Eat, watch, and shop your feelings
Jan. 28 — It’s Cathy from Rough Draft with my weekly newsletter on Dunwoody. Everyone seemed to make it through last weekend’s icy events without incident. Now we just have to figure out how to stay warm for the next six days. Let’s get on with some newsy tidbits before we get to this week’s recap.
💘 Stage Door Theatre is gearing up for its latest production, “Bad Dates,” which runs Feb. 7 through 22. Here’s the plot: Restaurant manager and shoe connoisseur Haley Walker is finally ready to re-enter the dating world. From the privacy of her bedroom, she recounts a series of tales while preparing for, and recovering from, one dreadful date after another. Relatable. Buy tickets here.
🍸 Speaking of the gals, on Feb. 12th, Village Threads and Funwoody are partnering for a shopping spree starting at 4 p.m. with extended hours at Village Threads, paired with a Galentine Girl Dinner at Message in a Bottle, with sparkling rosé, espresso martinis, and other drink specials.
👗 A Night to Shine 2026, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, a prom night experience for people with disabilities, will be held in-person by host churches around the world simultaneously on Friday, Feb.13, with one of the venues being Dunwoody United Methodist Church. For more information, visit DUMC’s website.
And now onto the news,
Cathy
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Our bad – LifeSouth to continue operations in Dunwoody
🩸A Jan. 19 story incorrectly stated the LifeSouth Community Blood Drive building at 4891 Ashford Dunwoody Road is vacant. While LifeSouth has been pursuing a sale and redevelopment of its property, the blood donation center is open and operating at the location.
With the Red Cross warning of a statewide blood supply shortage, the Florida-based nonprofit wants Dunwoody residents to know they can still donate at the center.
LifeSouth’s listing broker Joe Cannon, director at Chapman Hall Realtors in Alpharetta, said the nonprofit plans to lease or buy a smaller space in Dunwoody for a donation center if it successfully sells the property.
“The donation center will remain open until LifeSouth is successful in rezoning and closing on the property,” Cannon said. “Then, we’ll have the new location, hopefully opening shortly after it closes. We haven’t applied for a rezoning yet, but we will in the coming few months.”
💘 Here is the story with the updated, corrected information.
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Steak and Grace goes South
🥩 Even though there was a potentially life-threatening storm brewing, our top story during last weekend was the sudden closing of Steak and Grace, proving once more that Dunwoody drama is more powerful than some little ice event named after a household plant.
Rough Draft Dining Editor Beth McKibbon talked to Funwoody czar David Abes this week, not only getting the lowdown on the new concept restaurant that’s taking its place, but also learning the correct pronunciation of both of its {braced} establishments. So stop saying “Bar-n,” and don’t start saying “S-table.” It’s Barn and Stable. We can do this!
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North Peachtree sidewalk fixes are coming sooner than later
✂️ Several Dunwoody City Council members are calling for swift changes to a sidewalk on North Peachtree Road near Chesnut Elementary School and Peachtree Middle School, saying the current setup endangers children walking to and from school.
During a presentation about the North Peachtree Road Safe Routes to School Sidewalk Design Contract at the Jan. 26 meeting, Council Member John Heneghan called changes to the current configuration “the highest priority that I can think of right now in front of us.”
The council has fast-tracked the project by using local funds rather than waiting for federal monies.
2025: Rinse and repeat for 2026
📈 Alfie Meek, Ph.D., director of the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute’s Center for Economic Development Research, told the Greater Perimeter Chamber that 2026 will look a lot like 2025.
City officials and business leaders from Sandy Springs and Dunwoody listened to Meek’s 2026 economic outlook the morning of Jan. 21 at the GPC’s Signature Breakfast within the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center.
Economic opportunities revolve around the artificial intelligence boom, onshore manufacturing, and fiscal stimulus. Obstacles to growth include inflation, supply chain and geopolitical disruptions, a weak labor market, and housing costs.
After a strong first quarter, Meek said he thinks gross domestic product will average around 2.25 percent this year.
🧐 Read more about his thoughts here.