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Contents
November 2026
EDITOR’S NOTE
4
COVER STORY Thanks for Everything
6
BROOKHAVEN Fire Station
8
BUCKHEAD Fulton Jail Sale
10
DUNWOODY High Street
12
NORCROSS Canopy Development
14
SANDY SPRINGS Spalding Drive Museum
16
TUCKER AT 10 Message from the Mayor
19
Frank Auman Reflects
18
Tucker Timeline
20
City Founders
21
Nonprofits
24
The Local No. 7
25
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Annie Davis
26
DINING Michelin Awards
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ABOUT THE COVER Giving Kitchen Co-founder Jen Hidinger-Kendrick raises toasts at a Team Hidi event at Truist Park (Photo by Kate Biohm)
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Editor’s Note
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Turning outward in tragic times EDITOR'S NOTE
After a 1,000-year flood destroyed our home and almost every possession we owned in Columbia, SC in 2015, followed by the death of CATHY COBBS my father a few days later, all normal life came to an immediate halt. Grief and anger tend to make one
turn inward in a desperate way. There wasn’t enough time to process each loss separately, so I coped by doing neither, making split-second, self-motivated decisions during odd and inappropriate times. For example, I bought a replacement car, sight unseen, while in a limousine following my father’s casket to the cemetery. Because, you know, I had a moment and the car rental insurance had run out. It wasn’t until months later when we made the hard decision to tear down and
The house, submerged in water on Oct. 5, 2015.
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rebuild the house that I started searching for a path so that someone could benefit from our tragedy. The weekend before the demo crews arrived, we held what I called a reverse garage sale. Dozens of people brought their crowbars, power tools, and band saws and left with windows, bathroom sinks, granite countertops, hardwood floors, light fixtures, and interior doors. Many of the items were used by our neighbors as they repaired their flooddamaged homes. To this day, I’m grateful that parts of our dead house found new life. Tragedies turned into triumphs
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Since that time 11 years ago, I’ve been fascinated by people who have risen above their personal tragedies for a greater good. Our cover story, “Thanks for Everything” tells stories about individuals who made conscious decisions to find the good in the bad and formed powerful alliances to help people in similar crisis situations. Did these people picture the destruction of a facility or the onset of a devastating illness or injury, as a blessing? Of course not, but what they did as a
result of it could be viewed that way. This concept is illustrated beautifully by Ryan Hidinger, whose terminal cancer diagnosis inspired the formation of Giving Kitchen, one of organizations profiled in the cover story. “On stage at the first Team Hidi, Chef Ryan told the crowd that his cancer diagnosis was, in fact, a gift because it brought people together,” according to Giving Kitchen narrative. “In the following days, around the table in the Hidinger’s home, a group of friends and colleagues realized they were witnessing something larger than a single family’s moment of need.” American Legion No. 207 in Tucker, following the destruction of its headquarters in a 2019 fire, gave birth to a renewed effort to rebuild, as well as provide vital community and mental health resources to its veterans. And Lotus Disability, started after one of its founders suffered a life-altering injury, offers the kind of perspective to which we should all aspire. Thanks for reading our November issue. We hope that you may be inspired as well.
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After neighbors stripped the house of windows, doors, and fixtures, demo crews arrived in February of 2016. 4 NOVEMBER 2026
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Thanks for everything: finding gratitude in grief By Cathy Cobbs and Katie Burkholder After a serious, life-changing event, people have a choice to either wallow in self-pity, or channel their grief into something bigger than themselves. Here are three stories about those who chose to rise above the suffering. Giving Kitchen The concept for Giving Kitchen 13 years ago was born out of a sudden, tragic diagnosis. Chef Ryan “Hidi” Hidinger, who had worked for decades in the food industry, found out he had Stage 4 terminal cancer in December of 2012.
“He and I concentrated on his medical journey and what was in front of him,” said his wife, Jen Hidinger-Kendrick, one of the organization’s co-founders. “And in turn, it was his bosses and mentors and our community who stepped up.” The idea for Giving Kitchen came shortly after Hidinger’s terminal diagnosis while the couple was in their living room on a conference call brainstorming the idea with a group of close friends, several of whom were in the food service industry as chefs and owners. The founders included restaurant owners Ryan Turner, Chris Hall, Mike Gallagher and hospitality-focused attorney Michele Stumpe. “All the founders were ideating on
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(Top left) A poster of Jen and Ryan Hidinger art a recent Team Hidi fundraiser (Courtesy Giving Kitchen) (Bottom right) Home Depot workers held a volunteer work day at American Legion #207. (Photo by Cathy Cobbs)
what Giving Kitchen would be and who it would serve,” she said. “And I remember my late husband, when it got to him, he said, ‘All I know is that I want this to be for everyone.’ And he stopped. And since then, we have carried this as our North Star forward – turning what happened to him [into helping] everyone in food service.” In the 13 years since Giving Kitchen was founded, it has expanded its reach from serving 13 counties in the Atlanta area to the entire nation. In late October, the organization awarded its $18 millionth dollar to a Georgia line cook with two young children who suffered a collapsed lung and was unable to work. “Food service work is America’s secondlargest employer and one of its lowest paying,” Hidinger-Kendrick said. “The workers holding it together are one bad day from financial collapse. With nearly half of GK’s clients raising children on food service wages that fall below a livable income, one crisis doesn’t just threaten a worker – it threatens an entire household.” In 2026 alone, Giving Kitchen has already provided $1.2 million to more than 1,100 food service workers and referred nearly 3,000 more to desperately needed resources. “No one ever wants to lose someone or be met with a catastrophic diagnosis, but I will say there can be light at the end, and that’s what Giving Kitchen feels like for now for over 42,000 households,” Hidinger-Kendrick said. “It feels like light and hope and I think that’s what gets us motivated every single day.” American Legion #207 Long before Tucker’s American Legion #207 was destroyed in an electrical fire in 2019, the organization was on life support. It had lost its identity as a place to support veterans and their families, and operated more like a place where anyone in the community could stop by for a drink,
according to Scott Brady, who spearheaded a campaign to revitalize the headquarters. Brady, a Marine veteran, said he became aware of the fire and the #207’s struggles to rebuild. He contacted the legion’s commander Anthony Mathis, a fellow Marine, but by that time, Mathis said he was in discussions to sell the land and walk away. “I had about two months to raise more than $200,000 [to pay for work that had already been completed],” Brady said in an earlier interview with Rough Draft. “That was just to get us off life support.” After that was accomplished, albeit in four months rather than two, Brady turned his attention to the next hurdle. While he wanted to get the physical plant rebuilt, CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
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Brookhaven
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Council signs IGA for new fire station, despite citizen concerns By Cathy Cobbs During Brookhaven Mayor John Park’s 5 p.m. public meeting on Oct. 13 and a city council meeting held at 6:30 p.m., residents asked the panel to defer a decision or look at alternate sites before signing a 50-year Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for a new fire station at Blackburn Park. After the comments, the Brookhaven City Council voted 3-1 to authorize a 50-year IGA to place the fire station at the original site. Council Member Madeleine Simmons was the lone dissenting vote.
