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Tag: Mechanicsville

  • Where everybody knows your name: College Park’s Tom, Dick, & Hank is still serving up smoked goodness

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    Along with the food at Tom, Dick & Hank, there is also a full bar inside the restaurant. Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    COLLEGE PARK, GA. – On a cool Friday morning on Main Street in College Park, a man grabs boxes out of the trunk of a car and loads them onto a hand truck. Then he and one of his employees made their way into the front door of his restaurant, Tom, Dick, & Hank. 

    Located across the street from the MARTA station, Tom, Dick, & Hank (TDH) is one of the many restaurants that dot the city’s main drag. Like many metro Atlanta restaurants, the idea for Tom, Dick, & Hank, a BBQ spot that offers smoked wings, traditional sides, burgers, fries, and drinks from its full bar, stemmed from a love of cooking with family. 

    “I guess I always cooked, and I learned a little bit from my grandparents,” Hank Johnson, 51, the man with the boxes, said. 

    Tom, Dick, & Hank is located on Main Street in College Park. The restaurant’s owner, Hank Johnson, liked the access to parking when he took over the space 11 years ago. Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    Johnson said it was his smoker rig that started the whole thing. The wings at TDH are smoked on-site and offer customers a BBQ taste that stems from the passion Johnson developed early in life and honed as a neophyte business owner in 2014 when he opened TDH. He and his brother used to smoke wings and sell them at festivals, fairs, and outside of clubs. The taste and quality of service kept customers coming back and birthed the idea for a brick-and-mortar establishment. 

    TDH was born out of hustle and love of cooking. The first official TDH location was a stand on Ponce De Leon Avenue, across the street from the Krispy Kreme. 

    “It was takeout only,” Johnson remembers. “My brother had two grills, I had one, and we just got out there and did our thing.” 

    The menu at TDH includes smoked wings, dry rub wings, brisket, pulled pork, leg quarter plates, and salads. There are also the restaurant’s housemade BBQ chips. The chips are topped with pulled turkey, pork, or chicken, and include queso, diced tomatoes, and jalapenos. 

    Smoked ribs. collard greens, and Mac n’ cheese. Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    Johnson has teamed up with fellow restaurateur Corrina Martinez, the owner of Blue Cantina, a Mexican-Southern fusion restaurant that has two locations in Atlanta. The owners partnered up a year ago in order to strengthen both businesses. Johnson described Martinez as more of the networking and facilitating star of the business, while he is most comfortable remaining the front-facing and hands-on piece of the partnership.

    “Iron sharpens iron, and steel sharpens steel,” Johnson said of the partnership. “She’s the face of the franchise now, and I’m more like Ronald McDonald. I’m a clown.”

    Johnson said other benefits to partnering with a successful business owner are the shared work, different insights, and that he learns from Martinez how she runs her business. Martinez told The Atlanta Voice that she feels the same about the partnership.

    “The benefit of this collaboration is that we have two opposing skillsets,” Martinez, a self-described analytics person, said by phone. “Part of that is learning from each other, and we feel we have a strong partnership.” 

    Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    Asked what he enjoys most about the restaurant business, Johnson said it was the people.

    “I like dealing with the people in the community. In this business, you get to see people grow,” said Johnson, who shared stories of hosting high school and college graduation parties, engagement parties, and catered homegoing celebrations in his business over the past decade.

    “That’s the best and the worst part,” Johnson laughed. “We do it all.” 

    There are more of those moments to come, says Johnson, who shared that he and Martinez have plans in place to expand the business in the future. TDH once had a second location on Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. in Mechanicsville. It opened in March 2015, a year after the College Park location opened, and was successful by all accounts, Johnson explained. 

    The parking situation was high on the list of the reasons Johnson said the Mechanicsville location would eventually be closed. “The space was just changing. I was sandwiched   between those two clubs, and I couldn’t really control the element.” 

    Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    On the other hand, TDH’s College Park location allows for plenty of parking, usage of public transportation, and walking for its customers. 

    Johnson said he has been feeling a trend of customers looking to remain closer to home, and that’s good for business. College Park has a population of nearly 14,000, and the continued growth of American downtowns and public squares has helped the business as well.

