So much sadness
Feb. 20 — It’s Cathy and Stephanie with our weekly newsletter. If you love taco joints in and around Tucker, this is not your week, as one long-timer and one-short timer takes a bow. We will get into that below, but first, here’s some news bites for your paper calendar.
⚛️ Atomic Lush, an Atlanta-based band that specializes in jazzy/alternative versions of popular covers, will play at Tucker’s Winter Concert tonight.
🍗 The long-anticipated Jim ‘N Nicks on Briarcliff Road NE has opened. Everyone’s excited!
🧆 And the last item on this food-heavy newsletter – Tucker restaurant week is coming up from Feb. 24 to March 1. Here’s Stephanie’s preview of the big week, ICYMI.
💧Stay dry,
Cathy and Stephanie
🏀 Bring the whole family out and celebrate Kids Day, presented by Georgia Aquarium, on Feb. 22 as the Hawks hit the court against the Nets. The first 3,000 kids through the gates will enjoy a shoe charms giveaway. Lock in tickets here! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Officer fired in transgender Tucker library incident
📖 A part-time officer, who was terminated in December after being accused of misgendering and accosting Sasha Swinson, a transwoman at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library in October, disputed the facts surrounding the incident, an internal investigation report revealed.
After police concluded their investigation, the officer, Glen Weaver, 70, was terminated, according to DeKalb County Police Department officials. While Weaver was fired in late December, department officials did not confirm his termination with Rough Draft until early February.
An internal investigation report, obtained by Swinson and shared with Rough Draft, highlighted four areas of possible misconduct: professional image, body-worn camera, off-duty employment, and duty to read/understand/comply with orders.
It concluded that Weaver failed to “work diligently or with a bearing consistent with the image of a professional employee.” It also noted that Weaver had failed to utilize his body-worn camera as dictated by policy, and “to read, understand, comply or maintain a working knowledge of all laws, rules and regulations, general and special orders, policies and procedures of the Department.”
🏳️🌈 Weaver, in an interview with Center Square, said the firing has jeopardized his lucrative off-duty jobs. Here is Stephanie’s full story.
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‘A big freedom that’s been taken away’
🚙 The van that once was a lifeline for Jonathan Jones is now a “death trap,” tattered from years of use and kept together by silver duct tape. Jones, a quadriplegic who works as a counselor, has depended on his modified Dodge Ram van to get him around town for more than 10 years, but it’s now unsafe to drive.
“I’ve always loved driving. I’ve always loved sports cars, ” said the 49-year-old Tucker resident. “It’s a big freedom that’s been taken away. I would go to the office, take my dogs to the park, go to the Home Depot.”
His family and friends have started a GoFundMe hoping to raise money for a new van, said his friend Sally Rowe. Rowe, who organized the fundraiser, met Jones through his partner, Katie Pinholster, when they both worked in the film and television industry together almost 20 years ago. Rowe said she’s witnessed the financial impact of Jones’ round-the-clock care.
💰 Read more about Jones and the fundraiser here.
🏀 Bring the whole family out and celebrate Kids Day, presented by Georgia Aquarium, on Feb. 22 as the Hawks hit the court against the Nets. The first 3,000 kids through the gates will enjoy a shoe charms giveaway. Lock in tickets here! SPONSOR MESSAGE
No tacos for you
🇲🇽 A popular Mexican fast food chain has abruptly closed its Tucker restaurant and other Georgia locations, according to several reports.
Google lists Del Taco, located at 4227 Lavista Road, as “permanently closed.” As of Feb. 17, the Tucker location, along with franchises in Snellville, Lawrenceville, Smyrna, Douglasville, Calhoun, Dalton, Centerville, Fort Oglethorpe, Rome, and Columbus, were all removed from Del Taco’s website and listed as permanently closed.
Del Taco has not released a statement on the closures, nor responded to Rough Draft Atlanta’s request for comment. The restaurant chain, founded in 1964, had been facing declining sales and rising operating costs, prompting its parent company, Matador Restaurant Group, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2025. This, according to court filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina.
🌯 In other sad news, nearby DBA Tacos, which was open for less than two years, has also thrown in the towel. Read more about Del Taco here.
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