The IGA was originally scheduled for consideration at the Sept. 8 meeting, but the panel deferred the item to allow additional community engagement, review, and refinement of the proposal. Further analysis During that time, according to a release from the city, it developed a written comparison of alternative locations, which was reviewed by DeKalb Fire Rescue officials. The release said the analysis also took into consideration the concerns raised by the community.
John Park discusses a proposed fire station at Blackburn Park at a community meeting. (Photo by Cathy Cobbs)
Residents react
November 2026 Monday, Nov. 2 Mondays with Madeleine 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3 City Council 5 p.m. Mayor’s Town Hall 6:30 p.m. Budget Hearing 6:30 p.m. Regular Meeting Wednesday, Nov. 4 Planning Commission 5:30 p.m. Work Session 7 p.m. Regular Meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10 District 2 Community Conversation 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11 Arts & Culture Commission 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 City Council 4:30 p.m. Work Session 6:30 p.m. Budget Hearing 6:30 p.m. Regular Meeting Wednesday, Nov. 18 Board of Appeals 5:30 p.m. Work Session 7 p.m. Regular Meeting
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Park, City Manager Christian Sigman, and DeKalb Safety Director Darnell Fullum said the IGA is just the first step in the process, and that they will work with residents to refine the plan. Under the approved agreement, the city will lease approximately 1.35 acres at Blackburn Park, 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road, to DeKalb County for a term of 50 years at an annual lease payment of $1. DeKalb County will construct, own, operate and maintain the new fire station. Jeffery Kammerer, who serves on the city’s audit committee, said the group is going to look at the process by which residents are notified of infrastructure changes, in order to refine the process. “A third-party assessment will look to see if the city is following the process and if there are ways to improve it,” Kammerer said. “The city wants to be good stewards of the public process.” The revised agreement, according to the release, includes several provisions intended to address neighborhood and community concerns, “including emergency signal preemption and roadway markings, lighting standards designed to reduce impacts on nearby residences, reasonable efforts to minimize nighttime siren use when conditions permit, additional landscape screening, tree replacement, and approximately 50 public parking spaces to replace parking affected by the project.”
Speakers at both the mayor’s meeting and city council, and others leading up to the meeting, said they felt the placement of the fire station did not take into consideration the already congested Johnson Ferry/Ashford Dunwoody intersection and the impact on adjacent neighborhoods. The speakers, which included former council member Linley Jones, also complained that they were only made aware of the pending decision about the location of the station in September. “The placement of a facility did not merit personal outreach to the most affected neighbors,” Pat Willis said during public comment. “I was grateful to hear from both our council rep and the city manager that they thought this was a mistake as well, and that the future practice, on this kind of development, will follow the example of zone variances.” After the meeting, Eric Hovdesven, a frequent speaker at the meetings, said he believes that construction will require grading along Ashford Dunwoody and the removal of a significant number of trees. He also called the IGA a done deal regarding the station’s location. “Though at the meeting, Mr. Sigman said the IGA is just the start of discussions, I think it pretty much seals the deal,” Hovdesven said. “Doing site selection is above my abilities, but if the IGA is for that spot, it’s unlikely they will look for another site.”
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Council votes to sell detention center to Fulton County for $68 million By Logan C. Ritchie
Terms of the deal
Chaos reigned over the Atlanta City Council chambers on Monday as council members and staff debated the intricacies of selling the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County for $68 million, finally authorizing the transaction by an 8-7 vote. An hours-long discussion led to a confusing vote when veteran Council member Michael Julian Bond tried to delay the measure – then re-litigate it – after it passed. Bond claimed his questions, and others’, were unanswered. “I’m asking you, as the longest-serving member of this body – let the debate continue,” Julian Bond said. Even City Attorney Amber A. Robinson needed several minutes to decipher Julian Bond’s “motion to spread” the matter to the next council meeting. In the meantime, Council Member Wayne Martin tried to advance the resolution to the office of Mayor Andre Dickens. More questions about procedure followed, and Council Parliamentarian Dennis Conway stepped in. Finally, council members appeased Julian Bond and returned to the discussion on the jail sale.
The deal between the city and Fulton County has included a series of negotiations by letter between Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the Fulton County Commission members and a contentious work session that ended in a shouting match. Council members appeared unprepared to take the final vote, asking many questions about the mechanism of the sale. “If the intergovernmental agreement is required to come back to council for approval, what triggers the actual sale, and what are we being asked to do today?” asked Council Member Byron Amos. The legal team clarified that the agreement is separate from the sale. The council will approve how ACDC will be operated, not just by Fulton County but also by the City of Atlanta, Robinson said. “The final authority, as far as the administration is concerned, rests with this body,” Chief of Staff Courtney English said. But English warned: If the council voted not to sell the jail, “Atlanta taxpayers would be on the hook for another $1.4 billion, 60 percent of which would come from the city.” He was referring to Fulton
County’s need to either build a brand-new jail or purchase ACDC for more inmate space. The target closing date is Dec. 2. If negotiations go beyond that date, the City will pay $150 per detainee daily. Other issues discussed Topics ran the gamut from Council member Eshe Collins’ questions about the city’s financial responsibility to Council Member Kelsea Bond’s data on diversion. City Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks said the city has two contracts for pre-arrest diversion services: Grady Hospital manages and operates Atlanta’s 24/7 Center for Diversion and Services, which provides an alternative to jail or emergency room admission for minor and non-violent offenses, and Policing Alternatives and Diversion (PAD) is dispatched to the scene when 311 is called. “Everybody cannot be diverted. If there’s a warrant out for an arrest for someone, that’s not an option,” Burks said. According to a 2021 press release discovered by Bond, Atlanta, Fulton County and Grady Hospital jointly estimated that as many as 41 people per day could be eligible for diversion services
from local jails, detention centers, and Grady’s emergency room to the diversion center. “I would argue that all of those are not facts,” Burks said. “I know you’re getting information texted to you during this meeting … I’ve been on the Justice Policy Board since it was actually founded, so I have been a part of all the conversations and all the meetings around how we got to the numbers that we have at the diversion center, and how it is actually operating.” Bond responded: “For the record, I spent all weekend researching this data, and the numbers that I just pulled are from the Fulton County website and my own experience sitting in on city council meetings.” A push for ‘something bigger’ “We need to do something bigger and better than this,” Julian Bond said. “This is a rare opportunity in our city’s history.” Julian Bond said he’s watched “administration after administration” try to sell the detention center and fail. In 2019, a “reimagining” of the ACDC was floated to turn it into a diversion center, with health and wellness and housing components, but the plan never came to fruition.