    “Places like Stockbridge, McDounough, Douglasville, people are just staying in all of their little pockets,” Johnson said.

    As for what is new at the one and only TDH, Johnson was excited to talk about the lab ribs that are debuting in December. “Everybody is doing lab chops, so I said let’s do something different,” Johnson.

    The smoked wings remain a staple, but the welcoming staff of servers, managers, and bartenders at TDH set the foundation of the business, Johnson explained.

    A sign behind the bar at Tom, Dick & Hank. Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    He added that the restaurant grills oysters on Wednesdays and that the promotion has been well-received by patrons. Keeping the TDH menu familiar, yet exciting, has been a challenge Johnson readily accepts. 

    “You have to keep at it, and keep innovating, but stick to what you do best,” Johnson said. “I’ve seen a lot of people come, and a lot of people go.”

    TDH is still here. A sign on the wall near the bar states, “Happiness is a plate of brisket on a cold day!” 

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • Meet Jharde Johnson, owner of Mechanicsville’s first Pilates studio

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    On Monday, Nov. 10, the Pilates instructor will open the doors to her first studio, Grnd Pilates, which is located in Mechanicsville.
    Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    Atlanta native Jharde Johnson is determined to create a safe and inclusive community in the fitness and wellness space, and she’s doing it through Pilates. On Monday, Nov. 10, the Pilates instructor will open the doors to her first studio, Grnd Pilates. Located in Mechanicsville, it is the only Pilates studio and Black-woman owned studio in the historic neighborhood. 

    For Johnson, her passion and love for Pilates transcends beyond a trend. The Atlanta Voice spoke with Johnson about feeling underrepresented in Pilates, creating community in her hometown, and the grind behind opening her first studio. 

    Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    The Atlanta Voice: In a few days, Grnd Pilates will open its doors. How are you feeling?

    Jharde Johnson: “Amazing. I feel like I’m living in answered prayers. This is our first studio location, but we’ve been in business for almost five years, doing a pop-up structure throughout Atlanta. We’ve been building community for over four years, and now we have our first home. 

    AV: You’ve been doing Pilates for a decade now and teaching for half of that. What was your personal motivation and your push to start Pilates? 

    JJ: “My mentor is Tanya Stephenson, the owner of Stretch ATL. She’s the first Black-owned Pilates studio in Atlanta, and my first introduction to Pilates. During this time, I was a flight attendant based in LA. When the pandemic hit, I was consistently going to Pilates classes on a regular basis. It was one of those things where I was literally the only person of color in these classes. There was a specific instance where I was in a reformer studio, and I just wasn’t receiving the proper attention that I deserved, unlike everyone else in the studio. Nobody was coming to check my form while they were checking everybody else’s. I actually nipped myself on the leg with the spring. It was just a mess. But again, it’s a practice that I love. So I’m still going. 

    “The pandemic hit. I got furloughed from my job, and I was just like, let me get certified. I genuinely enjoy this. I grew up running track and cross country, so movement is a part of my life. Pilates just introduced me to a new form of movement that I wasn’t used to, but felt amazing for my body. Once I got certified, I immediately started teaching virtually, then God was like, ‘You need to move back to Atlanta and build your business.’ So, I sold all my stuff, packed up my things, moved back home, and started on a weekly pop-up structure. I would rent out different spaces in the city and host them there. And I was like, let me just focus and pour into the community, because during that time, it was a complete full market for Pilates. But also, I knew it was something that Atlanta needed.”

    Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

    AV: You took a leap of faith and look how it all worked. 

    JJ: “It’s beautiful. God has been the force behind all of this. When he told me to go, It’s like, let me move. No questions asked.”

    AV: For the past few years, Pilates has experienced an increase in visibility, accessibility, and popularity, specifically for Black women who, little do many people know, popularized Pilates. How does it feel for you to be in this space where you’re helping to reclaim that narrative and help people feel more visible?

