I can barely wrap my head around the idea that Atlanta Intown is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. And that I’ve been editing it for 22 of them.
My first recollection of seeing Intown was just after the first issue was published in 1994 when it was known as “Atlanta 30306,” the zip code of founding publisher Chris Schroder. Even then, I thought it was an eclectic publication unlike anything else I’d ever read.
In 1994, Atlanta’s place on the international stage was on the cusp of becoming a reality with the upcoming Summer Olympics. The city took off like a rocket in 1996, with the revitalization of Downtown and historic neighborhoods, the creation of the game-changing Atlanta BeltLine, the arrival of the tech industry, and the nascent film and television production sector exploding to transform metro Atlanta into Hollywood South.
In 2002, I was offered the job of not only editing Intown but remaking it for the new millennium. While the look changed, I knew the content could not. We had to remain eclectic, hyperlocal (which wasn’t a word anyone used then), and a monthly must-read to discover people and places you couldn’t find in any other publication.
The spirit of “30306” and the communities we cover are still in Atlanta Intown’s DNA. While Intown has had several owners in the past three decades, we’ve stayed true to our roots. Now, as part of the Rough Draft Atlanta family of publications, we’re one of the last “alternative” publications still standing.
How readers absorb the news has drastically changed in the last 30 years, which is evidenced in the 15k-plus followers we have on Instagram (@roughdraftatl) and the thousands of you who visit roughdraftatlanta.com on a daily basis.
With so much bad news and negativity in the world, Intown remains the place to find positive stories about your neighbors, the opening of new local businesses and restaurants, features on nonprofits, reviews, arts and culture happenings and, of course, if you’re looking to buy a new house, Intown has long been the go-to source.
This month, Intown and Rough Draft have welcomed Beth McKibben as our senior editor for food and dining. Her expertise and following in Atlanta are second to none, and I still can’t believe she’ll be my colleague.
Beth will be curating our Side Dish newsletter as well as coordinating food coverage across print and digital. Be sure to check out her scoop on Taco Mac buying The Vortex and Six Feet Under relocating to Cheshire Bridge Road.
We’re planning a special 30th-anniversary issue of Intown in November, so let me know what you’d like to see included by dropping me a line at collin@roughdraftatlanta.com. I’d especially love to see any photos from Atlanta in the ’90s and early ’00s of people, places, and events that hold special memories for you.
Despite the ongoing turmoil across the world, I hope everyone’s new year is off to a happy start. As always, thanks or reading.
P.S. Here’s a little musical trip down memory lane to 1994.