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WEDNESDAY, DEC 2 6-9PM BLACKBURN PARK 3493 ASHFORD DUNWOODY ROAD
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High Street asks for modifications for future phases By Hayden Sumlin The Dunwoody City Council responded positively to GID Development Group’s request to modify plans for the $2 billion High Street campus along Perimeter Center Parkway at the DeKalbFulton border. The property owner is requesting to amend its approved site plan, swapping proposed apartments for a central greenspace and luxury retail in the next phase of its 10-block development. The first of two public hearings was on Oct. 13, and council members were expected to vote on the plan on Oct. 26. Mayor Lynn Deutsch said she thinks the proposed swap at High Street is critical. The change is exclusive to Block
High Street, a mixed-use development in Central Perimeter along the Dunwoody-Sandy Springs border, seeks a zoning amendment to replace proposed apartments with a parking podium, retail, and a central greenspace. (City of Dunwoody)
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November Highlights
1 Goat Pumpkin Eating Contest 3 Art Commission Meeting 5 Zoning Board of Appeals License Renewal Open 6 Alcohol House
14 #GreatDunwoody Cleanup
Brook Run Park | 2 - 3 p.m.
Community-wide event | Dawn to Dusk
Master Gardener Talk: Tool Maintenance
City Hall | 7:30 a.m.
Brook Run Park Greenhouse | 11 a.m.
15 Light Up Dunwoody 16 Audit Committee Meeting
City Hall | 6 p.m.
Donaldson-Bannister Farm | 2 - 6 p.m.
City Hall | 4:30 - 6 p.m.
City Hall | 3:30 p.m.
7 Crafternoon
Spruill Center for the Arts | noon - 4 p.m. Dunwoody Nature Cener | 5:30 p.m.
10 Planning Commission Meeting 11 Veterans Day Ceremony
Sustainability Committee Meeting
Spruill Gallery | open thru Dec. 23 Chat with Councilors Catherine Lautenbacher and Stacey Harris Los Hermanos | 5 - 6:30 p.m.
19 Development Authority Meeting 21 Game Night Holiday Celebration 22 Village & Lantern Parade City Hall | 5 p.m.
Brook Run Veterans Memorial | 10 a.m. City Hall closed City Hall | 8 a.m.
City Hall | 6 p.m.
City Hall | 7:30 - 9 a.m.
City Hall | 6 p.m.
12 13 Holiday Art Fair Opens
City Council Meeting
License Renewal 18 Alcohol Open House
Diwali in Dunwoody
Connect with Council
Donaldson-Bannister Farm | 5 - 10 p.m.
Dunwoody VIllage | 3 - 7 p.m.
Hall closed 26-27 City City Council Meeting 30 City Hall | 6 p.m.
All invited
Municipal Court Amnesty Months thru November 2026
12 NOVEMBER 2026
DELIGHTFUL D A Z Z L I N G DISTINCTLY DUNWOODY DELIGHTFUL D A Z Z L I N G DISTINCTLY DUNWOODY DELIGHTFUL D A Z Z L I N G DISTINCTLY DUNWOODY DELIGHTFUL PLAY, D ASHOP ZSTAY, L I N G &ZCELEBRATE DISTINCTLY DUNWOODY DELIGHTFUL D A Z Z L I N G te D I S Your T I ultima Nguide C TLY event Scan D U D Uforut updates Lseason I N G the througho DISTINCTLY DUNWOODY
DUNWOODY’S
Veterans Day Ceremony Nov 11
6, in the center of the proposed 10-block development along Perimeter Center West. “I think people don’t necessarily know what they’re seeing at High Street; they don’t know what’s there,” Deutsch said. “They see two big walls … I’m excited to see this change, and I hope it happens relatively quickly.” High Street phase two Council Member Stacey Harris said DeKalb County approved the 2007 zoning conditions for the 36-acre property a year before Dunwoody incorporated, but its buildout has been delayed. “High Street was the parting gift to the City of Dunwoody,” Harris said. “GID, the current owners, actually held onto it through the recession, through COVID, and now they’re finally building it. I love phase one, and I’m looking forward to phase two.” The three-phase development is limited to 1,500 condominiums, 1,500 apartments, 400,000 square feet of retail space, a combined 635,000 square feet of office space, and two hotels. After phase one, the developer wants to change its 2018 site plan while maintaining the 2007 use limits. The first phase, completed in 2024, includes 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 600 luxury apartments, 90,000 square feet of new loft office space, and 222,000 square feet of existing office space connected by a .75-acre park. Dunwoody Senior Planner Madalyn Smith said staff recommends adding two new conditions to the 27 established in High Street’s original zoning. The conditions require on-street parking to be parallel only, and the completion of a streetscape along Perimeter Center Parkway. Carson Land, vice president of mixeduse development for GID, said his team is on board with all of staff’s proposed zoning conditions. “TriNet choosing Dunwoody and
High Street specifically was a really great validation of the idea of High Street,” Land said. “That the sum is greater than the parts, and all these different components create a place where people want to be.” ‘Ceremonial entrance’ Land said the change to Block 6 will open up the center of the planned campus to pedestrians, and agreed with Deutsch’s “wall” comments. There will be a parking podium below the retail and greenspace, with an internal street and sidewalk network that includes on-street parking. “You see phase one existing as this dynamic downtown environment, but it’s inward-facing,” he said. “Our retail vision for phase one hasn’t come to fruition as we’d planned … a lot of our strategy was focused on how we can use that key location, which is the centerpiece of High Street, both 5 and 6, as a catalyst to pull phase one forward and continue momentum to phase three.” Land said the zoning amendment would “open up the heart of High Street” with three flagship retailers and more pedestrian connectivity, which he thinks the development has been lacking. “We have 23 commercial businesses, 13 retail tenants, two of which just opened recently: Rosetta Bakery and Varuni Napoli,” Land said. “A really great offering that we think provides a great amenity for the office and residents on property [and] the community at large.” Before the zoning amendment returns to council, elected officials asked the applicant to work on a traffic/parking plan for restaurant deliveries and pickups, more clarity about on-street parking, and more buildout of the site’s multi-use trail network. The property is along the DunwoodySandy Springs border, and staff in both cities are working on a paved trail connection to PATH400 along Hammond Drive and Peachtree Dunwoody Road. ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
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Kick off the holiday season with Santa photos, dance and musical performances, festive crafts, food trucks and dessert vendors, and the magical tree and menorah lighting! Find the entertainment schedule and more at LightUpDunwoody.com.
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Norcross
News for Norcross. Fridays, free.