    JJ:  “First and foremost, visibility is extremely important. I think that it’s important for us to walk into spaces and see us, whether it’s coming from the instructor being one of us, or just the people in class. Pilates has been around forever. Right now it’s having a moment. Just like all trends, things die down, but Pilates will still be around. I think, somewhere along the way, people lost the plot of Pilates and basically painted this picture as if it was for this one demographic. That’s not the case. I created this space to make it inclusive and also more accessible, because it truly is for everyone. I feel like anybody who comes into Pilates, and it’s true Pilates that you’re doing, you feel it in your body. It just feels different. You feel amazing, and everybody deserves to feel that. 

    AV: Do you think there are any obstacles to entry that we still need to work on when it comes to this workout and making it more inclusive?

    JJ: “Yes, it’s still so much work to do. Again, right now, it’s having a moment, but, we’re also in Atlanta. Our culture is completely different. If you were to step outside of Atlanta and really see what’s going on in the Pilates world, It’s very much still how it was when I first started my practice. Now you are able to go into spaces and see it filled with us, and that is the driving force behind Grnd Pilates?”

    AV: For those that are unfamiliar, what are some of the benefits of Pilates, especially when it comes to wellness and fitness?

    JJ: “I say this to all of my clients: when you’re doing true Pilates and you’re consistent with it, you see the benefits overflow into your daily life, whether it’s other modalities of movement that you do, or whether it’s everyday life. It’s great for your posture, great for your spinal health, for your pelvic floor. Pilates is low-impact but high-intensity. All of our focus is in our powerhouse, which is our core. A lot of people don’t know everything pulls from our powerhouse. It’s like the heartbeat of our body. When you get to really connect with your powerhouse, you’re able to move differently, more flexibly, and your posture improves. It’s endless. I love it. Pilates changed my life.” 

    AV: After people take the class, after they exit these doors, what do you hope that they take away from Grnd Pilates?

    JJ: “I’ve been building community for years. We have over 3,000 clients that we service. I’ve had so many of my clients go through different obstacles in life. One of my clients, her best friend, passed away. The next day, she was here. She was like, ‘I just need to move my body.  This is such a safe haven for me,’ and that’s always been the goal.

    “I want this to be such a safe space for everyone and such a comfortable space. Once they leave, I want a weight to lift off their shoulders. Life can be a lot, so when you come in here, I want my community to know that this is for them. Whatever you have going in life, leave that at the door. Come in here and pour love into yourself.”

    Classes for women and men are available to book at grndpilates.com.

    This interview was edited for length and clarity. 

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    Laura Nwogu

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  • ‘Reckless and Unorganized’ tariffs are hurting small businesses in Georgia, says Senator Warnock

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    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    The smell of raw chocolate immediately hits your nose upon entering through the front door of Xocoatl Chocolate in Atlanta’s Mechanicsville neighborhood. The small business, which employs 19 people, including the owners Matt Weyandt and Elaine Read, calls the once historic all-Black neighborhood home to its factory and tasting room. Set among a cluster of low slung brick buildings, this was once home to small mechanic shops. 

    Small business is the foundation of Mechanicsville, and Xocoatl Chocolate is one of those small businesses that has been birthed out of a newer Mecanicsville. Small business is also the foundation of commerce in Georgia, which has over one million registered small businesses, according to date from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Tariffs on countries that produce goods being used by small businesses in Georgia can negatively affect the business ecosystem. 

    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    “99 percent of the businesses in Georgia are small businesses,” Georgia Sentaor Raphael Warnock said while seated next to Weyandt and Read on Tuesday morning. “Congress could put forward a more coherent tariff policy if it chose to do so, and so far my Republican colleagues have ceded all of their power and authority to the Executive Branch.”

    The first Black Senator in the history of the state dropped by Xocoatl Chocolate to speak with Weyandt, read, and their staff about how tariffs affect their bottomline. Xocoatl does business with several foreign cocoa farmers in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Peru, Uganda, and Tanzania. All of these small countries have traditionally paid tariffs in order to do business in the United States. However, effective immediately, those tariffs have grown as high as 15% in some cases. In the case of Nicarauga, that tariff is now nearly 20%.  

