NOVEMBER 2026 ■ ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
Holiday Happenings INSIDE The Stitch Update P6 Turkey Day Out P24
P18
RE SE RV ED
LD SO
1 7 7 0 ME R TON R D NE | $4,995, 0 0 0
10 33 REEDER CR. | $4 ,500,000
6 BE D RO O M S | 6 FULL BATHS | 3 HALF BATHS | 8,690 SQF T
6 BEDROOMS | 9 BATH ROOMS | 8,900 SQF T
1610 WEST SU SSEX | $3,695,000
4 B E D R OOMS | 2 BATHR OOMS | 1, 882 SQF T
5 BEDROOMS | 5.5 BATH ROOMS | 5,07 3 SQF T
1 929 LE NOX R OAD NE | $1,99 5, 0 0 0
1180 CAMERON COU RT NE | $ 875,000
6 B E D R OOMS | 5 BATHR OOMS | 5 , 631 SQF T
3 BEDROOMS | 3 BATH ROOMS | 2,24 4 SQF T
RE
SE
RV E
D
8 39 WILDWOOD R D. | $1,245,0 0 0
70 0 ELK MONT DR. NE | $1,795,000
1 7 04 N. R OCK S PR INGS | $1,749,0 0 0
5 BEDROOMS | 4 BATH ROOMS | 4 ,158 SQF T
4 B E D R O O MS | 4 BATHR OOMS | 3,400 SQF T
Ken Covers, Real Estate Advisor ENGEL & VÖLKERS ATL ANTA
Honored by the recognition. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey.
1745 Peachtree Street NE | Atlanta | GA 30306 M +1 404.664.8280 | O +1 404.845.7724 ken.covers@evatlanta.com | kencovers.evatlanta.com
Celebrating 26 Years of Selling Atlanta, 750+ Clients Served!
©2026 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. If your property is currently represented by a real estate broker, this is not an attempt to solicit your listing. Engel & Völkers and its independent license partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principles of the Fair Housing Act. Source: FMLS 2026
Contents
November 2026
EDITOR’S NOTE
4
COMMUNITY The Stitch
6
News Briefs
8
Beltline Property
8
Underground Growth
10
Atlanta City FC
12
SUSTAINABILITY Above the Waterline
14
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Holiday Happenings
18
MJCCA Book Festival
20
J. Tom Morgan Memoir
21
DINING Thanksgiving Dining
24
Mule Train
25
Minhwa Spirits
26
REAL ESTATE
PUBLISHED BY
EDITORIAL
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Collin Kelley Executive Editor
sales@RoughDraft.news
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Beth McKibben Editor-in-Chief Sr. Editor Food & Dining
Neal Maziar Chief Revenue Officer neal@RoughDraft.news
Cathy Cobbs Managing Editor Sammie Purcell Associate Editor
Mark Putnam Head of Growth mark@RoughDraft.news
STAFF WRITERS Katie Burkholder Logan C. Ritchie Sarra Sedghi Hayden Sumlin
Elizabeth P. Holmes Art Director CIRCULATION
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CONTRIBUTORS Sally Bethea Joe Earle
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The Berkeley
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Deborah Davis Account Manager | Sales Operations deborah@RoughDraft.news Gwen Beckham Sr. Account Manager gwen@RoughDraft.news Linda Ostrowski Sr. Account Manager linda@RoughDraft.news Suzanne Purcell Sr. Account Manager suzanne@RoughDraft.news OPERATIONS Savannah Pierce savannah@RoughDraft.news
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Morningside Record Sale
ON THE COVER Cirque du Soleil is bringing its stage production, “Twas the Night Before,” to the Fox Theatre for the holiday season. See our holiday happenings guide on Page 18. (Photo by Benoit Z. Leroux)
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NOVEMBER 2026 3
Editor’s Note
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Don’t rain on our parade!
The Rough Draft Atlanta staff gets ready to take part in the 2026 Atlanta Pride Parade on Oct. 11. (Photo by Paul McKibben)
Hurricane Isaias wreaked a little havoc on Atlanta last month, blowing in on a Friday night after making landfall in the Florida Panhandle, forcing the cancellation Collin Kelley of just about everything on the following Saturday. Rough Draft and Georgia Voice were supposed to be at the Atlanta Pride festival in Piedmont Park, meeting readers and handing out swag, but organizers made the right call and cancelled the event. Heavy rain and winds brought down trees and caused power outages around the metro, so it would have been a soggy day in the park. Luckily, Sunday’s annual Pride Parade went smoothly, despite the cloudy skies, windy conditions, and chilly temperatures. I was actually a little thrilled to break out my hoodie for the first time since March. As always, it was a treat to see so many people lining Peachtree and 10th streets for the parade. We had some fun swag for my weekly LGBTQ+ newsletter, Crosswalk, and our booth was busy with folks stopping by to say hello. I marched in my first Pride Parade in 1990 and have been a participant or spectator nearly every year since. The support and camaraderie are much EDITOR'S NOTE
A SAMPLING of
Recent Sales
P E G G Y + N I C O L E ’ S S TAT S
12
98%
Average Days on Market
Sales-to-List Price Ratio
Sold in 14 Days for 100% of List Price
Sold in Druid Hills
Sold in Druid Hills
878 Barton Woods Road Sold for $2,240,000, Seller
820 Oakdale Road Sold for $2,185,000, Seller
1176 Lullwater Road Sold for $2,100,000, Seller
Sold in 4 Days for 100% of List Price 1239 N. Highland Avenue
Sold in Druid Hills 1209 Springdale Road
Sold in 3 Days for 103% of List Price 479 Candler Street
Sold for $1,804,000, Seller
Sold for $1,725,000, Seller
Sold for $1,125,000, Seller
Peggy Hibbert & Nicole Griffin No. 1 Brokerage in Metro Atlanta ph. 404.444.0192 ng. 678.790.8760 o. 404.874.0300 peggy@atlantafinehomes.com nicolegriffin@atlantafinehomes.com ©2026 Atlanta Fine Homes, LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each franchise is independently owned and operated. Source: 1/1/25–12/31/25 ,FMLS and off-market sales by Peggy Hibbert & Nicole Friffin. TrendGraphix. Top 5 Firms. 1/1/25–12/31/26. Six-County Metro Area. All Property Types + Price Points.
4 NOVEMBER 2026
needed and appreciated as the LGBTQ+ community remains on alert for further erosion of civil and human rights. Just before Pride weekend, I roadtripped over to Augusta to visit my bestie and fellow poet Karen Head. We did a reading at the charming Book Tavern, and I got the grand tour of the city, which I hadn’t visited in probably two decades. We’ll be reading together again as part of the Word of Mouth series at The Globe in Athens on Dec. 2, at 7 p.m., so if you happen to be in town, stop by and listen in. Speaking of Athens, you might have heard that Rough Draft is expanding our coverage to the Classic City. A newsletter has already launched, and a print edition will debut in January. It’s our first foray outside Metro Atlanta thanks to a grant from the Google News Initiative Growth Catalyst Program. You can sign up for both the Crosswalk and Athens newsletters at roughdraftatlanta.com/newsletters. Also, be sure to visit the website and social media on Nov. 3 to get full coverage of the crucial midterm elections. We’ll be live blogging throughout the day and will have results in the evening in partnership with the Associated Press. And Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. I can’t believe we’re back at the holiday season again!
Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other professional advice outside the realm of real estate brokerage.
Jim Getzinger
404.307.4020 | 404.668.6621 jim.getzinger@compass.com
A Deep Understanding of Intown. 28+ Years of Experience. 299 The Prado NE
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New renderings revealed for The Stitch project By Collin Kelley Work on The Stitch, the park that will cap a section of the Downtown Connector, is set to begin in 2027, with more funding still being sought to complete the ambitious project. During an October event at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, new renderings for The Stitch were unveiled, showcasing an indoor-outdoor pavilion, cafe space, and green spaces. The park would reconnect a section of Downtown that was cut when I-75/85 was built in the 1950s. Phase one of the park will span the interstate between Peachtree Street, Cortland Street, Ralph McGill Boulevard, and Currier Street. Jack Cebe, president and CEO of the nonprofit Atlanta Downtown Stitch Inc., said improvements and repairs would begin on existing streets before work on the cap park begins. The Stitch is expected to cost an estimated $713 million and would add roughly 17 acres along a three-quartermile stretch of the Downtown Connector. Cebe said phase one will cost around $200 million.
The Trump Administration pulled more than $150 million in federal funding for the project last year, but Cebe said the nonprofit is applying for a new $60 million federal grant. He said the new grant is for infrastructure resilience projects, and The Stitch qualifies as a stormwater management facility that will help prevent flooding on the Downtown Connector. Cebe said The Stitch has secured $50 million from various sources – including the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Regional Commission – for phase one. The Stitch is planned to act as a catalyst for new housing and to revitalize a central part of Downtown, much in the same way that the Centennial Yards and South Downtown projects are bringing new energy to other parts of the district. Cebe said The Stitch is being designed for active recreation and to provide space for community events like farmers' markets and concerts. There will also be a large playground, perennial and native gardens, and an interactive fountain sculpture.
There are also hopes that The Stitch will help revitalize the nearly century-old Medical Arts Building, which has stood abandoned for decades. The 12-story Beaux Arts and Neoclassical building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and sits on the Peachtree Street edge of the park. “It’s a beautiful building, so I personally hope it can be repurposed into something like housing,” Cebe said.
Cebe said he hopes The Stitch will be a catalyst for other cap projects to help reconnect communities. A plan to cap part of the Downtown Connector in Midtown was shelved in 2024, while a plan to reconnect Grant Park across I-20 has long been discussed by urban planners. In Buckhead, the half–mile HUB 404 cap park is also set to begin construction in 2027 and will cover a portion of Georgia 400 between Peachtree and Lenox Roads.
Considering a move? If you have a question about the market, your home or what comes next, let's connect! A N S L E Y PA R K
GALLERY RESIDENCES
104 Westminster Drive For Sale for $6,200,000
2795 Peachtree Road, No. 1406 Sold for $870,000
Carmen Pope F O U N D I N G PA R T N E R
m. 404.625.4134 o. 404.874.0300 carmenpope.atlantafinehomes.com © 2026 Sotheby's International Realty. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby's International Realty® is a registered trademark and used with permission. Each Sotheby's International Realty office is independently owned and operated, except those operated by Sotheby's International Realty, Inc. All offerings are subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. 1555 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
6 NOVEMBER 2026
New renderings of phase one of The Stitch park planned to cap a portion of the Downtown Connector were released in October. (Photos courtesy ADS)
CHASE MIZELL
No. 1 Agent in Georgia CHASE MIZELL $1.2+ Billion in Lifetime Sales No. 1 Agent, Atlanta REALTORS® 2020, 2021, 2023 + 2025 m. 770.289.2780 o. 404.874.0300 chasemizell@atlantafinehomes.com • chasemizell.com
© 2026 Sotheby’s International Realty. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark and used with permission. All offerings are subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. No. 1 Agent Volume, 2020, 2021, 2023 + 2025 Atlanta REALTORS® Association.
News RoundUp The Atlanta City Council approved the $68 million sale of the Atlanta City Detention Center to Fulton County in an 8-7 vote on Oct. 19, following hours of chaotic debate and procedural disputes.
Construction is underway on MARTA’s first arterial rapid transit (ART) corridor along Cleveland Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway. The ART line will offer enhanced bus shelters, a better customer experience, and shorter travel times through fewer stops and transit signal priority.
Invest Atlanta approved a $330 million lease-purchase bond for Amsterdam Walk, a large mixed-use development planned by Portman Holdings next to the Atlanta Beltline’s Northeast Trail.
Wesley International Academy charter school educator Hassan Kariem, 42, was killed on Oct. 12 after he was ejected from the Goliath rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. An investigation into the incident and safety precautions continues.
Beltline secures final property to complete 22-mile trail By Collin Kelley The purchase of a 0.2-acre piece of property in the Blandtown neighborhood is the final piece of the puzzle to complete the 22-mile Atlanta Beltline trail. Officials announced Oct. 1 that after two decades of assembling land and property rights across Atlanta, the final five miles of the trail can now be built out. Nearly 17 miles of the trail are complete, with total completion on track for 2030. Beltline officials said the effort required nearly 200 closings totaling more than $200 million in property purchases across more than 270 acres, with individual acquisitions ranging from a 15-square-foot parcel to a 65-acre tract. In a statement, Beltline President and CEO Clyde Higgs called the Blandtown purchase a “defining milestone.” Dave Pierce, Vice President of Real Estate and Asset Management at Atlanta Beltline, Inc., said the $550,000 purchase of the private Blandtown property on English Street was temporarily held up in probate, but the estate allowed the Beltline to begin work on the site.