Canopy at Crooked Creek developers pivot toward owner-occupied condos
Historic Norcross Holiday Open House November 14
Holiday Quilt Exhibit November 23 – December 30
Movie Monday: Home for the Holidays November 23
Holiday Celebration December 4
Historic Norcross Christmas Village December 5
Santa Visits Downtown December 8 & December 15
Carriage Rides
December 10–11 & December 17–18
Photos with Santa
December 10–11 & December 17–18
Movie Monday: A Christmas Story December 14
Movie Monday: It’s a Wonderful Life December 28
S C A N H ER E FOR MORE D E TA I L S
14 NOVEMBER 2026
By Hayden Sumlin Bruce Fernald, spokesperson for the proposed redevelopment of a 19-acre site between Atlantic and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, said his team’s rezoning effort will proceed after they complete new designs for owner-occupied condos. After hearing from some in the community about their opposition to apartments and preference for owneroccupied housing, Fernald said he’s listening and banking on market demand. “We were originally planning another 150 units of age-targeted apartments behind Jefferson Plaza,” Fernald said. “What we learned and how we’re pivoting is that there is a real need in Norcross and surrounding communities for condominium flats that would be ownership, rather than rental, for those of us empty nesters.” The current plan for The Canopy at Crooked Creek is to redevelop the obsolete office park next to the Jefferson Plaza office building into a 320-unit, Class-A apartment building, 30 for-sale townhomes, and a walkable retail and restaurant village along Holcomb Bridge Road. Townhomes, condos and apartments Crooked Creek runs through a wooded area between the Jefferson Plaza property and The Station office park, a collection of nine two-story office buildings at Holcomb Bridge Road and Atlantic Boulevard, the focal point of the Canopy project. Fernald said about 50 condominiums will be built behind Jefferson Plaza, depending on how much surface parking the office building owner and management agree to concede. Because those plans are being drawn, the rezoning timeline is unknown. “We can locate it right against the canopy, which would not only preserve the major trees, but we’re going to install the western terminus of a multi-modal trail,” Fernald said. “So a resident there could ultimately walk to dinner and walk to downtown.” Fernald said the first phase of the project is “at least two years from fruition,” beginning with the demolition of the office park and construction of a market-rate
Norcross residents look at display boards at an Oct. 7 Norcross PDC meeting, showing a rendering of The Canopy at Crooked Creek. (Photo by Hayden Sumlin)
apartment building. “The Station’s wood-frame buildings are both functionally and physically obsolete … that no longer is a powerful draw to office tenants,” he said. “However, Jefferson Plaza is a very significant, wellmanaged, well-invested-in, tall office building, and that does merit a program that enhances long-term viability.” The Canopy at Crooked Creek development team is working with Cooper Carry on the design of its mixed-use hub at the Norcross-Peachtree Corners border. Plans include woodland, Scandinavian architecture, and paths and trails connecting retail, commercial, and residential areas. The proposed site plan moves the Holcomb Bridge Road entrance to the office building parking lot further from Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and includes two new internal street connections. Working on a path to downtown From the proposed site at Jefferson Plaza and The Station, Holcomb Bridge Road runs less than a mile into historic downtown Norcross. While there’s an existing sidewalk, the development team is pitching a wider multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists. Fernald said his team is working on agreements with property owners to build a trail connecting The Canopy redevelopment to downtown. The plan involves neighboring property owners to the east on the south side of Holcomb Bridge Road. He mentioned productive conversations with Taylor Morrison/ APCO Holdings at 610 Atlantic Blvd. and United Consulting Group at 625 Holcomb Bridge Road. The proposed project includes a signalized crossing near United Group Consulting’s entrance and sidewalk upgrades on the north side of Holcomb Bridge Road. “Because Holcomb Bridge is such an important means of ingress/egress to downtown, I think I’m going to create a wonderful 21st-century branding opportunity for the city,” Fernald said. ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
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New teaching museum opens in former Spalding Drive Elementary By Hayden Sumlin Depending on who you ask in Sandy Springs, the Fulton County Schools Teaching Museum & Archives is either a wonderful space for students to gain historical perspective or an insult to the community and taxpayers. The school district held an Oct. 14 showcase at the county’s newly consolidated teaching museum and district archives in the former Spalding Drive Elementary School building off Brandon Mill Road in central Sandy Springs. Former Spalding Drive Elementary Assistant Principal Janet Arias, who is now serving in the same role at Heards Ferry in south Sandy Springs, said the school
building’s transformation is “beautiful.” Her attitude was equally positive when asked about her former students’ transition to new schools at a Rotary Club banquet in May. “Some of these exhibits are of higher quality than some museums I’ve been in,” she said. “Glad to see the building used to continue teaching our kids.” Initial reactions The Fulton County Teaching Museum & Archives welcomed its first classes on Oct. 1 and has plans for a phased expansion into available space. One highlighted exhibit, “Untying the Knot,” documents firsthand accounts of public school integration in Fulton County. Other exhibit rooms cover World
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Community members and Fulton County Schools officials tour the newly opened Teaching Museum & Archives in the former Spalding Drive Elementary School building. (Photo by Hayden Sumlin)
War II, Georgia geography, Anne Frank, the Creek and Cherokee, Eva Thomas, the American frontier, and a preserved ’60s-style Spalding Drive classroom. After the school board narrowly voted to shutter Spalding Drive in February 2025, some parents rallied a nonprofit to pursue a county-aligned charter school in the former elementary school building. The school district rejected the community charter school group’s milliondollar offers for the building, citing the need to centralize the county’s dispersed teaching museums and district archive. Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, speaking at another ribbon-cutting on the day of the showcase, said he thinks the school district has a tough sell to the community on E-SPLOST, the countywide one-penny sales tax for education. “If you close schools, why do you need capital funds to build new schools?” Paul said. “I’m just not sure how a teaching museum is the best and highest use for the school when you’ve got parents who would love to be able to set up a charter school.” Mural-covered hallways Several officials spoke at the FCS Teaching Museum & Archives Showcase, including Museum Coordinator Amanda Smith, FCS Board President Kristin McCabe, and Chief Academics Officer Brannon Gaskins. Smith said the district’s museums see around 58,000 students a year for her department’s exhibit-based programming. So far, the first of three phases is complete. “We’re working on expanding from what we’ve always done, pre-K through fifth grade, but also providing these experiences to our middle school crowd and high school,” she said. “Starting in February, we will have eighth graders and high schoolers signed up to come.” During the walking tour through the
