Exploring Atlanta’s college neighborhoods

Tanya Coventry-Strader grew up near the campus and lives near it now. “The campus is so pretty. I walk there every day, which is a big plus. In the summer, even as a child, we would go and have picnics. There’s a vibrant neighborhood around it and, of course, there’s a lot to do on the campus. I’ve seen a lot of fantastic poets and writers and my parents loved their choral concerts. There’s also a lot of wonderful public art and sculpture.”

Another fun and educational adventure (again pre-COVID) is to visit the Bradley Observatory (141 E. College Ave., Decatur. 404-471-6000, agnesscott.edu/bradleyobservatory), which contains a 70-seat Delafield Planetarium and its 30-inch Lewis H. Beck telescope.

Some of Coventry-Strader’s favorite neighborhood haunts include the famed Kimball House (303 E. Howard Ave, Decatur. 404-378-3502, kimball-house.com), for cocktails and oysters, and Trackside Tavern (313 E. College Ave., Decatur. 404-378-0504, trackside-tavern.com). “The legendary Indigo Girls used to play there early on and I used to play pool there, back in the day,” she says.

Other favorites include the Universal Joint (906 Oakview Road Decatur. 404-373-6260, ujointbar.com), a former gas station turned neighborhood pub that offers rotating beers on tap. After eating all the good local food, why not try FitWit (630 East Lake Drive, Decatur. 888-534-8948, fitwit.com), a group fitness program? “I would do that if I were more into self-love,” Coventry-Strader jokes.

Credit: KIMBERLY SMITH

Credit: KIMBERLY SMITH

Atlanta University Center

The neighborhood around the Atlanta University Center (Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown College and Morehouse College) is vibrant, diverse and changing. Much to the chagrin of some, the neighborhood is becoming a bit more “gentrified” with national stores and restaurants taking over the small mom-and-pop shops.

Let’s start with the center itself. Both Spelman (440 Westview Drive, Atlanta. 404-270-5607, museum.spelman.edu) and Clark Atlanta (223 James P. Brawley Drive SW, Atlanta. 404-880-8000, cau.edu/art-galleries) have art museums and there are several musical groups, ensembles and orchestras that provide stirring musical performances for students and neighbors alike. Morehouse maintains an extensive collection of the papers of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (111 James P. Brawley Drive SW, Atlanta. 404-978-2000, mcmlk.auctr.edu), a Morehouse graduate.

Credit: Jenni Girtman

Credit: Jenni Girtman

The neighborhood is diverse with Caribbean, soul and vegetarian places dotting the landscape as well as popular nationally known restaurants such as Busy Bee Cafe (810 Martin Luther King Jr Drive SW, Atlanta. 404-525-9212, thebusybeecafe.com), which may just have the best fried chicken in town, and Paschal’s Restaurant (180 Northside Drive SW, Atlanta. 404-525-2023, paschalsatlanta.com), where civil rights leaders ate and strategized the movement.

Among local favorites are the American Deli West (840 Oak St. SW, Atlanta. 404-753-1416, americandeli.com) in the nearby West End Mall and the Slutty Vegan (1542 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. SW, Atlanta. 855-439-7588, sluttyveganatl.com).

The area boasts a large Muslim population, which has over the years, fostered a number of vegetarian restaurants, whether they serve Caribbean, African, seafood or soul foods. Among the ones to try are the venerable Soul Vegetarian Restaurant (879 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. SW, Atlanta. 404-752-5194, soulvegsouth.com) and Healthfull Essence, (875 York Ave. SW, Atlanta. 404-806-0830, healthfullessence.com) a Caribbean vegan and vegetarian restaurant.

Around campus there are a number of boutiques, such as Afro Centric Network (576-D Lee St., Atlanta, 404-753-0047, iamafrocentric.com) and Axum Culture (1065 Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd., Atlanta. 470-225-7235, facebook.com/AxumCulture).

Emory University

Ellen Weaver Hartman, president of Hartman Public Relations, grew up in Starkville, Mississippi, the home of Mississippi State University. “I love college towns. I love the diversity of my neighbors because it is a university area. I think every nationality is represented,” says Hartman, who has lived near Emory University for more than 20 years and enjoys the cultural events at places such as the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts (1700 North Decatur Road, Atlanta. 404-727-5050, schwartz.emory.edu). “As a senior citizen I can audit classes for free and I did take beginning German, which was a hoot. The students looked at me like I had a contagious disease, but eventually a student from South Korea befriended me. We’re still friends.”

Hartman loves the hustle and bustle around the campus in places like Emory Village (surrounding the intersection of North Decatur and Oxford roads. emoryvillage.org), where the “CVS manager knows everyone by name and you can get the best and freshest meats at Shields Meat Market where you can get everything from goat meat to Kobe beef to all sorts of interesting things to eat.”

Her favorite casual restaurants are the General Muir (Emory Point, 1540 Avenue Place, Suite B-230, Atlanta. 678-927-9131, thegeneralmuir.com), an upscale New York-style deli, and Double Zero (1577 N. Decatur Road, Atlanta. 404-991-3666, doublezeroatl.com) which features southern Italian cuisine and Neapolitan pizza, but she points out that there is a variety of Korean, Asian, Mediterranean and barbecue all within walking distance.