The Edgewood Avenue Bridge, looking south along the Eastside Trail. (Photo by The Sintos/Atlanta Beltline)
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Pierce said the 200 closings across the past two decades ranged from 15 square feet to 65 acres, with the Beltline team negotiating with nearly every type of landowner – from railroads, utilities and Fortune 500 corporations to homeowners, apartment complexes and religious organizations. “This is really an exciting milestone,” Pierce said, noting that the Beltline project had stretched for 20 years over four mayoral administrations. “We wouldn’t be here without the railroads and all the property owners.” Pierce said piecing together the Northwest Trail segments has been the most difficult part of the trail, since there was no existing rail corridor to follow. He also praised the ABI team for working with landowners to assemble the necessary property. “The Northwest Trail was complicated and gave us all migraines,” Pierce said, while also praising ABI’s design team and community engagement team for bringing the public into the process. While the final loop segments are in place, Pierce is now focusing on affordable housing acquisitions near the trail. To date, 4,555 affordable units have been created or preserved within the Beltline Tax Allocation District (TAD), 81 percent of the goal of 5,600 units by 2030. Pierce and ABI are also working with the Georgia Department of Transportation to design and construct a separate Beltline bridge over I-20 parallel to Bill Kennedy Way. There’s also the looming question of light rail on the 22-mile loop. The Beltline recently proposed a $3.5 billion rail plan, and the Atlanta City Council passed a resolution in support, but there remains divergent attitudes among city officials, residents, and business owners. Pierce said that since Beltline rail hasn’t been fully designed, he couldn’t speak on whether additional land acquisitions would be necessary, but “there will probably be little bits and pieces we’ll need for rail construction.” ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
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New nightclub opens at Underground, with coffee shop, food hall, housing to come By Beth McKibben Lunchbox, a new bar, nightclub, and music venue with two stages, recently opened near dance club MJQ Concourse at Underground Atlanta. A coffee shop, six-stall food hall, and tapas restaurant will open in the coming weeks and months, along with another sprawling concert hall, which will take over a former parking garage. Music now drives the newest options at Underground Atlanta, as part of a multimillion-dollar revamp of the half-centuryold shopping and entertainment district by Lalani Ventures. Ten stages by the end of 2027 Seven stages are already open at the district: two at Lunchbox, one at MJQ Concourse, and four at The Masquerade, which operates multiple concert spaces in its Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and Altar rooms. Three more stages will open next year with Ravine, a two-stage venue in the old parking garage on Lower Wall Street, and Loca Luna, a Latin tapas restaurant that will also host live music. All 10 stages will be up and running by the end of 2027, according to a press
release. Once completed, Underground Atlanta will become one of Georgia’s largest live music hubs, said Shaneel Lalani, CEO of Lalani Ventures. “We’ve spent six years building the foundation, bringing this historic district back to life,” Lalani said in a prepared statement. “Now we’re in a stretch where a lot of that work is visible, with new restaurants, new music venues, and new reasons to come Downtown beyond a single event.” Coffee shop, food hall, and housing Ela Rey, a coffee shop from the sisters behind Daiquiriville, is on track to open on Lower Alabama later this month, with a six-stall food hall taking over the former Foot Locker space at the corner of Alabama and Pryor streets next year. And Haunted Underground is back again this month. The pop-up features five bars offering Halloween-inspired cocktails and live music. With nightlife firmly in place, and music driving the scene at Underground Atlanta, Lalani said the company’s next
Lunchbox, a new bar, nightclub, and music venue, recently opened near dance club MJQ Concourse at Underground Atlanta. (Courtesy Lalani Ventures)
step is converting an old office building at 34 Peachtree (one block away from the district) into apartments. The first phase of the $40 million project will include 146 units. “Housing is the piece that makes all of this work long-term,” Lalani said. “You
can bring in restaurants and music venues, but you need people living here, walking these streets every day, not just visiting for an event. That’s what 34 Peachtree starts to do, and it’s why we’re pushing for more housing Downtown.”
the right move starts with
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m. 404.408.2331 o. 404.874.0300 joymyrick@atlantafinehomes.com joymyrick.atlantafinehomes.com
© 2026 Sotheby’s International Realty. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark and used with permission. Each Sotheby’s International Realty office is independently owned and operated, except those operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All offerings are subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. 1555 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
10 NOVEMBER 2026
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A Season for Something Extraordinary As the season changes, let new possibilities unfold. Whether buying or selling, Molly brings trusted guidance and local expertise to every move in Atlanta Intown.
Molly Carter Gaines c. 404.542.3120 | o. 404.480.HOME MOLLY@ANSLEYRE.COM 1409 PEACHTREE STREET, 2ND FLOOR ATLANTA, GA 30309 ANSLEYRE.COM All data believed to be accurate but not warranted. Ansley upholds Equal Housing Opportunity & Federal Fair Housing policies. If you have an existing relationship with another brokerage, this is not intended as a solicitation.
Atlanta City FC unveils team colors, crest and branding By Logan C. Ritchie Women’s professional soccer is coming to Downtown as Atlanta City FC prepares to take the pitch at MercedesBenz Stadium, sharing space with Atlanta United and the Atlanta Falcons. On Oct. 4, Atlanta City FC unveiled the team’s colors, crest, and branding during a free celebration with music, merchandise, and food at Southern Exchange Ballrooms. Atlanta City FC is owned by Arthur Blank, who paid $165 million to expand his portfolio. Inspired by the character of Atlanta, the club was created to represent a city defined by resilience, culture, innovation and ambition, Atlanta City FC said. “When we were awarded an NWSL franchise, our goal was to build a worldclass club with a brand that reflects our city’s strength, diversity and spirit,” Blank said in a statement. The club, set to begin playing in 2028, has incorporated symbols including a phoenix rising, a dogwood blossom, a hidden letter ‘A,’ and colors red, peach, gray, and black to reflect Atlanta’s passion, hospitality, innovation, and perseverance. “Atlanta is a city that has always forged its own path,” Atlanta City FC Chief Business Officer Deandra Duggans
12 NOVEMBER 2026
Women’s professional soccer team Atlanta City FC rolled out its colors, crest, and branding to build fan excitement before the opening match in 2028. (Courtesy Atlanta City FC)
said. “Atlanta City FC reflects the energy, diversity, and ambition that define this community, and we are proud to build a club that belongs to Atlanta and represents its future on the national stage.” In 1996, upwards of 76,000 fans attended the women’s soccer championship match of the Summer Olympic Games held in in Athens, GA, helping to spark
momentum for the launch of the Women’s United Soccer Association. The first fully professional women’s soccer league in the U.S., WUSA launched the Atlanta Beat in 2001. When the league folded, several players moved to the Atlanta Silverbacks women’s team. In November 2025, Atlanta was awarded the National Women’s Soccer
League’s 17th franchise. The Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center opened in May in Trillith in Fayette County, featuring 17 fields over the 230-acre property. The training center was built in a partnership between Blank, Chick-fil-A Chairman and CEO Dan T. Cathy, and businesswoman and sports investor Michele Kang.
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For Sale ADDRESS/INFORMATION UPON REQUEST Offered for $2,595,000 | Ansley Park
Will Letton FOUNDING ADVISOR | PRESIDENT’S CLUB
m 404.680.7866 | o 404.671.9100 will@willletton.com | willletton.com
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3344 PEACHTREE ROAD, SUITE 800, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30326 | PEACHTREETOWNANDCOUNTRY.COM © 2026 Copyright. Peachtree Town & Country, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Peachtree Town & Country fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and is committed to Equal Housing Opportunity. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, and should be independently verified. Properties are subject to prior sale, change, or withdrawal without notice.
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Hellbent to see hellbenders ABOVE THE WATER LINE
Earlier this year, I had a significant birthday. To celebrate, and also grapple with this dubious milestone, I made a list of seventy-five Sally Bethea things I’d never done before, to accomplish, if possible, before the end of this year’s trip around the sun. Embracing my elderly status with new challenges seemed like a good antidote to the “organ
recitals” that too often dominate my conversations with friends and family. Talking about coloring my hair with a purple streak, dancing at a salsa club in Quito, or sleeping in a treehouse is much more fun. My bucket list of new experiences is eclectic. I’ve taken lessons in West African drumming and learned how to row a gondola in a Venetian canal. I’ve hiked in the Dolomites with a wonderful group of strangers, snorkeled at the Galápagos Islands, and listened to the dawn chorus beside the Chattahoochee. Wildlife viewings rank high on my list.
Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Provide. Prevent. Protect.
