February 2020
Features
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A conversation with Stacey Abrams on voter suppression, “electability,” and those VP rumors
Most politicians, after losing a monumental election, see their personal brand fade into obscurity. Not Stacey Abrams.
The Passion of Jen Jordan: How an unlikely politician became the new voice of Georgia’s Democratic party
Jen Jordan is now approached constantly by women—“it’s almost always women,” she says—telling her how much her speech meant to them and sharing their own stories of reproductive trauma: infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion. Still, although she is strongly pro-choice, Jordan says she never wanted to be known as “the abortion speech lady.”
A structure that produces more energy than it uses? In the deep south? Welcome to the Kendeda building.
The Kendeda building—which opened last fall at Georgia Tech—is both a laboratory for ecosustainability but also a glimpse at a possible future that feels something like empowerment. Maybe even hope.
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The Connector
A tour of unsung places in Atlanta’s civil rights past
Civil Bikes owner Nedra Deadwyler, who leads tours on local history and preservation, highlights some unsung places in Atlanta’s civil rights past.
The happiest chef in Atlanta—Aviva’s Kameel Srouji—explains his secrets. And why he loves you.
I love watching a customer’s face light up after taking a bite of my food. I’m friendly because it’s our tradition: to be generous, hospitable.
Can South Downtown thrive again?
So far, Newport has spent $88 million acquiring property and has started gutting and prepping spaces. With the help of city incentives and historic-building tax credits, Kunkat wants to strip the wood and aluminum facade on a Peachtree nail salon to expose the original brick and stone and has torn out old carpet and drywall in the old Sylvan Hotel to reveal the historic brick walls beneath.
Don’t Miss List: Our top 5 event picks for February
Pick up a new skill at the Groundhog Day Jugglers Festival or spend Valentine’s Day at Oakland Cemetery.
True Colors’ production of School Girls sparks conversation about colorism and pretty privilege
Director Tinashe Kajese-Bolden will bring Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play to life at True Colors Theatre Company, February 11 to March 8, as part of its She Griots season, in which black women star in or have written all shows.
The Bite
The verdict on 3 new Atlanta restaurants: By George, MTH Pizza, Food Terminal (West)
James Beard winner Hugh Acheson’s By George in downtown, Food Terminal opens a second location on the Westside, and MTH Pizza brings excellent margherita to Smyrna.
Review: Chirori is ambitious about Japanese food—and even more ambitious about sake
The central idea at Chirori is to explore sake’s full potential, including its ability to match with a variety of ingredients not commonly found in Japanese cuisine, such as prosciutto, blue cheese, and tomatoes.
How to find the best cocktails in Atlanta—and what to avoid
And I’ve realized that, for me, there are only three kinds of cocktails: classic, magic, and a waste of money.
As Memorial Drive rapidly changes, how do its longtime restaurants survive?
“Gentrification brings a different level of competition, and typically, the competition has more money behind it than a small, standalone business,” Daddy D’z owner Christianah Coker-Jackson says. “So, they can inundate [would-be diners] with the advertising, the bright lights, the fancy stuff we just don’t have.”
The Goods
The incredible shrinking handbag: These trendy micro-purses are so tiny, they’re more like jewelry
Does form always need to follow function? This season, apparently not. Handbags of the moment are smaller than the most petite clutch or crossbody phone case.
This traditional study has a colorful, feminine twist
The wood paneling and stone fireplace may typify an old boys’ club library, but this Buckhead study belongs to the lady of the house. Interior designer Tish Mills gave it a colorful, stylish twist.
My Style: Sheyda Mehrara, artist and Ponce City Market marketing manager
By day, Sheyda Mehrara works for Ponce City Market. By night, she’s building her name as a painter in the Atlanta gallery scene.
Atlanta dentist Bridget Lyons Belyeu is among the 25 fastest women competing in this weekend’s Olympic marathon trial
On February 29, more than 700 athletes will toe the starting line in Atlanta for the 2020 Olympic Team Trials Marathon. Among the hopefuls is 31-year-old Bridget Lyons Belyeu, a member of the Atlanta Track Club elite team whose 2:31 qualifying time puts her among the fastest 25 women in the field. Her feat is especially impressive given that Belyeu is an amateur athlete and working dentist. Here’s how the top runner has been preparing for the event.
Miscellaneous
Flashback: How student sit-ins in downtown Atlanta sparked change in the 1960s
Over four consecutive days in February 1961, roughly 80 activists—including nine at a coffee shop on Forsyth Street—were arrested and refused bail, testing the limits of the county jail.