halls of the teaching museum, brand-new murals depict Georgia’s natural habitat and wildlife, history, and the local Sandy Springs community. There’s even a case that displays Spalding Drive Elementary School memorabilia. Irene Schweiger, executive director of the Sandy Springs Education Force, said she is looking to partner with the teaching museum for her nonprofit’s after-school programming. Michelle Morancie, Ph.D., board member for District 7 in north Sandy Springs and east Roswell, did not attend the showcase, but her Oct. 14 Facebook post lauding the new space received 33 comments, most of them from former elementary school parents lamenting the school’s closure, the district’s use of the building, and the decision to send former students on a field trip there. Community backlash Raymond Grote, board chair of the Save Spalding Committee, which recently received state approval for a new charter school, said his community has an “extremely negative” view of the district’s new use for the building. “The whole thing is basically an adult diorama,” Grote said. “It’s a complete waste of our tax money, especially considering a district that claims to be financially reeling and looking to raise our taxes.” Grote said his children and other families have not enjoyed field trips to the teaching museums and archives in the past. “I’m not exaggerating when I say my children said two years in a row it’s very boring and the worst field trip,” Grote said. “The district also made sure Woodland [Elementary School] kids, who went to Spalding, were one of the first groups to go. I was told it was a district decision and not the teachers’ like most field trips. It was cruel. Kids cried.” ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
STARRING
AMANDA FALLON SMITH as Anya
From Broadway
From Broadway
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as the Dowager Empress
NATHAN MADDEN
TERRY BURRELL
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From our very first vote to the inauguration of our initial Council, and through every year that has brought us to today, the City of Tucker says thank you. Happy 10 years to our community and to all the volunteers who have helped make this city a success. 18 NOVEMBER 2026
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Tucker at 10: A strong foundation, a bright future By Mayor Anne Lerner As we bring Tucker’s 10th anniversary celebration to a close, I find myself reflecting with tremendous pride on all we have accomplished together in our first decade and looking ahead with excitement to what the next 10 years will bring. Tucker has always been a community with a strong sense of identity. Our neighborhoods, locally owned businesses, parks, schools and civic organizations are part of what makes this place special. Over the past 10 years, we have worked to preserve what we love about Tucker while investing in the services, infrastructure and amenities that will serve our community for generations to come. That progress belongs to all of us. To our residents who share their ideas and hold us accountable, our businesses that invest in our community, our volunteers who give their time and talents and our community partners who help turn ideas into action, I want to say thank you. You are an essential part of Tucker’s story. In just a decade, we have built a strong foundation for a city that is responsive, financially responsible and focused on quality of life. We have invested approximately $106 million in capital improvements, including resurfacing more than 113 miles of roadway, advancing transportation and mobility projects, improving stormwater infrastructure and enhancing our parks and public spaces. We have also expanded the places and programs that bring people together. The acquisition of five new parks, including
Photo courtesy of Anne Lerner
Tucker Town Green and Fitzgerald Sports Complex and Park, has created more opportunities for recreation and community connection. Our parks programs and youth camps now serve thousands of participants each year. The Tucker Town Green is a particularly meaningful example of what we are building together. More than a public space, it is becoming a gathering place where neighbors connect, families make memories and community events bring people from across Tucker together. These are the kinds of investments that strengthen our sense of belonging and help make Tucker a vibrant and welcoming community. These accomplishments represent more
than dollars spent or projects completed. They reflect a commitment to making thoughtful decisions about how we grow, where we invest and how we deliver services to our residents. We have worked to do more with the resources entrusted to us while remaining focused on the things that matter most to the community. I am proud of the foundation established by our inaugural council members who served with me, my fellow council members today and the dedicated employees who make up Team Tucker. Each has played a role in building a city that is increasingly equipped to meet the needs of a growing community. As we begin our second decade, our work is far from finished. We will continue
to make sure that the Tucker of tomorrow remains a place where people feel connected, neighborhoods remain strong, businesses can thrive and new generations can put down roots. That is what I believe defines the Tucker Way, honoring our community’s character while embracing the opportunities ahead. Our first 10 years have shown what we can accomplish when we work together. I look forward to all that we will build in the next ten. Thank you for believing in Tucker, investing in Tucker and helping make this community such a special place to call home.
Tucker’s first mayor: Frank Auman remembers The things that make me proudest after 10 years of cityhood are our record on the promises we made in the beginning and of staying on mission throughout. We incorporated Tucker because we felt strongly that we could do certain things better as a very local government and better serve our citizens in the process.
The idea has always been to excel at the things we do locally and provide services cooperatively with the county where that makes sense. That’s why we began with parks, zoning and code enforcement, adding public works later – those are exactly the services local government is best at. In our first 10
years, we kept our promises of being more responsive, not increasing taxes, providing better access to elected officials, and making decisions together as a community. To the extent we’ve stayed on that mission, city hall has delivered well beyond expectations. And in doing so consistently over those 10 years, we’ve laid
the groundwork and set the precedents for many years of success into the future. Tucker’s brand as a hometown where a person can live, work, play and pray for their whole life, is being realized and recognized every day.
Tucker at 10: A decade of milestones
The First Council Meeting convened Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at the Tucker Rec Center. (Courtesy of the City of Tucker)
2013
Monday, March 18, 2013 The first meeting in Tucker about the City of Lakeside proposal hosted by the Tucker Historical Society at First Baptist Church of Tucker. Monday, March 25, 2013 Public Meeting a Tucker Middle School. Tuesday, March 26, 2013 House Bill 677 was placed in the Georgia House hopper Wednesday, May 1, 2013 Tucker Together, Inc. filed by Michele Penkava Tuesday, November 5, 2013 Tucker 2014, Inc. filed by Sonja Subuzki
2014
Friday, August 22, 2014 Tucker 2015, Inc. filed by G. Phillip Bramlett April 2014 The Georgia Legislative session ends without securing a referendum
Monday, April 11, 2016 District 2 sworn in/full council in the Cafetorium at the Tucker Rec Center.
2018
2021
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 City of Tucker selects CH2M to operate city services.
Monday, April 23, 2018 Comprehensive Plan, Tucker Tomorrow, adopted unanimously by the Mayor and City Council.
2022
Friday, June 17, 2016 City of Tucker registers website tuckerga.gov
July 2018 First Fireworks/Summer of Fun
Monday, July 11, 2016 Pulled down power from DeKalb County
August 2018 First judges sworn in
Saturday, August 27, 2016 City Hall First Event for the Public “Tucker City Hall Open House” at 4119 Adrian Street
September 2018 First Mayor’s Business Award - The Local No. 7
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 First ZBA sworn in
January 2019 First Parks & Recreation Guide
2017
January 2017 InTucker Magazine launches Jan. 18, 2017 First day of Municipal Court in Tucker
2016
Spring 2017 City of Tucker partners with Tucker Historical Society on Tucker Downtown Historic District Proposed Design Guidelines.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 Election for Mayor and City Council Tuesday, March 8, 2016 Frank Auman and four council members accept the oath of office in the audtorium at Tucker High School. This is the first time the City Seal is used. Alph Chewning’s original postmaster’s desk used for signing the oath of office. Tuesday, March 15, 2016 First Mayor and City Council meeting (partial council) at the Tucker Rec Center Monday, March 28, 2016 Runoff election for District 2 City Council
June 2018 First resurfacing contract
Thursday, July 7, 2016 First Planning Commission sworn in
2015
Tuesday, November 3, 2015 Referendum for cityhood. Win announced on Main Street by Frank Auman.