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Featuring pianist Anna Geniushene
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Nathalie Stutzmann, Music Director
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Over the years, I’ve been thrilled and awed by encounters with wild species: a megapod of dolphins performing a stampede; a herd of Roosevelt elk standing in a glacial-fed river at dusk; a circus of Atlantic puffins on a volcanic island; a colony of high-elevation American pikas; and humpback whales engaging in an intense heat run. On my recent trip to the Galapagos, I logged nearly forty new species in just three days. Watching a swallow-tailed gull suddenly regurgitate a small squid and feed it to her chick was an experience of a lifetime–as was snorkeling while gazing down at a hammerhead shark cruising the ocean floor. I will have to wait until warmer weather next summer for another wildlife adventure that is high on my list: swimming with hellbenders in a cold, clear mountain stream. My destination will likely be the Watauga River in North Carolina, where the local riverkeeper organization is leading conservation efforts to protect this amazing, threatened species. Giant salamander Endearingly known as snot otters, lasagna lizards, devil dogs, and mudpuppies, Eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) are the largest salamanders in North America. An ancient species that lived with the dinosaurs, these amphibians have inhabited Appalachian streams for over 160 million years. They can reach two and a half feet in length, weigh up to five pounds, and live for forty years. While they are capable swimmers, most hellbenders travel over stream beds by walking with toes that help them cling to the bottoms. Because they breathe through their dark, wrinkly skin–absorbing oxygen straight from the water, hellbenders require clean, swift-moving water, thereby serving as important indicators of a stream’s water quality. They also help maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems by controlling prey populations; however, they are easily affected by pollution. Eroded sediment from development and agricultural operations can cause disease and death. More than 40 percent of known historical populations have vanished in the past few decades. A significant percentage of the remaining populations are in active decline. In the 1800s, hellbenders were considered vermin: strange, (imagined to be) venomous creatures to be exterminated by shooting with a musket or chopping their heads off. In the early twentieth century, they were believed to be major consumers of game fish populations and targeted through commercial bounty hunting. Industrial pollution, dams,
exceptional property
and logging augmented the decline of these harmless creatures as development expanded throughout the Appalachian region. Today, the climate crisis and warmer water temperatures are making their survival even more challenging. Endangered, but not yet protected Federal environmental laws brought some protection and attention to the plight of the Eastern hellbender in the 1970s, but their ultimate disappearance from our waterways remains entirely possible. For more than a decade, scientists and conservation groups have tried to get the Eastern hellbender officially listed under the Endangered Species Act. Since its passage fifty years ago, this Nixonera federal law has helped save nearly 300 species of wildlife in the U.S. from extinction--from the bald eagle and the American alligator to the grizzly bear. A listing for the hellbender would trigger the need for a consultation between government and private developers, if their project might impact hellbenders, and possibly the issuance of a permit. A small price to pay for clean water, healthy ecosystems, and the survival of a living fossil. Maddeningly, but not surprisingly, the anti-environmental Trump Administration has refused to take reasonable measures to legally protect hellbenders–or hundreds of other endangered species whose listings have been delayed in the past two years. While this inaction has been frustrating, the truly bad news came several months ago when Trump’s U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service gutted the Endangered Species Act. It’s now legal to destroy the critical habitat of endangered species, or to “take” (or kill) any endangered species, unless such action was “intentional.” Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the administration’s aggressive rollbacks to one of the world’s most successful wildlife conservation laws. My life–and I’m willing to bet yours as well–has been immeasurably enriched by the wondrous variety of life on this planet. This variety, this diversity of species, must be protected for all of us. As American poet Wendell Berry illustrates with these words, wild things help make our lives worth living: “When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things... For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”
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3
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THE BUCKHEAD OFFICE | 2827 PEACHTREE ROAD NE, SUITE 200, ATLANTA, GA 30305 | 404-233-4142 The above information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted. Offer subject to errors, changes, omissions, prior sales and withdrawals without notice. If your home is currently listed for sale, this is not intended as a solicitation. Harry Norman, REALTORS® is an exclusive member of Forbes Global Properties in Georgia. Forbes® is a registered trademark used under license.
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NOVEMBER 2026 15
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Arts & Entertainment
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Holiday Happenings
Lights, music, and performances kick off the festive season By Rough Draft Staff The holiday season will be in full swing starting this month with concerts, plays, opera, visits with Santa, illuminated landscapes and aerial theatrics under the big top. Atlanta Opera Pulitzer Prize-winning “Silent Night” will run from Nov. 7 to Nov. 15. Based on the film “Joyeux Noël,” the story takes place during World War I on Christmas Eve, when opposing forces lay down weapons, come together around a makeshift tree to sing carols, and play soccer matches. Later in the year, the Opera will host “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” from Dec. 2 to Dec. 27. Get tickets for both shows at atlantaopera.org. Garden Lights, Holiday Nights The Atlanta Botanical Garden is hosting the 16th annual “Garden Lights, Holiday Nights” Nov. 14 to Jan. 10. The grounds will be illuminated with thousands of lights, with expanded displays along Flower Walk, and new choreography for Nature’s Wonders, the world’s largest curtain of light and sound. Tickets usually sell out fast, so get yours at atlantabg.org. Center for Puppetry Arts “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” soars back into the Midtown venue from Nov. 11 to Dec. 27 with a puppet version of the classic stop-motion animation TV special from 1964. Tickets can be purchased at puppet.org. Atlanta Shakespeare Company A tradition at the Atlanta Shakespeare Company for more than 20 years, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” will run from Dec. 5 to Dec. 23. The cast and crew will also host a free post-show Q&A on Dec.13. Find tickets at shakespearetavern. com. "The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show" Comedians, writers, actors, and drag queens BenDeLaCreme & Jinkx Monsoon are coming back to town with the internationally acclaimed “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show.” Playing Nov. 11 at the Eastern, get tickets at jinkxanddela. com. Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus The Chorus will perform its 46th annual holiday show on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 at the 18 NOVEMBER 2026
Cathedral of St. Phillip. This year, 165 AGMC singers will be joined by a live orchestra. Get tickets at aftontickets.com. The Nutcracker in Shared Reality at Cosm Atlanta Cosm Atlanta has collaborated with the New York City Ballet to show “The Nutcracker” in its Shared Reality technology. The show will run from Nov. 6 to Dec. 29, and viewers will be transported inside Lincoln Center through Cosm’s LED dome technology. Get tickets at cosm.com. Cirque du Soleil: `Twas the Night Before
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” will fly back to the Center for Puppetry Arts (above) while Cosm Atlanta presents an immersive New York City Ballet performance of “The Nutcracker.”
The company’s first holiday show will run from Dec. 2 to Dec. 13 at the Fox Theater. This aerial acrobatic performance chronicles the story of a jaded young girl who rediscovers the magic of the holiday. Get tickets at cirquedusoleil.com. “Liza’s Chistmaz with a Z” at Out Front Theater The new holiday show from Blake Fountain, the writer of “Mamma Dearest: Here We Joan Again!,” will run from Dec. 3 to Dec. 19. Madcap shenanigans, a lot of sequins (HALSTON!) and a visit from the Jolly man in red himself will leave heads spinning and hearts full. Get tickets at outfronttheater.com. Fox Theater The Fox Theatre is hosting a slate of holiday performances. In Addition to Cirque du Soleil, the theater will host a traditional and hip-hop version of “The Nutcracker” and the acapella group Straight No Chaser on their "Making Spirits Bright” tour. Find tickets at foxtheatre.org. Santa at Rhodes Hall The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation will be hosting Santa at historic Rhodes Hall in Midtown from Nov. 21 to Dec. 13. Tickets are $60 and include a photo with Santa. Reservations are filling up fast! Make yours at georgiatrust.org. Atlantic Station The Midtown live-work-play destination will host “Holiday Lights” on Nov. 5 at Ellipse Park from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event is free and visitors can stroll the illuminated paths, snap photos with the
lights and take in glowing displays and holiday decor. Alliance Theater The theater will stage the classic production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on the Coca-Cola stage from Nov. 14 to Dec. 27. “Knock Knock” will run in the Selig Family Black Box Theatre from Nov. 14 to Dec. 23. Get tickets for both at alliancetheatre.org. ILLUMINIGHTS at Zoo Atlanta
Atlanta Christkindl Market Experience a hybrid modern-day Christmas celebration and German festivities at the annual market on the Lawrenceville Lawn from Nov. 20 to Dec. 24. There are handcrafted goods, entertainment, food and more. Admission is free, and more information can be found at christkindlmarket.org. Christmas with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Hundreds of wildlife-inspired lanterns will decorate Zoo Atlanta for its annual holiday light display Nov. 21 to Jan. 17. Santa will also visit the Zoo on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6. Tickets do sell out, so reserve in advance at zooatlanta.org.
