Morning Metro: Beer Growler Announces Expansion, Finding Fernbank, and Decatur’s Pub Shed Goes Primetime
Decatur Metro | June 1, 2012
- The Beer Growler to open 5 franchises by summer’s end [Patch]
- Finding Fernbank still a challenge for locals [AJC]
- Beltline project will close part of Ponce again [Patch]
- Food truck Q&A with John T. Edge [CL]
- Former Gwinnett County Commissioner pleads guilty to bribery [AJC]
- “Why a good bar is essential” features Decatur “Pub Shed” [Atlantic Cities]
Latest from Decaturish
What’s the map and what are the circles? UFO landing sites? Zombie kill zones?
Read the article AMB. These are the zones within a 5 minute walk of a bar or pub in Decatur.
My expat friend once told me that the problem with America is that so few people can walk to their neighborhood pub. His point, I think, was that people need to get out of their houses and socialize with the people in their community.
I thank the good lord every day for my neighborhood bar, Trackside Tavern, and all the wonderful weirdos I’ve befriended there.
I agree completely. It was really nice to walk to a great mexican restaurant, have a few Negra Modelo drafts, then walk home in the twilight talking to neighbors and petting dogs and cats along the way.
A walkable community, with community schools, is such a luxury in America. We in Decatur and a lot of in-town Atlanta are a little spoilt.
Just make sure you don’t have a few too many Negra Modelo’s and instead end up walking home after midnight talking to all the cats and dogs and petting your neighbors along the way. That doesn’t end well…don’t ask me how I know.
I generally don’t read articles about beer or pubs. I honestly don’t see the fascination and need to focus on them as a critical part of my life.Seems like a first world affectation of the twee-est sort.
being over it on a blog is so third world.
This is one worth reading, AMB. The point of the article is that neighborhood establishments like bars and pubs offer something the Internet – including this very blog – can’t : a walkable, face-to-face community gathering spot, which is actually *not* specific to the first world.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some face-to-face time to enjoy
Love the ‘pub shed’ map.
Curious what the ‘base pub’ is for the shed circling the intersection of N. Decatur and Clairmont? I know there is a new(ish) bar that opened in the shopping center with Community Q, Capozi’s, etc. Would that be it? The others I can readily identify, I think.
I was wondering the same thing. You can buy beer at Willie’s, right? Maybe that’s it.
I think it’s a mistake. The circle seems to be centered on the Decatur Package Store.
That’s funny. That place IS pretty friendly and welcoming, isn’t it?
Everyone loves Herb!
Los Loros, perhaps ?
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Clairmont+Mexican+Restaurant+Decatur+GA&fb=1&gl=us&hq=Clairmont+Mexican+Restaurant+Decatur+GA&cid=0,0,6578712342377441185&t=m&z=16&iwloc=A
That was my thought as well.
If a bar is the “third space”, I can only imagine what the first two are; Computer access? Walkability? When I started reading the article and saw no mention of churches or religious institutions or civic organizations I thought, how sad. Sad to think that this generation of Decatur citizens believes that bike paths, smart growth policies, internet access, child care facilities (mentioned in the article), expanding alcohol choices, festivals, etc will lead to the” sustainability”(I guess this means happiness) of Decatur.
I use to get a chuckle out of reading these posts but now, I just think, how sad.
You don’t have to imagine, you can look it up. “Third place” is a term of art used by community planners. The first place is home, the second place is work, the third place can be any number of venues where people from across the community congregate spontaneously.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place
And I’ll take my bar over someone else’s church any day of the week, and twice on Sunday, for my “third place.” At least my bar doesn’t discriminate against women and gays like the church I used to go to…
Just like there are churches that discriminate, I guarantee you that there are plenty of bars that are worse and I don’t often hear of gays being beat up in churches. Either way, I won’t be part of either if I know of the discrimination…but are we REALLY going to have a bar vs church hijack!
“I don’t often hear of gays being beat up in churches.” — not physically, maybe…
“are we REALLY going to have a bar vs church hijack!”
Not if we all just meet here:
http://www.sisterlouisaschurch.com/
Been there and have worn the robe!
I knew you was OK, Keith!
Why is it sad that churches aren’t mentioned? You can have a very productive, meaningful life without having a church involved. Calling someone else’s life “sad” sounds judgemental to me.
Ok, I’m new to the term “third space” but I think I get the concept. Why does it have to be either/or? Can’t bars AND churches AND community pools AND coffeeshops be third spaces. When I’m not in my first or second place, I’m bopping from space 3.1 to 3.2, back home to first, then out to 3.3 and 3.4. Church isn’t even open most days so that can only be my third space on Sundays. On a warm, fuzzy, non-cynical day, I consider all of City of Decatur to be my third space.
It appears you’re projecting your own cynicism, Chris, simply because something’s not explicit. “Third places” are community’s gathering sites, where people come together on neutral ground and no person needs to serve as “host” or “guest.”
Churches, dog parks, clubs, civic organizations, beauty parlors, barber shops, coffee houses, libraries, and pubs all serve this important function, as do many others.
Essentially all the world’s religions include some variation of a “me to we to Thee” credo. The “we” part suffers if we’re deprived opportunities to get to know and understand each other.
Yes, what we need are more churches.
Chris,
Decatur has plenty to offer for those of faith. Some of the best, largest, and most popular parcels of land within a stone’s throw of the square are large churches. Perhaps more interesting is within the city’s relatively small 2 square miles and not far from the square is Columbia Theological Seminary (CTS), one of the premier Presbyterian institutions of higher education. CTS serves to not only educate current and future clergy, but also serves as a focal point of religious education for the surrounding communities, including the surrounding City of Decatur.
While I am not of the cloth myself, I’m proud that Decatur is tolerant of a rainbow of beliefs, including those of faith.
I suspect at some point Decatur, like much of America, had a strong VFW scene. I believe that such organizations are struggling as fewer Americans have served in the military and as returning veterans prefer different types of social interaction. Though in some areas I’m told that VFW and service organizations are adapting to serve younger, more diverse groups.
As for churches, I think our range of churches remain very important “third places” for many, many people in Decatur, but that’s mostly on Sundays (*not said to the exclusion of other faiths*). During the rest of the week, a lot of those bible study groups meet at pubs….