April 2018 park properties transferred to city
Friday, May 12, 2017 City Hall Annex Opens at 4228 First Avenue; First State of the City Address by Frank Auman, the evening before Tucker Day. Saturday, June 24, 2017 Tucker’s 125th Anniversary Celebration at the Rec Center Dec. 31, 2017 Recreation Center transferred to City of Tucker Jan. 22, 2017 First DDA sworn in
Saturday, January 23, 2021 City Council member Bill Rosenfeld died November 2021 Acquires land that would become Tucker Town Green January 2022 Entertainment District live August 2022 Bee habitat opens in Tucker Nature Preserve Tuesday, November 8, 2022 Public Works referendum passes by 74 percent
2023
2019
Monday, February 27, 2023 Segment 1a opens to the public. Model trail project in Tucker’s alleys.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 Inaugural Tucker Manufacturing Day
Thursday, July 13, 2023 City’s first piece of public art revealed Catlanta mural in alley adjacent to 5007 Lavista Road
May, 2019 Acquires Fitzgerald Field
Saturday, July 1, 2023 Public Works service starts
June, 2019 Northlake Mall annexes into the City of Tucker
2024
2020
2025
Inaugural Tucker Restaurant Week Court moved to annex June June 2020 City Hall #2 August 2020 Acquires Smoke Rise Bath and Racquet Club - Rosenfeld Park November 2020 Acquires former library - Church Street Greenspace
January 2024 Adds Fire Marshal services September 2025 City Marshal services added - first marshals sworn in Friday, November 14, 2025 Tucker Town Green Opens
2026
January 2026 Anne Lerner, the city’s second mayor sworn in Saturday, October 17, 2026 Ten-Tober Festival: WE BUILT THIS CITY!
Incorporation activists remember the journey
Cheers to
10
years! Michelle Penkava, Frank Auman, and Sonja Szubski rally for incorporation. (City of Tucker)
Michelle Penkava Reflecting on the City of Tucker’s beginning, I am filled with gratitude. What began as an organic effort to preserve our beloved community became an opportunity to nurture and shape a new city. I’m grateful that so many people stepped up – with their time, dollars and expertise and voted to get the job done. I’m grateful that through the hard work and dedication of the generations that preceded us, Tucker was well positioned and already operating much like a city before we made it official. There were civic and business organizations, Friends of Parks groups, vibrant youth programs and festivals and gatherings on Main Street – all supported by an abundance of volunteers and folks that loved Tucker. And how fortunate are we that so many of the same people that volunteered for decades and stepped up for cityhood, found the capacity to continue serving with the City of Tucker. The continuity of care is evident and makes us stronger. And more than 130 years later, and for 10 years as a recognized city, Tucker thrives. So, thank you, to everyone along the way. Tres Scott Tucker’s cityhood didn’t start as a dream. It started as a map. When the proposed City of Lakeside drew its lines to within a block of Tucker High School and Main Street, we knew that if we didn’t define Tucker, someone else would. Lakeside had the money and the momentum. We were the scrappy underdogs. When Tucker 2014 first formed, the odds were so long we almost quit before we began. But we had a bigger reason to keep going: we wanted to show our children the right way to fight adversity. I led the committee charged with one ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
question: could a city our size stand on its own? We studied three cities like ours in size, area, and makeup, and ran the numbers until we were sure. That gave our neighbors something solid to believe in. Ten years later, Tucker is a city, and our kids saw how it happened: by refusing to give up. Here’s to the next 10. Terry Cole Fairchild Early on we decided we would only do things “the Tucker way.” To me that meant with integrity, fairness, and as a community. Personal and political agendas were put aside for the greater good of Tucker. I believe that is what not only led to a successful referendum but the success the new city has enjoyed since day one. Tucker exists not because of boundaries on a map but because of people who love this community.
Looking forward to Tucker’s next decade.
Sonja Payne Szubski While initially we started exploring incorporation in response to another cityhood effort, it quickly became a campaign to solidify what we knew to be a strong community into a unified Tucker. For three years we were under the Gold Dome and in people’s homes educating and advocating for the ability to steer our future. Once the referendum was secured it was a full-bore “vote yes” campaign that was ultimately successful. My favorite memories are the people I met, the new friends I made, and witnessing what the Tucker community was and is…welcoming, proud and willing to roll up their sleeves to help the greater good. I am so proud of the work done to create, stand-up and continue this government. I am proud that Tucker continues to build together as a community and a government, and are committed to grow. I am so proud to work for and with the Tucker community. NOVEMBER 2026 21
Local nonprofits offer ways for residents to give back By Katie Burkholder As well as being home to thriving local businesses, Tucker is home to several organizations that are giving back. From groups focused on the betterment of Tucker to non-profits lending a helping hand to those who need it, there are many opportunities for Tucker residents to get involved and embody the Tucker way. Ahimsa House Ahimsa House is a domestic violence shelter specializing in assisting both survivors and their pets. Those interested in volunteering can foster a pet, participate in outreach events, answer the 24-hour crisis line, and help with transportation.
full-length plays in the spring and fall, murder mystery dinners in summer and winter, and improv workshops for both kids and adults. NETWorks Cooperative Ministry NETWorks is a cooperative of churches in Northlake, Embry Hills, and Tucker working to provide food and financial support to neighbors facing homelessness and poverty. Last year, the organization distributed nearly 500,000 pounds of food and provided $135,000 in financial assistance. Volunteers can help in the food pantry and provide other support to the organization. Omega Support Center
Friends of Tucker Parks is a volunteer community group dedicated to improving and supporting the city’s parks. The organization assists with planning, coordinating volunteers, generating funding for the parks. Sign up for the organization’s mailing list to get notified with volunteering opportunities.
Omega is a non-profit dedicated to providing resources and education to communities in the Tucker area. The organization distributes food and supports high schoolers with a scholarship in memory of the late Gregg Bloodworth. During the holiday season, Omega will provide 100 Thanksgiving meal packages and more than 900 holiday gift bags to children, teenagers, and seniors in need.
Main Street Theatre
Tucker Civic Association
For 12 years, Main Street Theatre has filled a local theatre and performance void in Tucker. The non-profit theater puts on high-quality productions, including two
The Tucker Civic Association is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to the promotion of the health, safety, and welfare of Tucker. The organization
Friends of Tucker Parks
(Courtesy of NetWORKS)
preserves and enhances Tucker, informs and educates community members about community-related matters, and supports positive improvements made to the city.
sense of community in Tucker, working together with LGBTQ+ families, friends, allies, businesses, and organizations to celebrate the city’s diversity. The organization is currently raising money for its 2026 Tucker Forward Campaign to host its own Pride festival in 2027.
Tucker Optimist Club In conjunction with Optimist International, the Tucker Optimist Club is a youth-focused non-profit. Every year, the organization hosts an essay contest, the winners of which receive a $2,500 college scholarship.
The Welcome Co-op The Welcome Co-op provides a welcoming home for refugees to find safety and stability. The organization fulfills refugees’ basic needs like clothing, household items, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, and school supplies.
