years.

In 1949, Big John Livaditis opened the first Zesto franchise in Atlanta on Peachtree Road across from the Brookwood train station and it was instantly popular. Big John, born in Illinois to Greek parents, sponsored other Greek immigrants to come to the United States to work with him and opened more Zesto locations.

Big John hired friends and family to work at the stores and made sure his employees got to know the customers. That’s still true today. The employees at the five Zesto locations know your name, and your kids’ names and they know what your favorites are.

Each store has its own personality and special menu items. The Piedmont Road and Tyrone stores serve tacos and quesadillas, the Forest Park store is the only one that serves breakfast and East Atlanta has fish and chips as well as fried chicken livers and gizzards. Along with the burgers and hotdogs, all locations offer awesome Greek gyros and lemon pepper chicken wings.

The family atmosphere at Zesto also means that they have longtime employees who have become mainstays and icons themselves. Jimmy Koulouris and his wife Angela at the East Atlanta store, Delores Slaughter at the Piedmont store and Mechelle Harper at the Little Five Points location have all been with Zesto for decades. They have some great stories to tell, too.

Slaughter recalled when Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson came into the Ponce store to get his favorite milkshake and they told him the water main was down in the area. Jackson made one phone call and the repair was made while he waited to buy his milkshake. Rap star Lil Yachty was a regular at the East Atlanta store while working on the film “How High,” which used Zesto as a filming location.

Big John, who also created Big John’s Christmas Trees, died in 1995 and his son and daughter-in-law, Jimbo and Leigh Ann, now run the family business.

My advice to you is to find the nearest Zesto and if you’ve never been there, go in and introduce yourself. You’ll be family in no time!

For more information, visit zestoatlanta.com.

Get up to $1,320 every year to spend on over-the-counter health items* at Walmart.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield + Walmart means value and convenience for you. We’ve partnered with Walmart to bring you up to $1,320 every year to spend on over-the-counter health items. Plus, YOU choose how to shop!

Visit your local Walmart.

Phone in your order.

Place your order by computer.

Order from your mobile phone or tablet.

With our Medicare Advantage plan, you’ll receive an allowance up to $1,320 every year to spend on nonprescription over-the-counter drugs and health-related items like:

• Toothpaste

• Toothbrushes

• Cough Drops

• Vitamins

• Pain Relief

• Sinus medications

Stacie Miles

• Antacids

• First aid supplies an authorized licensed insurance agent for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Georgia

• And much more...

Let’s talk! We’ll find the plan that’s right for you.

License number: 2733354

1-470-522-8815

8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5 days a week

*Monthly, quarterly and/or annual limits apply. Please contact the plan for additional details. This policy has exclusions, limitations, and terms under which the policy may be continued in force or discontinued. For costs and complete details of coverage, please contact your agent or the health plan. Other providers are available in our network. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is an HMO D-SNP with a Medicare contract and a contract with the Georgia Medicaid program. Enrollment in Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield depends on contract renewal. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia, Inc. Independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.

Up to $1,320 Y0114_19_35654_U_M_223 10/01/2018