The ASO is kicking off the holidays with Elf in Concert on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29. A winter wonderland family concert will take place on Dec. 6 and on Dec. 9, a live stage version of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The signature “Christmas with the ASO” will run Dec. 10 to Dec. 13. Get tickets and information at aso.org.
Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center
The Atlanta Ballet
A combination of acrobatics, displays of strength and agility, comedy and magic takes to the stage in “A Magical Cirque Christmas.” Playing Nov. 21, get tickets at sandyspringspac.com.
From Dec. 5 to Dec. 26, “The Nutcracker” will run at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center with a score played live by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. Get tickets at cobbenergycentre.com. ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
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MJCCA Book Festival has a star-studded lineup By Rough Draft Staff The Book Festival of the MJCCA (Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta) will return Nov. 1-22, bringing more than 30 authors, entertainers, historians, journalists, and cultural figures to Dunwoody. Now in its 35th year, the festival has become one of the Southeast’s prominent literary events, featuring author talks, audience Q&A sessions and book signings. The 2026 lineup includes former first lady Jill Biden, singer and entertainer Harry Connick Jr., award-winning composer Marc Shaiman and an array of bestselling fiction and nonfiction authors. Biden will discuss her memoir, “View from the East Wing,” on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. Connick will take the stage Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. to discuss “Babe: Elaboratio,” a tribute to his mother that offers a personal look at his family and experiences that shaped his life. Shaiman, the Tony- and Grammywinning composer and co-lyricist best known for Broadway's “Hairspray” and his work in film and television, will appear Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss his memoir, “Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner.” The program will include a live musical performance.
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The lineup also includes: Karen Essex (Tuesday, Nov. 10, noon), “Run, Darling.” A bestselling author traces the hidden story of the Gabor sisters, part of the festival's Lit for Lunch series. **Lynn Cullen (Tuesday, Nov. 10, noon), “When We Were Brilliant.” Atlanta's own bestselling novelist imagines the friendship between Marilyn Monroe and photographer Eve Arnold. Dr. Barak Benaryeh (Wednesday, Nov. 11, noon), “The Vet Will See You Now.” A veterinarian's candid, often funny look inside the exam room, paired with a pet supply donation drive for local animal shelters. Sara Goodman Confino (Thursday, Nov. 12, noon), “Off the Record.” A Cold War-set romantic comedy from a bestselling author, part of Lit for Lunch. Jessica Handler (Thursday, Nov. 12, noon), “The World to See: A Novel.” Atlanta's own novelist explores friendship, ambition, and self-image across four women's lives. Michael Kimmel (Thursday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m.), “The Playmakers: The Jewish Entrepreneurs Who Created the Toy Industry in America.” The untold story of the Jewish toymakers who built Ideal, Hasbro, Mattel, and Lionel, paired with a holiday toy drive for Amy's Holiday Party.
Renée Rosen (Thursday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m.), “Let's Call Her Barbie: A Novel.” A USA Today bestselling author imagines the invention of the world's most famous doll. Charles Lachman and Natalie Livingstone (Sunday, Nov. 15, 1:30 p.m.), “They Shall Not See the Dawn / The Nuremberg Women.” Two historians explore the manhunt for Hitler's most wanted and the untold stories of the women of Nuremberg. Jenna Blum (Monday, Nov. 16, noon), “Murder Your Darlings.” A New York Times bestselling author delivers a suspenseful, funny novel about writers, stalkers, and revenge. Alyssa Rosenheck (Wednesday, Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m.) will discuss her book "White. Blonde. Jew: A Call to End Extremism, Speak Up, and Reclaim Center" with State Rep. Esther Panitch. Most events take place at the MJCCA, 5342 Tilly Mill Road in Dunwoody. Tickets and additional information, including the full schedule and series-pass options, are available at atlantajcc.org. (Above) Wed., Nov. 18th, Alyssa Rosenheck, author of "White. Blonde. Jew." (Below) Sunday, Nov. 8, Marc Shaiman will discuss "Never Mind the Happy."
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Former DA releases memoir on murder of DeKalb Sheriff By Joe Earle For J. Tom Morgan, it started with a simple page to call his office. When he called back, he was told that DeKalb Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown had been shot. Morgan first thought there had been some sort of accident, but he quickly discovered the situation was much worse: that rainy night in December 2000, three days before he was to be sworn in as DeKalb’s new sheriff, Brown had been murdered in his own suburban driveway. Members of his family were inside the house, awaiting his return from a party celebrating the completion of his state training before taking office as sheriff. The gunmen had escaped. Morgan, then DeKalb’s District Attorney, the top prosecutor, and other law enforcement officers soon found themselves investigating what turned out to be an almost unimaginable crime, a local political assassination. “I really believe we were in shock and disbelief,” Morgan said during a phone interview from Cullowhee, NC, where he now teaches at Western Carolina University. “I never will forget when I pulled the [hospital] sheet back and saw Derwin’s bullet-riddled body. I’ll never forget those first 24 to 36 hours.” Now, more than a quarter century later, Morgan recounts those hours and the months of investigations and trials that followed in his new book, “A Rainy Night in Georgia, a Lawman’s Brutal Murder, a Rogue Southern Sheriff, and a Prosecutor’s Quest for Justice” (Prometheus Books). Morgan calls the book, written with John Capouya, a “true crime memoir.”
Morgan discussed his book on a new episode of consumer investigator Dale Cardwell’s “Trust Issues” podcast called “Whistleblowers: The Price of Truth.” Cardwell worked in 2000 as an investigative reporter at an Atlanta television station. Morgan credits Cardwell’s TV reports as playing a large part in events leading to the investigation of Dorsey’s office and subsequently to Brown’s murder. Cardwell’s reporting exposed corruption in Dorsey’s department, including on-duty deputies working for the sheriff’s private security company and doing other private work. Those reports led to a corruption investigation by Morgan’s office. Brown promised voters he would clean up the department. After Brown was shot, police officers went to Cardwell’s home and, fearing he might be a target as well, said he should take his family to a hotel. Cardwell said the officers told him, “We thought you would be dead, too.” At one point, Morgan discovered that both he and Cardwell were on a list of potential victims the assassins had put together. Morgan said he started carrying a gun for the first time. “It was surreal,” Cardwell said during a recent interview. After a couple of weeks, Cardwell took his family to his home in Kentucky to evade the conspirators. Morgan and Cardwell said that Dorsey believed that if Brown were out of the way, then Dorsey himself would be re-appointed sheriff and then would win the office in a special election. He directed four men who had jobs in
J. Tom Morgan
the sheriff’s office, or who wanted to work there, to murder Brown. “These were four people [who] would do anything for this man,” Morgan said. Dorsey was convicted of murder and racketeering in a trial that was moved to Albany, Ga., because of extensive pre-trial publicity in Atlanta. Dorsey eventually admitted to investigators that he had ordered Brown’s killing but claimed he tried to call it off. Dorsey died in prison in March of this year. Now that the book is out, Morgan said he sees that in addition to showing the need to monitor the corruption of powerful local officials, “it’s a call for public service. My students have read it and said, ‘I didn’t know it would be so much fun to be a prosecutor.’ If this book can inspire young people to public service, I feel better about it.”