    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Warnock believes the Trump administration’s negligence in regard to the tariffs, he called it a “reckless and unorganized tariff program” is hurting small businesses in Georgia. 

    “There’s a tendency to look at big corporations, and certainly they play a role in our economy, but small businesses really are the lifeblood of the Georgia economy,” Warnock told The Atlanta Voice. “Businesses like this, they don’t have a lot of margin. They are not sitting on a large amount of capitol that they can wait to see what’s on the other slide of a 90-day pause.” 

    The 90-day pause on tariffs, which originally was scheduled to end in July for many countries, and on August 14 for China, was extended. For many small businesses like Xocoatl Chocolate, it’s been a waiting game. An expensive waiting game, according to Weyandt and Read.

    “It’s tough for us to buy product that we may not use,” Read said of the cocoa beans, sugar, and packaging equipment the company uses on a daily basis in order to fill retail and wholesale orders. During his visit to the factory, Warnock took part in some of the process of breaking down cocoa beans. He stepped up on a stool and pur the beans into a big grinder, before stepping down and pouring the sugar into a large mixer.

    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Berhane Weldegebreg, an experienced roaster and longtime employee with Xocoatl, was there to assist him. In another smaller room, Jacquell Grier, a packager at Xocoatl, carefully and skillfully wrapped the chocolate bars into the colorful paper from which they belong. Both Grier and Weldegebreg are employed at Xocoatl because the business decided to raise prices 

    Asked if he wanted to try takimng over for Grier, Warnock immediately recognized her skills and declined.

    “I can’t even wrap my Christmas gifts,” he joked. “This is a tough job, but somebody;’s got to do it.” 

    Small businesses do not employ the majority of workers in Georgia and around the country, but for people like Grier and Weldegebreg, they allow them to use unique skillsets to feed their families. Where else will a packager get to impact a business as much as Grier does at Xocoatl? 

    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    Asked if the 90-day pause on the tariffs helped them at all, Weyandt and Read said it doesn’t. 

    “Our cocoa prices have gone up over the years,” said Weyandt, who said the business gets busier in the fall and winter seasons and thus has to buy more cocoa in order to accommodate the orders they have coming in. 

    Read said Weynadt has had many sleepless night over how much cocoa to order. Warnock’s visit will undoubtedly put a spotlight on this local business, but there are many more that are confronting the same issues as Xocoatl. What’s next for small business and the tariffs that they face will be up to the current administration.   

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • Mechanicsville residents oppose homeless housing initiative, cite lack of consultation and safety concerns

    Mechanicsville residents oppose homeless housing initiative, cite lack of consultation and safety concerns

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    Residents of Mechanicsville are deeply concerned and frustrated by the city’s recent decision to introduce a 100-unit homeless housing initiative within their community. This initiative, aimed at addressing homelessness, has sparked significant discontent among residents who feel their voices have been ignored. The City of Atlanta has swapped land with Atlanta Public Schools at 405 Cooper Street in Mechanicsville for land in the Old Fourth Ward for this project. The legislation is being presented today, May 29, 2024, in the finance committee room at 1:30 pm.

    Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    The introduction of the 100-unit homeless housing project has raised several valid concerns among community members. While the importance of addressing homelessness is acknowledged, the chosen location for these units is contentious. Residents are troubled by the proximity of these homes to residential areas, Dunbar Elementary School, Rosa Burney Park, Sheltering Arms Child Day Care, and a significant number of registered sex offenders within a one-mile radius of the Dunbar neighborhood center. They believe that the city’s decision, made without proper consultation or transparency, neglects their well-being. Mechanicsville already has at least 50% of its housing designated as affordable, including public voucher housing. The community is urging the city and the mayor to distribute such initiatives more evenly across Atlanta.

    Photo By Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice

    The influx of homeless individuals has led to harassment incidents, with residents reporting that people have attempted to gain access to their homes. There is a perception that the city has disregarded the safety and stability of the Mechanicsville community. The Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) process, established by the city of Atlanta to ensure shared visions, mutual respect, transparency, communication, and shared decision-making, appears to have been overlooked.

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    Staff Report

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