State House flips

Nov. 5 — As the dust settled from Tuesday’s midterms, Democrats won control of the Georgia House of Representatives for the first time in 22 years. Gov. Brian Kemp said he would not call a special session to “curtail executive branch powers or debate redistricting changes” before his term ends in January. 

🌧️ Light rain with a high of 74° today. 

🏀 The WNBA Finals, which the Dream lost to Golden State, drew an average of 1.88 million viewers, the most since 1999. Game 7 set a WNBA postseason record with 3.3 million viewers.

⚖️ The City of Atlanta dropped charges against a co-owner of My Sister’s Room, who was arrested in August after a noise complaint. The officer’s report said he heard no loud music.

🚨 A vehicle crashed into Magnolias Bar in downtown Athens yesterday, causing significant damage that partially collapsed the building and killed the driver. 

📰 Our monthly print issue celebrates the 10th anniversary of the City of Tucker, with features including:

  • A plethora of local nonprofits offer residents ways to give back. 
  • Since 2011, Restaurant Local No. 7 has been a community stalwart and has played a pivotal role in the effort toward the city’s incorporation.

ELSEWHERE

📈 Mostly decisive election results sent stocks surging yesterday, with the Dow gaining 1,569 points, its best day since April 2025. Oil fell 8% on hopes of an end to the Iran war, trading below $90 a barrel.

🗣️ Vice President JD Vance blamed Republicans’ midterm losses on the Iran conflict, writing on X, “The reason we lost is the war.” President Donald Trump called Iran “a piece of it.”

🗳️ In two still-undecided, closely watched Senate races:

🎗 Juan Atkins, the producer credited with inventing techno and coining its name, died Oct. 31 at 64.

🕖 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:

• Manuel’s on election night

• High Museum’s Nigeria galleries

• Upcoming Events

• MatchGrant startup 

AND 

• Quick Bites

📍 With three metro Atlanta clinics and a fourth coming soon, Breakthru is expanding access to innovative treatments for depression, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. Our patients and families are our North Star as we work to make transformative care more accessible. SPONSOR MESSAGE

Photo by Sammie Purcell

1. Atlanta Democrats celebrate a ‘blue tsunami’ at Manuel’s Tavern

🗳️ Atlanta resident Kelly Roarke has been to a few election night watch parties at Manuel’s Tavern, but one stands out as most memorable: the night Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton lost to now-President Donald Trump in 2016.“

You’ve never felt the air go out of a room – and I was outside! – more quickly,” Roarke said. “It was so sad, and depressing. I will never forget that feeling.” 

The feeling was different at Manuel’s on Tuesday night. Democrats took control of both the U.S. Senate and House as a “blue wave” swept across the country, seen as a rebuke to the Trump administration and its handling of issues like the economy and the Iran war. Roarke was one of hundreds who gathered at the Atlanta institution to watch results come in and celebrate when what became a “blue tsunami” took over the country. 

🍻 Read more about what election night looks like at Manuel’s Tavern here.

New $5.995M Morningside luxury estate

SPONSORED BY ATLANTA FINE HOMES SOTHEBY’S REAL ESTATE

🏡 Built in 2026, this new estate in Atlanta’s Morningside neighborhood offers 10,500± square feet on 1.1± acres.

Listed for $5.995 million, the six-bedroom home on Wildwood Road features dual Calacatta Viola marble kitchen islands, a main-level primary suite, and expansive indoor-outdoor living spaces. The finished terrace level features a wine room, a billiard lounge, a fitness studio, and a dedicated golf simulator space, opening to a resort-style pool and spa.

Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is metro Atlanta’s No. 1 residential real estate company and No. 1 in luxury home sales above $1 million.

👉🏼 Explore our current listings.

Photo courtesy of kó, Lagos

2. Lauren Tate Baeza’s parting gift: the High Museum’s Nigeria galleries

VIA SKETCHBOOK, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER ABOUT ART | SUBSCRIBE

🇳🇬 On Monday morning, in the middle of packing up her life for Cape Town, South Africa, curator Lauren Tate Baeza took one more walk through the High Museum of Art’s new Nigeria galleries. 

The galleries opened to the public Oct. 16. They follow last year’s gallery of women’s ceramic traditions, completing Baeza’s two-part reinstallation of the museum’s African art galleries. They also read as a parting argument from the High’s former Fred and Rita Richman Curator of African Art about how Atlanta might see a country – and a continent.

So, how do you tell a story of African art in a few rooms? You narrow it. And Baeza let the museum’s existing holdings guide her.

🎨 Learn more about Baeza and the Nigeria galleries here.

3. Upcoming Events

🎥 Movies on The Lawn: “Coco”; tonight at 7 p.m. at The Lawn at Uptown. 

🎭 “N” by Adrienne Earle Pender; tomorrow at 8 p.m. at Academy Theatre in Hapeville.

🕯️ “Silent Night” by the Atlanta Opera; Sat., Nov. 7 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center (runs through Nov. 15). 

🍂 Atlanta Dairies Fall Fest; Sat., Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. at Atlanta Dairies. 

🍷 Decatur Wine Festival; Sat., Nov. 7 at 12:30 p.m. in downtown Decatur. 

🎄 “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical”; Sun., Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. at Gas South Theater. 

📧 Find out how you can get your event featured in Rough Draft.

🗓️ For more events, visit RoughDraftAtlanta.com/events.

🏀 Hawks Cup Night is here! See Jalen Johnson and the Hawks take on Trae Young and the Wizards this Fri., Nov. 6, plus a special halftime performance by Georgia’s own Bubba Sparxxx. Get tickets today! SPONSOR MESSAGE

4. MatchGrant turns one year of growth into $3.6 million in grants

💸 Hypepotamus will often cover Southeast startups when their founders are still building a product and finding their first customers. A year later, the story gets interesting as the public sees which of those founders have been able to bring on actual customers.

For Atlanta-based MatchGrant, the year milestone comes with an impressive number: $3.6 million in grants directly attributed to the platform, according to founder Luke Keller.

MatchGrant was first featured in Hypepotamus last October, when the startup was bootstrapped and building tools to help nonprofits find grants that fit their missions. Today, it has outside investors, a growing team, and ambitions to become the “operating system” for organizations that rely on grants.

➡ Read the whole story from Hypepotamus here.

🏀 Hawks Cup Night is here! See Jalen Johnson and the Hawks take on Trae Young and the Wizards this Fri., Nov. 6, plus a special halftime performance by Georgia’s own Bubba Sparxxx. Get tickets today! SPONSOR MESSAGE

Photo provided by Hen Mother Cookhouse

5. Quick Bites

VIA SIDE DISH, A WEEKLY NEWSLETTER | SUBSCRIBE HERE

😋 In this week’s Quick Bites, get updates on several restaurant openings around metro Atlanta, a temporary restaurant closure in Alpharetta, and a pop-up coffee shop becoming permanent in Edgewood. There’s also a roundup of dining events, including a cookbook signing at Ansley Mall and a pie-making class in Avondale Estates.

👉 Get the latest dining news.

RELATED

😋 Check out the 16 new restaurants that opened around metro Atlanta in October. 

🍽️ Outclose, an LGBTQ+ social app that arrived in Atlanta this spring, pairs strangers for weekly dinners at Midtown spots like Boqueria and Serena Pastificio.

🔤 Play News Word Atlanta, our daily word game.

💡 Help support independent local media by becoming a Rough Draft member today. Pick up some cool swag, including our new, limited-edition LOCAL hoodie.

📤 Have a friend or colleague who would enjoy getting this newsletter? Forward them this link to subscribe.

This report was compiled and written by Rough Draft Atlanta's staff.