Senseless criminal activity on Main
JULY 11 — It’s Cathy from Rough Draft with my weekly newsletter on Tucker. We have bad news, good news, catch-up news, and mysterious news in this week’s edition.
😤 First up is another inexplicable round of break-ins on Tucker’s Main Street, where burglars smashed windows and doors, took a quick look around, and left with little or nothing. Some of these businesses have been hit three times in the last year.
In good news, everyone had a great time at the July 3 celebration, and thanks to the Tucker Parks & Rec department, you can relive the night in pictures. We also honor (belatedly) Tucker’s top grads and try, somewhat unsuccessfully, to unravel what on God’s green earth is going on at the former Tucker Meat Market.
🍹 We can all agree that it’s Friday, so we’ve got that going for us.
Cheers,
Cathy
💡Eddiver Rodriguez’s path from a Work-Based Learning student to apprentice to future journeyman with Georgia Power is more than one success story. It’s a model of how schools and industry can partner to solve workforce gaps while helping students who might otherwise struggle to find their path after high school. Learn more here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Another round of Main Street burglaries
Several businesses along Main Street were victims to smash-and-grab burglary attempts sometime during the night of July 7 or early July 8.
According to a social media post on Taste of Tucker’s Facebook page, “several of our beloved Main Street restaurants woke up this morning to smashed windows and unexpected setbacks. “
According to witnesses and social media posts, Ford’s BBQ, Village Burger, and Nicky’s Undefeated, and Yes Eventz were among the businesses hit in the latest round, with glass storefronts smashed.
Two important points: There is little of value in any of these establishments, so it’s tough to understand the motivation behind the break-ins, other than to create chaos. Second, the good news that each of these establishments opened the next day, determined not to let the bad guys win, and the community has stepped up to support them.
🙍 Read more about this and past incidents here.
Movies on the Town Continues in July!
SPONSORED BY TOWN BROOKHAVEN
🎬 Movies on the Town, an annual summer movie series at Town Brookhaven, continues on Thursdays through July 24th!
🍿 Gather on the green space for this family-friendly activity with movies beginning at dusk. Bring a blanket or chair, order dinner from one of our restaurants, and bring it out to the green space. The series includes movies perfect for family nights, date nights, girls’ nights, or nights out with a few friends! Look for a DIY movie-themed craft activity and face painting before our screening on July 17th! Popcorn is provided by LOOK Dine-In Cinema while supplies last.
➞ Don’t forget, you can shop or visit service-oriented merchants before the movies, too. Learn more here!
Some good clean fun
🇺🇸 The July 3 celebration on Main Street lived up to its potential – friendly crowds, lots to do and see, good music, and a truly spectacular fireworks show.
The celebration started at 6 p.m. with a dozen food trucks located on and around Main Street. Other restaurants like Nicky’s Undefeated and the Local 7 had street-side and indoor service. I had my first Philly steak sandwich (with jalapeños) from Nicky’s and it lived up to the hype.
A kid’s zone with games and inflatables provided fun for the youngsters, and DJ Fernando spun tunes before honky tonk/country band The Faster Horses took the stage.
📸 The city estimated that 7,000-10,000 people turned out that night. I took some decent pictures, but they don’t hold a candle to the Tucker Parks & Rec Facebook page.
💡 While his classmates were filling out college applications, Eddiver Rodriguez was learning to splice underground power cables with Georgia Power. He’s an example of how Georgia’s Work-Based Learning program connects students to careers before they graduate. Learn how here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Dishing on Tucker Meat Market
🥩 Oh, the mystery that is (or used to be) the Tucker Meat Market. Sometime around the end of June, the business appeared to be shuttered, with no word as to the reasons behind its demise.
Brown paper covered the doors and windows, and a sign said the restaurant’s kitchen was closed. Rough Draft reached out to the owner Andrea Woolf as to the status of the market, but those requests have been met with radio silence (look it up, Gen Alpha).
The building was listed by David McEachern from Keller Williams Chattahoochee as a “for-sale-or-lease” opportunity in April and sold May 30 for $350,000, according to real estate records.
“This spacious 2,440 square foot retail space is currently operating as a butcher shop with food service and is occupied by long-term tenants,” the listing said.
Fast forward to earlier this week, where, above the closed sign, was a stop work order issued by Tucker’s Code Enforcement Department. City Communications Director Sonja Szubski confirmed that the order was issued, but that the two events – the market’s closure and the stop work order – were unrelated to each other. In addition, she said the city couldn’t comment on the details behind the order until the case is closed.
👩🏽🍳 While Tucker meat lovers mourn the loss, let’s revisit Andrea Woolf’s moment in the sun when she prepared to compete in the 2024 World Food Championships.
Tucker’s top grads
Each year in our online and print editions, we highlight the valedictorians and salutatorians at local public and private high schools in our coverage areas. However, I neglected to include the honorees from Tucker High School. We are relatively new to covering this area, but I should have remembered!
Although late to the table, let’s meet Tucker’s valedictorian, Yewoinhareg A. Gebrehana (above left), and salutatorian Melissa L. Moore (above right).
Both are set to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology this fall. Gebrehana will major in biomedical engineering with a career goal of becoming an engineer. Moore will study computer engineering and wants to be a hardware engineer.
🎓 These two scholars have been added to our online list, which you can access here.
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