Morning Metro: GA Parks Get Creative, Va-Hi Ben & Jerry’s Closes, and Creating a Community Store
Decatur Metro | November 14, 2011
- GA parks innovate to become less reliant on state [AJC]
- Macy’s tree snaps as its hoisted onto Lenox Mall roof [11Alive]
- VA-Hi Ben & Jerry’s closes after 15 years [What Now Atlanta?]
- Publishers Weekly highlights Little Shop’s “On the Same Page” initiative [uh...PW]
- Group wants to restore ATL-Savannah train link [GPB]
- Residents of small New York town create their own department store [NYT]
Photo courtesy of GA State Parks website
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I would love a train between Atlanta and Savannah. I make that drive a few times per year and I-16 is miserable. Also, it makes sense for all the college students from Savannah who go to school in Atlanta.
If we can’t even get a commuter train from Atlanta to Griffin (which is on the route to Savannah) and find the funding to replace the embarrassing Amtrak station, then the probability of a Savannah train is pretty low. If you feel strongly about it, let your elected representatives know.
i’d love a commuter train to Griffin. I commute there every day for work and i hate the drive!
Tell your Georgia legislators.
Sad that Ben and Jerry’s closed. In the early 2000’s I lived a few blocks from the shop and stopped in many summer afternoons with my then young son. we loved their free icecream day every spring. and since I returned to downtown decatur I have wished there was a Ben and Jerry’s in our town. .
Oddly, Decatur and ice cream shops haven’t gone together very well. Coldstone Creamery seemd to last about a month, Jake’s came and went from two locations . . .others? Yogurt is another story, though.
That Coldstone tested my sanity the one time I went in there. I’m not sure it was the ice cream’s fault.
My Coldstone experiences were similarly annoying. Service issues aside, ice cream shops have just gotten too expensive. We’ll go to Dr. Bombay’s in Candler Park and if 3 of the 4 of us get anything more than a simple cone it can be close to $20. It can be almost as much as the pizza beforehand.
My memory is ….there was nothing but Dairy Queen for years and years. A gelato place briefly went in where Cafe Lily is now and didn’t last long. Too early, I think. Soon after, three ice cream places opened up about the same time–Jake’s Decatur location, Ashton’s or Ashby’s–something like that, and Coldstone. I thought that Jake’s and Ash-whatever were the best two of the three but Ash-whatever was a little funky for Decatur and didn’t make it. Coldstone was successful for years because kids found it to be an impressive show and were not picky about ice cream quality. A couple, Andrew and Maura, did a gorgeous job of renovating the home that became Jake’s on Church and that was a wonderful coffee/ice cream experience for families and everyone. We practically lived there. But business was not good enough to survive so Jake’s moved to the south side of the Square and shared with LSOS in its first location (now Sammiches). That was a charmed and wonderful combination but Jake’s was doomed–rumor has it that the fault was the poor financial management of the parent Jake’s, nothing to do with the hard work and skill of Andrew and Maura. Coldstone outlasted them all but eventually succombed–not sure why but maybe it was due to the arrival of other ice cream at Green’s and the now defunct Cafe Cliche. Can’t remember if they overlapped with Yogurt Tap which was so good that all else paled for awhile. But it’s not ice cream or gelato.
Then the shaved ice fad arrived–Snoball Cafe and the Korean shaved ice/bubble tea place (I think the latter closed).
I keep hoping for another high quality ice cream/gelato/coffee shop in Decatur but have to wonder if the business model works. Maybe only cheap but popular ice cream chains like Dairy Queen stand a chance. Maybe we have to rely on Oakhurst Market and King of Pops for high quality ice cream/gelato.
I’ve never understood the lack of ice cream downtown either. I never liked Coldstone but Jakes was pretty good. I’ve always wished I could open a southern franchise of the Penn State Creamery (guessing that’s not going to be commercially viable for a while given the current news) or Thomas Sweet (anyone from the Princeton area will have their mouth watering for a real blend-in, mmmm cookies and cream with Reece’s peanut butter cups!). I’d “settle” for a Morelli’s somewhere on or near the square.
All that said, I must admit that despite my desire for “gourmet” or “homemade” ice cream I LOVE the Decatur Dairy Queen. The family that runs it is awesome. And sometimes you just don’t need anything fancier than a vanilla cone dipped in butterscotch!
My daughter held the Decatur Dairy Queen in very high esteem until I introduced her to Zesto’s on Ponce. Once she found out she was being deprived of Zebra swirls here in town, it was all over…
Well, Dairy Queen never poisoned me with something called “broasted” chicken, so DQ wins in my book!
You so did not get poisoned at Zesto. The one in L5P has CRUSHED ICE for heaven’s sake
Did something happen at Penn State?
I’m ignoring you…
My spousal unit’s fantasy shop for Decatur would be a combo Barker’s Red Hots/Morelli’s…super delicious, high quality hot dogs & ice cream– what a team!
I saw Morelli’s on Caroline Street yesterday. is it good?
Yes. No further explanation needed. There’s also a current 50% off Scoutmob for the Edgewood location.
Morelli’s is awesome. There is another Morelli’s down near East Atlanta, but I prefer the one at Edgewood. It’s not a cheap ice cream date, but their flavors are fabulous. My oldest son opted for ice cream sundaes from Morelli’s this year instead of birthday cake.
My dream would be a Graeter’s Ice Cream in downtown Decatur. For those who have never heard of it, it’s based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it is the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted, hands down. My two boys will attest to that as well. It’s available at Kroger, thankfully, but very expensive. All you ice cream aficionados should purchase a pint and experience the magic. I recommend one of the chocolate chip flavors.
That being said, I do love the Dairy Queen. And I agree that sometimes a dipped cone is all you need. I never knew there was a Zesto’s at N. Decatur and Clairmont. That’s really what Decatur needs, a Zesto’s! To be able to walk to get a Chubby Decker would be awesome.
Which Kroger? Sounds worth a try.
The big Kroger. Graeter’s is the best, although I prefer it without the giant chips, which are actually created by pouring liquid chocolate into the ice cream. Graeter’s is also a bakery and fine candy shop. It would be perfect in Decatur.
Love Graeter’s. Any chocolate-chip flavor is amazing. If we could have Graeter’s and Potbelly, a la Cincinnati’s Fountain Square, I would be a happy girl.
Is Cincinnati ice cream like Cincinnati chili? I mean, is it something that sorta resembles what the rest of the world calls ice cream but is more like a watery, weirdly flavored mess
The loss of Zesto’s at North Decatur and Clairmont was a sad day. My youngest loved their “hand long foot dogs” and the “Nut Brown Crown”.
When was it there? A&P days?
It was torn down when Selig redeveloped the Publix shopping center, sometime in the 90’s. It was quite the hang out for Decatur and Druid Hills students with cars. Straight out of American Graffiti.
I knew you’d post something about that community store! I knew it!