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Choosing a career too young leads to stress By Nia Stephens EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a partnership with VOX ATL, a youth-led nonprofit media organization that prepares teens for life, career, and community by harnessing the power of youth voice and uncensored self-expression. Find out more at voxatl.org. Many teenagers dread contemplating their careers. In today's school systems, teenagers are constantly pressured to choose a career while their minds are still developing. This overwhelming pressure on students can lead to stress-induced decision-making, even causing them to stray from the passions they truly want to pursue to choose a traditional career path. “The bigger question is: ‘What am I going to do with my life?’” said Melissa Turnipseed, a 6-12 grade computer science teacher, reflecting on her experience working with students. Many students today feel they have to figure everything out right now. Mikailah De Coteau, 13, shared, “They [students] feel pressured or just feel nervous because everyone else might seem to have it figured out, but they don’t.” Surveying 25 peers aged 13 to 15, I found that 79% began seriously considering a career path between ages 8 and 12. When asked whether school has pressured them to decide on a career path in a rush, 74% said yes. While students don't have to figure out their careers right now, the bombardment from schools and career programs can reinforce that narrative. While these things can have benefits, they can also lead students to feel they need to settle on a career now. A 2025 survey conducted by Junior Achievement USA, a nonprofit organization focused on preparing youth for the global economy through real-world experiences, found that modern teens tend to believe they need to make the right choice for their future success. The survey gauged the views of 1,000 Americans aged 13 to 18. It indicated that “The pressure to make the right choice is significant. 88% of teens report feeling pressure to follow a specific educational or career path. While most (63%) say they would prefer a good-paying job even if it comes with stress.” Eighth-grade Georgia Studies teacher, Amethyst Clowers-Davis, said, “I think the first thing that stresses them may be the home environment where they may have a parent that wants to guide them in a different direction from the way in which they want to go.” The Junior Achievement study then explained that other teenagers are exploring beyond the norm to create lives for themselves. Many of them consider side hustles (62%) and gig work (38%) as 22 NOVEMBER 2026
potential ways to make a living. De Coteau noted, “I feel like a lot of my passions revolve around art. Even hair, being a hairstylist. I was told again, it’s not a real job. It’s a side hustle … but it shouldn’t be what you want to do in life. I have to find something that can give me a degree, master’s — important stuff.” Kingston Johnson, 15, shares similar views. “I think that choosing a career early on can make a student feel like they’re closed inside a box,” he said, “and they can’t really explore… and it’s permanent, and they can’t change what they want to do.” A 2013 Guardian article by Abigail Lane showed how teens feel overwhelmed by the amount of information they receive. The article shows that teenagers don’t mind having more information than they need. But when they are given so many options and a quick turnaround to decide, it can do more harm than good by stressing them out. Even over a decade later, teenagers still feel the same way. The 2025 article by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an economic organization that promotes policies to help further economics, found that, “Students have never been so unsure about their career prospects – many exhibit great anxiety,
“You major in something that’s going to feed you. And minor in something that you love. And then combine the two until the one you have passion for works out for you.”
Many felt panicked by the pressure to know what to do with their lives. A 2025 Gallup survey, a polling organization that collects data on public opinion, measured teenagers’ preparation for college. The study found that among 1,327 teenagers aged 16 to 18, only 21% felt very prepared to earn an associate’s degree and 28% to earn a bachelor’s degree. Many people have to sacrifice what they are truly passionate about just to earn a good salary. Some students feel that they shouldn’t have to choose between the two while still in middle or high school. When students talk about careers, many think they have to figure it out right now. Clowers-Davis said, “You major in something that’s going to feed you. And minor in something that you love. And then combine the two until the one you have passion for works out for you.” A 2023 study by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public land-grant research university, concluded, “Although meaningful work and high salaries are both perceived as highly important job attributes when evaluated independently, when presented with tradeoffs between these job attributes, participants consistently preferred highsalary jobs with low meaningfulness over low-salary jobs with high meaningfulness.”
-Amethyst Clowers-Davis uncertainty and confusion about the state of their career preparation.” A 2023 article by Sage Journals, an online platform that hosts peer-reviewed academic journals, showed that mental health issues, specifically depression, and career indecision have a strong correlation. The article showed that when a teenager has depressive thoughts or symptoms, their ability to make sustainable career decisions is hindered, and their thought process can be limited. They suggested that teachers be mindful of mental health concerns that can affect student decision-making. De Coteau notes that, while in school, she has seen many of her peers stress over career choices, even in middle school.
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Dining
The best of Atlanta’s food scene. Tuesday & Thursday, free.
Turkey Day Dining
Make reservations or place orders for Thanksgiving feasts By Beth McKibben Looking to dine out on Thanksgiving Day? Several restaurants around metro Atlanta plan to serve special holiday menus or offer bountiful buffets with carving stations and seafood towers. Take a peek at OpenTable.com and Resy.com for a more comprehensive list of restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day.
5Church 5Church in both Buckhead and Midtown will offer a Thanksgiving buffet featuring turkey, ham, and prime rib carving stations, along with sides and desserts. $75 per adult or $20 per child. Visit midtown.5church-atlanta.com or buckhead.5church-atlanta.com.
Courtesy of The Americano
AltaToro The Thanksgiving buffet returns to AltaToro in Midtown on Nov. 26. From 11 a.m. to 8:30p.m., expect a mix of traditional holiday entrees and sides as well as Latin American dishes for $65 per adult or $20 per child. Reservations required at altatoro.com. The Americano
Your Storybook Season Starts In Alpharetta, GA!
This Thanksgiving, The Americano in Buckhead features porchetta-brined roast turkey with potato puree, along with pasta and family-style side dishes. Thanksgiving dinner kicks off at 4 p.m. $155 per adult or $75 per child. Reservations are highly encouraged via OpenTable. Castellucci Hospitality Group
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Weekend Getaway!
Step into your own holiday story, one filled with twinkling lights, festive celebrations, delicious dining, and merry moments around every corner. In Alpharetta, GA, the holidays feel a little more magical, and there’s no better place to create your own seasonal memories.
