Morning Metro: More ‘Mart, Highway News and the Myth of Getting Paid to Do What You Love
Decatur Metro | December 15, 2011
- AJC’s coverage of the Suburban Plaza Walmart parking variance meeting yesterday [AJC]
- Historic Oakhurst neighborhood grocery pics [Dateline: Decatur]
- AJC gives Sapori di Napoli two stars [AJC]
- Decatur planning office saying goodbye to Nathan and hello to Holly [Decatur Minute]
- Some folks don’t like the idea of more cities in DeKalb County [Champion]
- Lt. Gov wants reversible lanes installed on I-85 [Gwinnett Daily]
- Billion dollar I-75/I-575 toll-lane project put on hold [Fresh Loaf]
- Myth: There’s nothing better than getting paid to do what you love [youarenotsosmart.com]
Office Space photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox
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Complaining about getting a Trader Joe’s in Oakhurst incoming in 5…4…3…2…1…
the ajc couldn’t find a more recent photo of suburban plaza?
But I love the old pix! A Kresge’s and a Rexall plus a shoe store? I would have enjoyed that shopping center. Did the Kresge’s have a luncheonette? I have fond memories of shopping and eating at Kresge’s with my grandmother when I was real little. (A few Kresge’s survived the demise of the “five and dime” stores.) Ironically, Kresge’s eventually morphed into K-Mart so I guess Suburban Plaza was always fated to head towards the big boxes!
Even then, the Suburban Plaza parking lot was pretty empty. I guess it was overbuilt from the beginning.
I don’t know if the Kresge’s had a lunch counter but, if it did, it would certainly have been segregated and only serving the caucasian persuasion at the time of that picture. See folks, in the immortal words of Billy Joel, the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it see-e-eems. Free Walmart!
Whoops. I forgot. My grandmother’s Kresge’s wasn’t segregated. It had Italians AND Sicilians.
I LOL’ed! Because it’s funny AND true!
I believe there was a luncheon counter in the back. We never ate there though. If we wanted luncheonette food, we went to Horton’s at Emory. Of course, this was after my grandfather’s own lunch counter closed.
Kresge’s had a lunch counter on the right side of the store. The toys were in the back, along with the pet supplies, fishes, and birds. A candy counter (with hot peanuts) was right in front of the cashiers. If you look closely at the AJC photo, you can also see there was a Western Auto, and that a few of the stores were still under construction.
I grew up on Medlock Road and spent a lot of time at Suburban Plaza growing up. My favorite memory is a Fourth of July fireworks display, when one of burning embers floated down and caught the Pizza Hut roof on fire. Good times. And there was not an empty parking space to be had.
No lunch counter but it did have a great pet department with a tank full of those little green turtles.
LOL! Well at least we know they didn’t crop that pic out of Google Streetview like some of us do!
They have downsized and trimmed that paper so much, they probably can’t afford Google Maps.
I refuse to read any AJC restaurant reviews but I love the new Sapori di Napoli. I was a bit taken aback when I realized that their pies are more expensive (buy a buck or two apiece) than No. 246’s but after eating both, even this cheapskate bargain hunter must admit that the quality of the ingredients justifies the cost. It’s taking some major effort and self-restraint to keep me from running there right now for a Diavalo 12-incher rather than heating up the leftovers designated for my lunch!
I meant to submit this when I saw it a few weeks ago, but here is some web foodie love for Sapori:
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/11/daily-slice-sapori-di-napoli-decatur-ga.html
We luuurrves us some Sapori pizza! And their mushroon/ricotta pappardelle ain’t too shabby, neither…I say this as I sit here chewing through a green salad, wishing I had a slice of their margherita with black olives added. *sigh*
Vesuvio’s my fave! Love the eggplant on the pizza.
And when I say “Vesuvio” I am referring to a Sapori pizza, not a separate restaurant! D’oh!
Has anyone considered that if the WalMart pulls in enough traffic, that Trader Joe’s might take a second look at Suburban to locate there?
I thought something similar earlier this morning. I wonder what the entire area will look like 10 years from now. If I keep paying my hosting fees, we can bring link back here and see who was right and who was wrong. Just like with the Emory roundabout!
Re the roundabout…I watched a ladder firetruck try to make its way around. It wasn’t pretty.
Oh goodness. Please don’t get Scott or any of the other urbanists started on the road requirements of firetrucks!
I refuse to take this bait…
do it!
Come on, Pope Urbanist.
What an awesome band name.
Trader Joe’s doesn’t want traffic. It wants density and specific demographics: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/8616/want-a-trader-joes-then-add-more-residents/
and
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/search/?cx=016106633186969982627%3Ag-4raj3cmea&cof=FORID%3A11&q=trader+joe%27s&sa=Search+GGW
Hopefully the density will come one day. If we really want to be greem!
It ain’t easy being GREEM!