Tucker Pride Tucker Pride’s mission is to create a
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Major infrastructure projects transform city
(Photos courtesy of City of Tucker)
Road improvements
By Katie Burkholder Unlike many other municipalities, a vast majority of Tucker’s budget goes toward large-scale improvements to the city. Sixty percent of the budget is allocated to capital projects, and with the city’s incorporation in 2016, major
improvements to the city became much easier, Sonja Szubski, the communications director for the City of Tucker, told Rough Draft. “It was a complete 180 from what we had been experiencing [before incorporating],” Szubski said. “Within the first five years, we had replaced every single
playground and added additional ones to every single park. That never would’ve happened [before incorporation]. We have been able to improve the quality of life… through planning and zoning, code enforcement, and parks and recreation. Those were the three services that we chose [to focus on] because they have a direct impact.” In the decade since Tucker’s incorporation, the city’s leadership has completed several major projects and continues to work at making Tucker a better place to live.
Completed projects
tuckernorthlake.com
24 NOVEMBER 2026
Fitzgerald Park The City of Tucker acquired Fitzgerald Park in 2019. The need for a sports complex was listed in the city’s initial Parks and Recreation Master plan adopted in 2018. The park was renovated from 2021 to 2024 to have an upgraded water and sewer system, expanded parking, a new concession facility, a turfed multipurpose field, new LED lighting on all fields, and a new playground. Tucker Town Green One of Tucker’s most exciting projects, the Town Green in downtown has become a community gathering space for residents, patrons, and businesses. The 1.88-acre lot was acquired by the city from the Cofer family in 2021, and the park opened in November 2025. The project included green space, a stage, water features, and a natural play area. Johns Homestead Dam and Park Johns Homestead is the site for one of the oldest homes still standing in DeKalb County. The dams on Twin Brothers Lake were repaired beginning in 2022, and the park was reopened in August 2026 with a new boardwalk, crossing bridges, bird blinds, new parking, and a walking trail encircling the lakes.
Along with major park renovations, the city has prioritized improving road conditions and safety. Some major improvement projects include the Brockett Road Traffic Calming project, which repaved the road and installed center medians, and the Chamblee-Tucker Lane Diet, which brought the road down to a single travel lane and added a turn lane with medians and a bike lane in both directions. The city has also improved the condition of pavement on the public roadways in the city, increasing the Pavement Condition Index Rating of streets from 56 in 2018 to 71 in 2024.
Ongoing projects Idlewood Roundabouts Idlewood Road is a major connector between Tucker and the surrounding area. Two roundabouts will be added to keep the flow of traffic running safely. The project is expected to be completed by August 2028. MLB @ US 78 This project will make major improvements to the highest crash site in the city by realigning exit ramps, adding additional turn lanes and a raised median, and modifying traffic signals. The project is expected to be completed in late 2028 and cost $9.44 million. South Fork Peachtree Creek Trail This major project will add trails and parks along the creek’s 32-mile span. Phase 1 of the project will construct a .24-mile stretch from Lawrenceville Highway to Cowan Road. Construction will begin in spring 2027, and phase 1 will cost $1.8 million. Tucker Northlake Trail This project will build a multi-use trail network between downtown Tucker and the Northlake Mall area. Engineering on the first phase, which will be a .4mile stretch from Tucker Town Green to Brockett Road, will be complete in fall 2027. Phase 1 is expected to cost $5 million. ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
The Local No. 7: The backdrop for incorporation By Katie Burkholder Since opening in 2011, the Local No. 7 has been an integral part of the Tucker community. As a beloved spot for residents, the restaurant played a pivotal role in the grassroots effort toward the city’s incorporation. Soon after opening, the Local No. 7 spearheaded a Tucker tradition. The annual Tucker Chili Cook-Off has brought people together on Main Street to cook, taste, and vote on locally made chili since 2012. As an established part of the community, the burger restaurant was a no-brainer when Tucker leaders planned meetings to discuss establishing cityhood. The restaurant was the backdrop for the advancement of Tucker as its own city, with all meetings about incorporation taking place at the Local No. 7. “We’ve worked with other local groups – Tucker Business Association, the Main Street Alliance – to help build Tucker,” owner Luis Finley told Rough Draft. “We met people that had already been here for
ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
years and helped them see our vision for what we thought Tucker could be: a nice, cool, hip place to come visit, walk around, and have some good food. We realized that those people had even bigger ambitions to have a city, become mayor and city council members.” When Tucker’s cityhood was official after a referendum in November 2025, the restaurant stayed open late for residents to celebrate, and Frank Auman, Tucker’s first mayor, gave his inaugural speech there in 2016. The Local No. 7 celebrated 15 years this year, and Finley credits the city leadership for helping the restaurant thrive. He said the city was “helpful and supportive” during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this year’s opening of the Tucker Town Green has helped the business. “We’ve been that place that the city has really gotten behind and wanted to show off,” Finley said. “This is what we know our community is, and that’s been really fun and great for us. We always try to do our best for the city of Tucker.”
