The fences are down and the some of the first tenants are opening at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, as 11Alive reports.  (I’d embed the video, but you all would kill me, because it starts automatically at launch).

As the site’s news page states…

 So you can walk hard-hat free around the property, shop Binders (who quietly opened their doors last week in our construction site!) take classes at General Assembly and drop your kids at Suzuki School in addition to grabbing your daily cup of coffee from Dancing Goats.  Because they’re all open or opening in the next three weeks!

“Well, that’s all well and good” you say, “but what’s up next”?  Well…

…we’re already looking ahead and our team is working tirelessly to deliver the next batch of tiered openings and lease announcements in the coming months.  First you’ll see announcements about more food hall purveyors and retailers in the big brick building as well as the BeltLine rail shed…then more office folks move in before end of year.  In spring of next year there will be a big wave of restaurants and the Central Food Hall will open its doors to the public along with the BeltLine bridge connection, the BeltLine rail shed and some retail followed by more retail throughout the rest of 2015 and lastly, the Roof at Ponce City Market. 

And if you’re ever in Midtown next year and need a little taste of West Ponce, drive over to PCM and swing by Dancing Goats and then take in a little Chai Pani in the food court.

Photo are rendering courtesy of Ponce City Market website

Rob and Teresa send along the announcement…

If you haven’t already, head on over to Open City Hall and see the “key” remaining questions posted by the city that relate to Decatur’s Unified Development Ordinance process.  Here’s the overview question…

Should the city eliminate minimum floor area requirements for residences, allow residents to modestly increase floor area maximums, and require posting a demolition permit for 15 days before demolishing a building?

The Decatur Minute also has alerted residents to be on the look out for a new question on Open City Hall about “green building standards” in the coming days.  We’ll try to alert you when that’s posted as well.

Folks have until September 7th to submit feedback.

So the Decatur Book Festival schedule is posted online and printed versions have begun to appear around town (I know that Little Shop and Decatur Library have had them).

If you’re a seasoned DBF patron (the DBF posted a listicle “17 Signs You’re a Seasoned DBF Fan” on their blog to help you determine this) you know that you need a game plan to make the most out of your weekend.  Just wandering the market on the Square in the hot Georgia sun is fun, but one can only eat so many King of Pops before you run out of dollar bills and the children begin crying because you’ve eaten all the Chocolate Sea Salt pops.  You need to figure out what interests you beforehand to really get your money’s worth. (Harhar)

So here we go – What talks are you planning on attending this weekend?  What non-discussing events caught your eye this year?  Share what you’ve already uncovered and help your fellow DM readers get a handle on this wonderfully large Labor Day Weekend event!

Photo courtesy of the Decatur Book Festival website

Volunteer Decatur sends in this final call for volunteers…

Plans changed for the weekend?  Got a couple hours to spare?  There are a few remaining volunteer openings  at the book festival.  The Saturday mid- and late-afternoon shifts at the author venues (Marriott, Rec Center, etc.) have the most space.  There are also openings on Sunday for close-down (6 to 9pm), and working at the author venues from 12 to 3 or 3 to 6.  Call the Visitor Center at and ask for Megan or Sherry to sign up or get more information.

Michelle writes in…

I don’t think this one has run yet- could you do “Best Kid–Friendly Decatur Restaurants”?  Thank you!

I say we expand it a bit and discuss best in the Atlanta area.

As has been previously reported, Starbucks is seeking a land use permit to open a location at Suburban Plaza with a drive-thru.  The Medlock Area Neighborhood Association recently released a new site plan of Suburban Plaza which showed the new location along North Decatur Road.

Tomorrow’s News Today reports that the Starbucks would be built close enough to the Cozy Burger Town location in the plaza along North Decatur that the aforementioned burger joint – with the best name around – would need to close.  (Cozy Burger Town has a second location at Northlake Mall.)  The Selig plans on the MANA site also show a revised building plan for the nearby building at the corner of Church and North Decatur, which suggests that whole area of the site is planned for redevelopment.

According to TNT, a sign on the door of Cozy Burger Town says that they are closed this week, but will reopen next Tuesday.

In related news, TNT also reports that the Starbucks in Emory Village has elected not to renew its lease and “would close soon”.  The large Starbucks on Oxford Road next to Emory’s Barnes & Noble will remain open.

Photo courtesy of Google Streetview