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The Castellucci Hospitality Group will once again offer its “One Click” Thanksgiving meal package. For $350, receive a whole, uncooked turkey, several sides, gravy, Parker House rolls, and dessert. Pick up orders at Double Zero in Atlanta or The Iberian Pig in Buckhead. Place orders at chgrestaurants.com/ thanksgiving. Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q Order smoked turkey or ham, gravy, and sides like sweet potato casserole and cornbread dressing, along with pecan or apple pie for dessert, from Fox Bros. BarB-Q. Thanksgiving meal packages start at $180. Place orders at cognitoforms.com/ FoxBrosCatering. Kinship Butcher & Sundry The Virginia-Highland butcher shop and market will sell turkeys, ham, brisket, rib roasts, and tenderloins for Thanksgiving. Order online at kinshipbutcheratl.com or call (404) 3434374 to order. South City Kitchen All locations of the Southern restaurant
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in Buckhead, Midtown, Vinings, and Alpharetta will offer a three-course Thanksgiving menu, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Reservations are highly encouraged. $79 per adult or $39 per child. Starting at $165, South City Kitchen will also offer take-and-bake Thanksgiving meals feeding up to four people. Make reservations or place orders at southcitykitchen.com. St. Regis Hotel The Buckhead luxury hotel will serve a Thanksgiving feast in its Astor Court dining area. Reservations are prepaid and $165 per person at marriott.com by searching for The St. Regis Atlanta. Star Provisions Star Provisions will offer whole turkeys, holiday side dishes, and pies again this year. Place orders at starpro.squarespace. com. Sweet Auburn Barbecue The Poncey-Highland barbecue restaurant will offer smoked turkeys and sides like Jamaican collards, smoked bacon lima beans, and wok-fried green beans for Thanksgiving. Order online at sweetauburnbbq.com/holiday-packages. Tio Lucho’s The Peruvian restaurant in PonceyHighland will offer smoked, spatchcocked and fried turkeys for Thanksgiving, along with tamales, collard greens, yeast rolls, and more. Packages with all the fixings start at $200. Order online at tioluchos. square.site. TWO Urban Licks TWO Urban Licks will offer whole Thanksgiving feasts to include turkey, sides, wine, pie, and other add-ons, starting at $180. Place orders by calling 404-522-4622 or emailing twoholidays@ ctrxhs.com or by ordering online via OpenTable.com. ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS
Mule Train brings Southern-leaning cuisine to Downtown By Sarra Sedghi Mule Train, the first restaurant from husband-and-wife duo Mike and Shyretha Sheats, opened to the public Sept. 30 in Downtown Atlanta. The pair boasts a combined 26 years in the industry, spanning the Southeast as part of the Atlanta, Athens, and Charleston, SC, restaurant scenes. Both Mike and Shyretha grew up in Northeast Georgia, and the two met in Athens. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu Atlanta, Mike got a job at Ruth’s Chris Steak House before working at a Hilton DoubleTree and Muss & Turners. Shyretha entered the food industry through volunteering with Crop Mob Atlanta after getting laid off from the corporate job she got after graduating from Georgia State University. At one point in his career, Mike’s mentor, Ryan Hidinger, advised him to leave Georgia and explore another city’s restaurant scene, so he and Shyretha moved to Charleston. It was there, while Mike was at McCrady’s and Shyretha was at The Gin Joint, that the duo conceptualized what would ultimately become their pop-up The Plate Sale. “We were talking about pop-ups before we knew we were gonna do popups,” Mike said.
Mike and Shyretha returned to Atlanta in 2015 and helped Ryan Smith and Kara Hidinger (Ryan Hidinger’s sister), open Staplehouse’s brick-and-mortar location (Hidinger passed away from gallbladder cancer the year before). After their shifts on Saturday nights, Mike and Shyretha would visit Octopus Bar, where they developed a relationship with chef and co-owner Angus Brown. Brown, one of The Plate Sale’s earliest supporters, offered Octopus Bar as a venue and hosted The Plate Sale’s first pop-up in 2017 (Brown sadly passed away later that year). Word of mouth among their industry network boosted attendance several times over. “We thought 40 to 60 people maybe. We ended up doing like 200 people,” Mike said. The Plate Sale steadily popped up until 2018. For the next several years, the family started splitting their time between Athens and Oglethorpe County, where Shyretha’s family had landed. After the COVID-19 shutdown, they hosted popups at Hendershot’s Cafe in Athens and met Creature Comforts co-founder Chris Herron. Following Herron’s advice, Mike and Shyretha returned to Atlanta, got restaurant jobs, and bided their time
until a developer approached them about opening their own spot. Then, a broker came to them about a space on Broad Street. The couple was familiar with the neighborhood from when Shyretha attended Georgia State. They spent some of their earliest years together exploring the neighborhood together, and it felt like home. “We were hesitant [at first], but also we were excited because this was the first time that someone actually was believing in us,” Mike said. “They partnered with us and gave us a fully built-out restaurant, which doesn’t happen to a lot of people. We’re completely grateful and want to take advantage of the opportunity.” The namesake came easily: Mule Train, Mike’s family’s gathering spot in Oglethorpe County. “I never knew what it was, but from what my aunts and uncles have told me, it was literally a wooden stove with a pool table and they had moonshine buried underground,” he said. While their work has been pigeonholed as Southern, Mike and Shyretha disagree with that label, calling Mule Train’s cuisine “Southern-leaning,” if anything. “I’m obviously inspired by the South,
Husband-and-wife couple Mike and Shyretha Sheats opened Mule Train at the end of September. (Photo by Lynsey Weatherspoon)
but I’m not just inspired by the South. I’m inspired by old foodways, because I’m seeing a lot of modern techniques going away. People are actually cooking food now,” Mike said. He’s also inspired by global cuisine and has been working with local farmers for nearly 14 years now. Good hospitality and seasonal ingredients sit at the forefront of Mule Train’s ethos. Mule Train, 87 Broad St. SW; Noon to 4 p.m., Wednesday to Friday, and Noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
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The Secret World of Elephants is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org). Sponsored locally by the Isdell Family Foundation, with additional support provided by the Frances Wood Wilson Foundation.
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Minhwa Spirits relocating to Westside Provisions District By Sarra Sedghi Doraville distillery and restaurant incubator Minhwa Spirits will relocate to the former Aziza space at Westside Provisions District early next year. Owned by Tal Baum and Oliva Restaurant Group, Aziza closed in 2024 after five years at the Howell Mill Road complex. The space has remained empty ever since. The relocation of Minhwa Spirits from Doraville to Atlanta will see the return of chef Jess Kim to the soju and gin distillery’s kitchen. Chef Lino Yi will also revive his popular Koean street food pop-up, TKO (The Korean One), at the Westside Provisions District location. Postern Coffee, currently housed inside Minhwa Spirits, will take over the entire Doraville space and assume care of resident neighborhood cat Hoshi. Minhwa Spirits owners Ming Han Chung and James Kim said they will announce a date soon for winding down service in Doraville. For now, it’s business as usual for both Minhwa Spirits and Postern Coffee at the current space. Why relocate? Chung and James Kim opened Minhwa Spirits in 2024. Part distillery, part restaurant, and part pop-up chef
incubator, the business partners and friends said they’ve simply outgrown the Doraville space. Chung and James Kim have been searching for a larger location for about a year. “Everyone’s been extremely supportive in [Doraville]. We’ve grown bigger than we thought we would in the two years’ time we’ve been here,” Chung told Rough Draft about the decision to relocate. Minhwa has maxed out what an alcohol-only business can do, making dining a natural progression. The new location will offer more seating in the dining room, as well as space for Yi to revive TKO inside the former Falafel Nation location next door. For Yi, bringing TKO back wasn’t originally in the cards after he closed his food stall at Southern Feedstore in East Atlanta Village two years ago. “Second chances are pretty rare, so I feel like this is a third chance,” said Yi, who joined Minhwa Spirits as a chef in 2025. “Ironically enough, [Ming and James] fought harder for [the revitalization of TKO] than I did.” Expect late-night hours at TKO and a menu featuring popular dishes like Yi’s Wagyu smash burger and KFC (Korean fried chicken) sandwich, along with grilled
Photo by Colette Collins.