Oglethorpe University

Development is bursting around the campus with strip centers popping up next to large parks such as Murphey Candler Park (1551 West Nancy Creek Drive, Brookhaven. murpheycandlerpark.org) In fact, Brookhaven has 14 parks that are perfect for walking and playing. Some, such as Ashford Park (2980 Redding Road, Brookhaven. brookhavenga.gov), have tons of kid-friendly structures. Of course, the university has a variety of activities and cultural events taking place, although the Georgia Shakespeare’s Summer Festival, which took place on the school’s campus, closed years ago.

Kaleidoscope Bistro and Pub (Village Place Brookhaven, 1410 Dresden Drive, Suite 100, Atlanta. 404-474-9600, k-pub.com) is a local favorite for its roomy neighborhood vibe and international menu including pork schnitzel, steak frites and Thai basil and fried rice. The perfect place to celebrate is Haven Restaurant and Bar (1441 Dresden Drive NE, Suite 160, Brookhaven. 404-969-0700, havenrestaurant.com), which has one of the the area’s most popular patios. If you’re a college kid, and even if you’re not, who doesn’t love a good dive? The Righteous Room, (2142 Johnson Ferry Road NE, Brookhaven. 770-559-5678, facebook.com/RighteousNE) located on Johnson Ferry Road, is the perfect spot for good eats, booze and a jukebox that keeps the hits playing.

Credit: JOEY IVANSCO

Credit: JOEY IVANSCO

Georgia Tech

To some, living near Georgia Tech means football and Varsity hot dogs (61 North Ave., Atlanta. 404-881-1706, thevarsity.com) and we’re fine with that, but there is a lot more. One of the benefits of being in the neighborhood is the Ferst Center for the Arts (349 Ferst Drive, Atlanta. 404-894-2787, arts.gatech.edu/ferst-center), a theater and arts center.

Georgia Tech is on the Westside, which also is experiencing a rejuvenation boom. Thankfully, the Silver Skillet (200 14th St., Atlanta. 404-874-1388, thesilverskillet.com), which has been whipping up country-fried fare and eggs since 1956, is still open. Don’t be surprised if some of those patrons are movie stars, famous chefs and sports figures. Dave Chappelle, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson and Clint Eastwood have frequented the diner and enjoyed the down-home cooking.

Credit: Carolyn Desalu

Credit: Carolyn Desalu

There are newer places to discover, too, such as Sublime Doughnuts (535 10th St. NW, Atlanta. 404-897-1801, sublimedoughnuts.com), which serves everything from maple-bacon-cheddar doughnuts to more traditional such as fresh strawberries ‘n cream. It’s worth going to the Price Gilbert Memorial Library just for the coffee at the Blue Donkey Coffee Co. (260 4th St. NW, Atlanta. bluedonkeycoffee.com/georgia-tech), which specializes in craft iced coffee. Another great restaurant is Pijiu Belly (678 10th St. NW, Atlanta. 404-343-6828, pijiubelly.com), a hip place for gastropub-meets-Asian cuisine.

Kennesaw State University

There is definitely a hip sort of vibe growing up around Kennesaw State University, says Jessica Forkel, a radio producer. “There’s a lot of new places to go, grab a drink and hang. There are some cool breweries and there is something for everyone.”

Burnt Hickory Brewery (2260 Moon Station Court, Suite 210, Kennesaw. 770-514-8812, burnthickorybrewery.com) features 20 rotating tap beers as well as an outdoor beer garden, while Dry County Brewing Company (1500 Lockhart Drive NW, Kennesaw. drycountybrewco.com) also offers craft beer. Lazy Guy Distillery (2950 Moon Station Road, Kennesaw. 770-485-0081, lazyguydistillery.com) is a craft whiskey distillery that produces local bourbon, vodka, gin, rye whiskey and corn whiskey.

Among Forkel’s favorite places is Bernie’s (2825 S. Main St., Kennesaw. 770-627-2297, meetatbernies.com), a rustic-industrial eatery with shrimp and oysters and, her favorite, steak & frites, and Trackside Grill (2840 S. Main St., Kennesaw. 770-499-0874, tracksidegrill.com), which has “some of the best creme brûlée in Atlanta.”

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres

Two favorite museums located on campus are the Museum of History and Holocaust Education (3333 Busbee Drive, Kennesaw. 470-578-2083, historymuseum.kennesaw.edu) and the Zuckerman Museum of Art (492 Prillaman WayKennesaw. 470-578-3223, arts.kennesaw.edu/zuckerman). Nearby is the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History (2829 Cherokee St. NW, Kennesaw. 770-427-2117, southernmuseum.org) which houses the General locomotive that participated in the Great Locomotive Chase in 1862. The Smith-Gilbert Gardens (2382 Pine Mountain Road, Kennesaw. 770-919-0248, smithgilbertgardens.com) is Kennesaw’s botanical garden and features 15 themed garden spaces as well as more than 4,000 curated plant species.