(Photo by Ansley Kelly)
NOVEMBER 2026 25
Arts & Entertainment
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Indie Spotlight: Annie Davis goes from TCM to location coordinator By Sammie Purcell Annie Davis never saw herself making superhero movies. Instead, from a young age she always wanted to be the next Robert Osborne, the host of Turner Classic Movies. “My grandma would babysit me, and we would watch Shirley Temple, and musicals, and all that kind of thing,” Davis said of her childhood. Her love of film snowballed from there. She went to Wright State University, where she got a degree in Motion Picture History, Theory and Criticism. At one point, she worked in the motion picture division of the Library of Congress and eventually found her way to Atlanta with an internship and then a full-fledged role at Turner Classic Movies – bringing her one step closer to her Robert Osborneshaped dreams. But everything changed when she got laid off. “My whole life, I was like, I’m gonna grow up to be Robert Osborne,” she said. “That’s what I’m gonna do. So when I got laid off from Turner, I was like, sh*t – now what?” Luckily, Davis found a new path forward, and now works as a location coordinator. For most of our editions of Indie Spotlight, we’ve spoken with people who work in above-the-line creative positions. This time around, we’re focusing on logistics – and, maybe, getting a little glimmer of hope about what the future might hold. Davis made her way into location coordinating out of pure chance. After buying her house in East Point, she joined the neighborhood association and met Jason Underwood who, at the time, was working as a location manager. She told CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
he envisioned a loftier goal – to create a community that embraced the veterans, their families and gave back to others. Four years later, with the help of individual and corporate donors like Home Depot, the grassroots effort has reached its goal, thanks to a recent $150,000 anonymous donation from an Army veteran with ties to the Tucker area. The soon-to-be completed 5,500 square-foot facility still has miles to go before it can be fully functioning, but the foundation and the support of the community is there, Brady said. “One of my favorite quotes is that the ‘hard is the good,’ and the fact that we have had to go through all these tumultuous times and the difficulty is going to make it that much sweeter when we are finally open.” Brady said he is also bolstered by the 26 NOVEMBER 2026
him about losing her job at TCM, and he had an idea. “I think you’d be good at being a location coordinator,” she remembered him saying. “I was like, ‘You know, it’s better than unemployment!’” You might be asking what, exactly, a location coordinator does. Davis handles all of the logistics for the location department, things like paperwork, insurance claims, contracts, and the like. According to Davis, she mostly deals with the art department, legal, and production. “All of the money comes through me,” she said. “All of our POs, all of our check requests, all of our spending goes through me, and I manage and track the budget.” Turns out, Underwood was right – Davis’ skill set lent itself to coordinating. She liked that it offered something a little more creative than the corporate world, and also a little more freedom. “Other than [the fact that] I’m good at it and competent, and it’s good to feel good about what you’re doing, I like that it’s always different enough that it stays interesting,” she said. Davis worked with Underwood almost exclusively for a few years, she said, but now mostly works with location manager Ian Easterbrook. Over the years, she’s worked on films and shows like “Superman,” “Hillbilly Elegy,” “Atlanta,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and “Megalopolis,” to name a few. Much like everyone else in the film industry, the past several years have seen a little bit of a downturn in terms of work. But while the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off the start of a difficult time, it also brought a positive change for Davis – more freedom to work from home. Davis has a four-year-old daughter, so she still likes to go into the office a couple
of days a week “to talk to grown-ups,” she joked. But having the flexibility to work from home is a bonus. Her daughter was born while she was living in Chicago, but she still coordinated Georgia projects for Easterbrook. “I really appreciate the flexibility that the pandemic brought,” she said. “But I also know that part of that is working with a manager who’s young and isn’t set in old school ways.” Davis took a brief maternity leave in 2022, which is still to date the best year on record for Georgia film production. Since then, she’s felt the sting of the slowdown like everyone else. “The past couple of years have definitely been a challenge. Last year, I only worked, like, four or five months,” she said “I’m freelance and I know it’s a plan to not work all year, every year. I usually plan to work nine months out of the year, because I know there’s going to be downtime between productions. So since the strikes and stuff, it’s definitely been much slower.” Davis said one of the hardest parts of the last few years has been the widespread loss of crew talent. When we spoke with cinematographer Alexxiss Jackson for this series, we also talked about how Georgia ranks third out of the top 10 states with the largest losses of film industry jobs, losing nine percent (or 1,370) from 2024-2025, according to a report from the rental company Giggster. For reference, California ranks number one in terms of the numbers, but percentage wise, the states have lost an almost comparable amount – Georgia at nine percent and California at 10.4 percent. “With the slowdown, so many people have had to jump ship because, – you gotta pay your mortgage,” Davis said.
support of the area veterans during the process. Membership has grown to more than 100, compared to about 22 when he started the rebuilding campaign. “We really don’t have anything to offer them other than camaraderie and a vision, they are still showing up and that warms your heart,” he said. “It shows the need there is for this type of brick-and-mortar place where veterans can go and find comfort and maybe a mission.
energy required to survive as a disabled person. Instead of being able to use the restroom like full-functioning adults, Stanislaus needed a catheter that cost $1,200. Their house needed to be renovated to include wheelchair ramps, standing frames, and other mobility aids. Normal life became significantly more expensive for the couple, and they knew this experience wasn’t unique. According to the National Disability Institute, households containing an adult with a work-disability require 29% more income than those without a disabled member to obtain the same standard of living. When faced with this disability tax, Stanislaus and Gutierrez decided to come up with a solution. In 2025, they launched Lotus Disability, a membershipbased business bringing disability services straight to consumers at a discounted rate. The mission was to make life more
Lotus Disability In 2022, Emily Stanislaus’ life and mission changed. On a trip to visit her parents with her partner, Cristina Gutierrez, she fell off the roof of her parents’ home and landed on concrete, suffering a spinal cord injury that left her wheelchair-bound. Very suddenly, Stanislaus and Gutierrez had to navigate what Gutierrez calls the “disability tax”: the extra time, money, and
Annie Davis (Supplied)
But, she said, recently, it seems like the industry might be headed in a different direction. “Knock on wood, it seems like it’s starting to pick up,” Davis said. U.S. production is still in the midst of a historic downturn, and according to a report released by the Georgia Film Office, this fiscal year’s revenue (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) dropped to $2 billion, which is the lowest amount in a decade. But, in an email, Easterbrook confirmed Davis’ feeling, saying that while he’s not sure it’s an industry-wide trend, the industry seems busier now than it has been for the last three years or so. “We’re definitely hearing about more than we have the past couple of years,” Davis said. ”There’s a couple of irons in the fire at the moment, and it’s been a minute since there were potentially options of what to take.”
Cristina Gutierrez and Emily Stanislaus (Courtesy Lotus Disability)
manageable and affordable for those living with a disability. “We knew we would never fully understand why it happened, but we believed we could make it better for the people coming after us,” according to Lotus Disability’s story. “Through pain, came progress and hope.” ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
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2026 Michelin Guide: Atlanta-area restaurants By Beth McKibben Michelin revealed its 2026 Guide to the American South at a ceremony in Nashville on Oct. 21. Tipsy Thaiger, one of Rough Draft’s Best New Restaurants of 2025, along with So. Fox, Spring 2nd Branch, Summerland, Pink Lotus, and Uberto, located more than 50 miles south of Atlanta, are all new entries to the guide. Both So. Fox and Uberto earned one star. A handful of restaurants dropped off the recommended list in the guide this year, including The White Bull, Masterpiece, and Marcel. Previously listed Nadair closed in June, following news that chef and owner Kevin Gillespie had stepped back from the kitchen months earlier. Gillespie has since announced his departure from the restaurant industry due to health issues. However, he retains an ownership stake in Glenwood Park restaurant Gunshow, which also dropped out of the 2026 guide. Superica and Table & Main changed designations this year from Bib Gourmands to recommended restaurants. Michelin officially retired its Green Star designation in June. The organization replaced it with Mindful Voices, highlighting forward-thinking chefs, bartenders, wine producers, and hoteliers reshaping the restaurant and hospitality industries. Atlanta restaurants The Chastain and Bacchanalia received Green Stars in 2023, 2024, and 2025. During the ceremony in Nashville, Michelin honored Chef Ryan Smith with a Mindful Voices award for his work at Uberto Restaurant in Gay, GA. Smith also co-owns Staplehouse in Atlanta with wife and business partner Kara Hidinger. The American South guide features restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Atlanta, and metro Atlanta. The winners included: Mindful Voices Chef Ryan Smith Bib Gourmand New in 2026 Summerland Tipsy Thaiger Maintained for 2026 Antico Arepa Mia Bomb Biscuit Co. The Busy Bee Estrellita Fishmonger ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
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