The Best Things Made in Decatur
Decatur Metro | October 27, 2015 | 12:12 pm
One of the byproducts of a thriving, multifaceted community are the things, events and ideas that it produces. And we all experience it a bit differently.
We spend a lot of time discussing our challenges around here, so I’d say we’re allowed a reprieve every once in a while to consider the good. So, if you might, take a minute to consider this question: what do you believe are the best things that have come out of Decatur?
Well-educated students.
My children! Decatur born and educated.
I don’t believe this list would be complete without mention of the Book Festival. When my daughter was young, she went to a YA author appearance there. They began by saying, “Who here came from more than an hour away?” Many hands went up. Then, “How about two hours away?” Then “three hours,” etc. until it was revealed that one girl had come from six hours away.
Afterwards, my daughter told me the story and said, “Why would someone drive so far? Why doesn’t she just go to her own town’s book festival?”
We forget how good we got it.
Now that’s a good story. Made me well up a little.
Though I love the book festival maybe more than anything about Decatur, I’m gonna stick to DM’s literal request here, i.e. best things that have come OUT of Decatur, and ignore (mostly) the restaurants and festivals scene because you have to be IN Decatur to enjoy them.
1.Quite right of DM to have Native Guard pictured, as at least one of its poems–“Monument”– was inspired by Trethewey’s runs in the Decatur Cemetery.
2. Wild Heaven’s Eschaton Quad Ale. Well before they even had a brewery location, this brewery was making some of the best brews ever made in Georgia, and this one remains a personal fave. Moving from great tasting to great taste…
3. Paste Magazine: I subscribed to the print mag for a couple of years and thought it was as good a music/culture magazine as there ever has been.
4. The Indigo Girls. Yeah, they’re from postal Decatur. But so am I originally ( I went to the same elementary and high school as they did) and hey, besides being great performers, half of the duo launched Watershed, the founding chef-driven restaurant in COD, so that should more than compensate.
5. Proof Cocktail Syrup: The best thing to literally come OUT of the restaurant scene. Now available at many merchants outside of Decatur. Thanks, Pinewood, for making it easy for me to pretend to be a bartender at home.
Paste is in Avondale Estates, right? If we can go that far out the answer is obviously Waffle House.
Paste’s two previous offices were in Decatur, City of.
Wild Heaven is also in Avondale Estates.
Yes, now, but weren’t their origins in Decatur, back when they contracted their brewing out of state? If not, I’ll amend my list and add all those who have gone on to musical success thanks, in part, to Eddie’s Attic.
Same here!
Before Eschaton was bottled, I would hunt it down (Decatur bars, Growler store) wherever I heard about it. One of the best US-brewed belgian-style quads I have ever had.
I am pretty sure they have always been in AE, though a lot of press often said Decatur. I know they at least had the AE site long before the brewery opened.
Maybe we should just annex AE (duck!)
Brick Store pretzels
I don’t think they do much (any?) domestic manufacturing these days, but the company that makes the “STARR” bottle openers you see branded with pretty much everything these days is based in Avondale, and might have been in Decatur at one point in the not-so-recent past. I don’t really know the details, but I could swear I saw “Decatur, GA” on one of their packages awhile back.
http://www.likecool.com/Home/Accessories/Starr%20X%20Bottle%20Opener/Starr-X-Bottle-Opener.jpg
https://www.bottleopener.com/about-us
“Brown Mfg. Company is the exclusive producer of STARR branded bottle openers & bottle cap catchers. The company’s main business is wholesale and that is the reason you can find many other companies selling its products. Brown Mfg. Company produces bottle openers for bottlers, breweries, wholesalers, distributors, retailers and other manufacturers.
The company holds some of the original patents for a bottle opener that would become internationally renowned for its quality. Over the years, its STARR bottle openers have become collectible because of their long history, trademark and variety of logos. It is believed that Brown Mfg. Company is the oldest bottle opener manufacturer in the USA if not the world.
Brown Manufacturing is currently located in Avondale Estates, GA 30002 — Right down the street from the City of Atlanta, Georgia, US”
I was going to say this! Yes, they make one that says Decatur. I just bought one a few weeks ago at Ace.
Technically Avondale….but Brown Manufacturing’s STARR bottle openers.
La Calavera and Butter and Cream.
X-rated Halloween Parades.
Ha. What was x-rated about it? So I know what to look for next year.
I’ll have to let Chris Billingsley tell you.
Memories… of creeks, dirt roads, Confederate and Union charges, monuments to heros, a cemetery that whispers, Medal of Honor recipients, home-coming parades, state champions, legendary teachers, a stone wall and life-long relationships, leaders who changed state history, powerful women, 19th century churches with 21st century missions, trains, bridges to nowhere, neighbors, life long friends, love…
and everything else that helps to define the South.
The City of Decatur- my kind of town.
This will sound bizarre, but I love our mini-Kroger — a stick in the eye to all the stadium sized grocery stores that are functionally useless. Not only can you get to the dairy without roller skates, you can get:
– wonderful Georgia shrimp (frozen) hidden at the bottom of the seafood freezer
– Bison strip and ribeye steaks (not available at the FM or anywhere)
– 3 Taverns (can’t get at FM)
– Organic bell peppers
– Great likelihood to bump into people you know
– Really friendly folks working there
– A testament to pre-chic Decatur still free from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s
Is there another mini Kroger in the universe? Bet not.
Agreed! With just a bit more inventory control, the mini Kroger could be totally unbeatable.
Complaints about the Mini tend to come from either a) people annoyed because THE ONE THING they needed wasn’t in stock, which I fully relate to and agree with; or b) folks who seem to equate more choices with more contentment. This is where I drop off. Anything beyond 4 or so variations in toothpaste or toilet paper is testament to a culture that doesn’t know when to stop. It’s the tyranny of too many choices!
See you in the line where you wait for a human cashier.
+1. It is amazing what they pack into that Kroger. We know what they have and don’t have, and we know what we want and appreciate the quick in-and-out shopping. And their line management is great.
Nobody of adult age in our family likes shopping, and that Kroger appeals …
Disagree. We call it the “Disappointment Kroger” in our family – whatever you are looking for, they don’t have it. It never fails. And all those self-serve checkouts – If I wanted a job checking out groceries, I would apply for one and get a paycheck. Until then, I’d like a human cashier, please. That place is the worst.
I love the self-serve checkouts. They fit eight checkouts in a very small area, and the line flows quickly.
I’m on board with all of the comments from Bruce and Scott. That store is invaluable to me.
I’m a platinum member of the Baby Kroger fan club. I can park, get in, and get out in 15 minutes. I know what they carry and what they don’t, so I’m very rarely disappointed. I keep a separate grocery list for when I am near Publix (hate the lot, dislike the checkout process, hate big shopping carts) or Chaos Kroger (no explanation needed) and stock up on those items. The staff at Baby Kroger is always very friendly, and the single queue system warms my optimizing self; the line may look long, but it moves fast.
Paste
3 Taverns
Pete the Cat
Little Shop of Stories- regional destination and proof that a well programmed independent book store can make it in the e-book world. Thank you LSOS!
$4 oysters and $12 cocktails.