Korean taquitos. Over at Minhwa Spirits, Jess Kim will expand the menu further, serving small plates and shareable dishes like sweet potato dumplings in brown butter sauce. Chung and James Kim will continue to host pop-ups and chef collaborations at the new location. Look for an expanded bar program at the Westside Provisions District location,
with cocktails leaning into Asian and Korean flavors and ingredients. The new space will also let people get a behind-thescenes look at the mixing and blending process for the distillery’s sojus and gin, and gives Minhwa Spirits more room to ramp up the wholesale business. Music will be an integral part of the atmosphere at Westside Provisions District, including having a DJ at night.
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Engel & Völkers’ Ken Covers sets Morningside home sale record By Rough Draft Staff Engel & Völkers Atlanta Advisor Ken Covers represented the sellers of 1770 Merton Road in a $4.75 million closing – the highest recorded sale in the neighborhood’s history. “A record sale is never just about the property. It is about understanding the neighborhood, buyers’ needs, and the right way to bring the two together,” Covers said in a statement. “It has been an extraordinary experience watching Morningside grow and become the coveted place to call home, like it has. As a 25-year resident myself, Morningside has been the focus of my work for years. I’m so proud to have represented the Sellers as the Listing Agent, with a closing that sets a new standard for the community.” Designed by Frank Neely and custombuilt by Neil Johnson of Canonbury Homes, the one-owner residence features a limestone, granite, and slate exterior, custom interior design elements, a pool, and a putting green. Covers has surpassed half a billion dollars in sales during his 26-year career, ranking among Atlanta’s top one percent by sales volume.
1770 Merrton Road in Morningside set a neighborhood record sale price of $4.75 million. Engel & Völkers Atlanta Advisor Ken Covers represented the sellers in the transaction. (Photos courtesy Next Door Photos)
“Ken’s achievement reflects what we believe exceptional representation should look like," Christa Huffstickler, Founder and CEO of Engel & Völkers Atlanta, said in a statement. “His commitment to Morningside gives clients the benefit of
genuine local fluency, while our brokerage gives him the platform to present extraordinary homes at the highest level. We are proud to celebrate this milestone with him.”
Buckhead senior living community plans 11-story tower expansion By Rough Draft Staff Luxury senior living community Corso Atlanta will add an 11-story residential tower with 110 private residences, new amenities, and restaurants. Located in Buckhead at 3200 Howell Mill Road, the expansion is expected to open in Spring 2028, according to a press release from Galerie Living. “This expansion marks an exciting new chapter for Corso Atlanta and for senior housing in Atlanta,” Joshua Peterson, President of Galerie Management, said in the release. “Corso Residences are destinations that marry brilliant design with world-class hospitality and personal wellness. Phase II builds on that foundation with a broader range of dining, gathering and wellness experiences, and sets a new standard for luxury living in Buckhead.” Corso Atlanta’s Phase II expansion was designed in collaboration with HKS, while Brasfield & Gorrie is serving as the general contractor. The expansion also marks a milestone in Galerie Living’s growth of the Corso Residences brand in Atlanta, with Corso Residences Druid Hills also moving forward. For more information about Corso Atlanta and its expansion, visit corsoresidences.com.
28 NOVEMBER 2026
A rendering of the new Corso Atlanta tower in Buckhead. (Provided)
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Redevelopment partner named for Lakewood Heights Elementary By Collin Kelley by approval of the Atlanta Urban Development Board on Sept. 24. The approvals establish the first joint APSAUD development agreement and move the partnership from planning and procurement into implementation, according to a press release from the city. “Public land should work for the public, and that means creating homes, opportunity and stronger neighborhoods for the people who already call them home,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement. “Lakewood Heights shows what our Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative is designed to do: bring partners together, listen to the community and put underused public property back to work in a way that creates housing, preserves neighborhood
history and delivers lasting value for residents.” Shuttered since 2004, APS nearly demolished the school building in 2022, but the city and historic preservationists pushed back. The former school sits on approximately 2.15 acres in the heart of the Lakewood Heights Historic District. Atlanta Preservation Center Executive Director David Y. Mitchell praised the partnership and planned renovation of the school. “Understanding how to retain historic character and cultural diversity should be embraced as a universal goal, and we are all indebted to those who had the foresight and self-determination to protect and steward Lakewood
Photographer: Brian Hall Photography | Designers: Angelique Baez, ViviCo Interiors + Michael C. Morris, M. Crisler Designs
The City of Atlanta and Atlanta Public Schools have selected a partner to redevelop the historic Lakewood Heights Elementary School property. Ali-Graceline Development, a joint venture of Ali Development LLC and Graceline Partners, LLC, will lead the redevelopment of the former school at 335 Sawtell Ave. SE. The redevelopment will preserve and adaptively reuse the original 1932 Lakewood Heights Elementary School building as part of a 54,721-square-foot mixed-use project. Plans call for 42,721 square feet of residential space and 12,000 square feet of commercial space. The Atlanta Board of Education approved the development agreement and ground lease on Sept. 1, followed
Historic Lakewood Heights Elementary will be transformed into a mixed-use development. (File)
Elementary School,” Mitchell said in a statement to Rough Draft. “This makes it self-evident that historic preservation is required to protect our culture, architecture, and identity!”
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The Berkeley adaptive reuse project begins construction A covered breezeway will bisect the building, creating a common area with direct access to the Beltline and the property’s commercial storefronts. The property’s new brand identity is anchored by the iconic silo along Northside Drive, which has been transformed into The Berkeley’s visual mark in partnership with Monday Night Brewing, who opened its popular The Grove location on-site last year. “The Berkeley is a nod to the Berkeley Park neighborhood we are proud to be part of,” Andy Johns, Principal with The Atlantic Companies, said in the release. “Together with The Grove and amplified by the Beltline, The Berkeley will offer mix of retail concepts that reflects the character of this eclectic community and gives visitors a sense of discovery.” The project team includes Gensler as architect, Kimley-Horn as civil engineer, Peter Constructive as general contractor, Westbridge as development consultant, and Good Company as branding consultant.
By Collin Kelley Construction is underway on The Berkeley, The Atlantic Companies’ adaptive reuse development at 1500 Northside Drive. The newly named project will transform the historic former Myers Carpet building into a retail-anchored commercial destination connected to the Atlanta Beltline in the Berkeley Park neighborhood. SRS Real Estate Partners’ Brittany McCall is leading retail leasing for the project. Paul Reese of Capital Real Estate Group is leading office leasing, according to a press release. Renovations began in August 2026 and are expected to be completed in mid-2027. The renovated building will include approximately 21,400 square feet of commercial space, including approximately 17,400 square feet for retail, food and beverage and showroom uses, as well as approximately 4,000 square feet of creative office space.
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