One of the most talked-about subjects in our Facebook group is restaurants. MIC’s Economic Development Committee decided to visit Mableton restaurants periodically and provide some basic information about them — or in other words, “shine a spotlight” on the restaurants in our community. MIC does not endorse the restaurants; the Spotlight exists simply to introduce Mabletonians to restaurants in Mableton. This is the first of a series of Spotlights planned for cafes inside Mexican markets in Mableton. Stay tuned for more!

Date of visit:  February 21, 2020

Food type:  Authentic Mexican

Takeout/Delivery:  Not shown on website or front windows

Location:  1245 Veterans Memorial Highway SW, Suite 43, Mableton GA 30126 (in Hawthorne Plaza)

Phone: 678.903.5766

Hours:  8:00am – 10:00pm, 7 days/week

Website:   http://supermercadostalpa.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Supermercado-El-Talpa/2214439921909815

Ambience:  Super clean, fast, friendly service, straightforward authentic Mexican food

Wifi: yes

Parking:  Clean and plentiful

Experience: “La Cocina” is a small café inside the supermarket (supermercado).  Very casual – meals/drinks are ordered at the counter, self-seating, pick up at counter when order number on receipt is called out (in Spanish).  We ordered one meal of 3 tacos:  1 fish, 1 pork, 1 shrimp; each one was served in *two* moist, warm, soft corn tortillas (nice presentation).   The other meal was the Chilaquiles con Carne plate (strips of re-fried corn tortillas, sautéed with green or red salsa, topped with a fried egg, crumbled cheese, crema, a thin slab of pan-seared pork, with either red or green mole sauce beneath.)  Tasty!
Suggestion: Take a stroll through the rest of Talpa; it offers a bakery (including beautiful cakes), basic grocery staples, fresh meats and seafood, dairy/cheeses, produce, a sort of “Palapas” (tiki bar), and ready-to-cook dishes.

For all the Restaurant Spotlights, click here.

Barbara “Barbie” Hudson is the founder and CEO of Barbie’s Shoe Closet. Her passion for style and fashion has led her to opening her first women’s shoe boutique at 1400 Veterans Memorial Highway in Mableton. The store is located in The Walk at Legacy shopping center where every woman can select the perfect shoe. Barbie believes that shoes are a crucial item for every outfit and more importantly they are the foundation we walk on. While having an assortment of shoes that go from day to evening and everything in between can be considered a luxury to many, Barbie’s Shoe Closet changes that. Barbie found a disconnect between the availability of fashionable shoes and competitive prices. Barbie has closed that gap with Barbie’s Shoe Closet which sells stylish shoes for every woman. Here, you will find the latest shoe trends from heels to flats that will perfectly accompany your last-minute business meeting or a night out with your girls.

Barbie is inspired to provide every guest with their own “Barbie Experience” by feeling stylish, sophisticated and purchasing shoes at an amazing value. Barbie is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish and has over 25 years of retail management experience. Barbie has lived in the Atlanta for the past 20 years and is married to her amazing husband William with two incredible children Bryonna and Christopher. When she is with her family she enjoys traveling, eating different foods and watching sports. You can reach her at barbiesshoeclosetatl@gmail.com or on FB and IG @Barbiesshoecloset.

Green Ribbon Cuttings are available to MIC Sponsors and designed to highlight new and growing businesses in our community. For more information, contact Twila Hawthorne, Chair of MIC’s Economic Development Committee.

Photo credit: Be Onn Imaging

Now that it is officially 2020, the urgency around making sure everyone knows about the Census is heightened. Please communicate with your family, neighbors, clients, employees, schools, and our entire diverse community about the importance of participating in the Census, ESPECIALLY those families with young children.

Remember, the Census counts our population and households, providing the basis for reapportioning congressional seats, redistricting, and distributing more than $675 billion in federal funds annually to support states, counties and communities’ vital programs — impacting housing, education, transportation, employment, health care and public policy.

Let’s work together to ensure a complete count in Cobb County! We are happy to provide you with electronic or hard copy flyers, attend events, and other information for you to share. Please contact MIC Board Member Carolyn Turner via email at treasurer@mableton.org.

Starting in August 2020, assuming the State of Georgia approves a recent application, Cobb Schools will have its own Pre-K center, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced during the District’s Board of Education meeting on January 16. http://cobbcast.cobbk12.org/?p=31195

Students, faculty and staff will move into the new Clay-Harmony Leland Elementary School later this year.  The Pre-K program will have four general classrooms and 10 classrooms for students with special needs. The Pre-K center is being built in partnership with the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), the Atlanta Speech School, WellStar, and Learn4Life. More details on the program including registration information will be available later this spring after the program is officially approved by DECAL.

Georgia’s Pre-K Program is a lottery-funded educational program for Georgia’s four year olds to prepare children for Kindergarten. Children four years of age on September 1 of the current school year who are Georgia residents are eligible to attend Georgia’s Pre-K Program during this school year. Georgia’s Pre-K Program is voluntary for families and for providers.

Because participation in Georgia’s Pre-K Program is voluntary for public schools and for private child development centers, there may not be enough spaces in every community for all four year olds who wish to participate. Every effort will be made to contract with eligible centers to create enough spaces for children who want to attend or to match children with available spaces in other Georgia’s Pre-K Program providers in the area.

For additional information about eligibility and enrolling a child in Georgia’s Pre-K Program please visit the Enrolling in Pre-K page.

This is one of the zoning cases that MIC’s Zoning Committee is involved in. For more information about MIC’s process and other zoning cases, click here.

This application is for thrift store.

Case Number: OB-9

Location: 1311 Veterans Memorial Highway

Applicant: Amber Shea, LLC

Future Land Use Map Category: Neighborhood Activity Center

Current Zoning Category: Neighborhood Retail Commercial

Requested Zoning Category: no change; request is to remove stipulation requiring 42 parking spaces be constructed.

Hearing Dates:

Planning Commission: n/a

Board of Commissioners: February 18, 2020

Application as Filed: Click Here

Stipulations Letter: 

MIC’s Position: Click Here

Final Staff Analysis:

Board of Commissioners Decision: Approved

This Post Last Updated On: February 20, 2020

Questions? Email MIC’s Zoning Committee

This is one of the zoning cases that MIC’s Zoning Committee is involved in. For more information about MIC’s process and other zoning cases, click here.

This application is for thrift store.

Case Number: OB-8

Location: 5015 Floyd Road (in the space previously occupied by the Piccadilly Cafeteria)

Applicant: Brixmor Mableton Walk, LLC

Future Land Use Map Category: Neighborhood Activity Center

Current Zoning Category: Neighborhood Retail Commercial

Requested Zoning Category: no change; request is to change stipulation restricting the sale of “used goods.”

Hearing Dates:

Planning Commission: n/a

Board of Commissioners: February 18, 2020

Application as Filed: Click Here

Stipulations Letter:

MIC’s Position: Click Here

Final Staff Analysis:

Board of Commissioners Decision: Denied

This Post Last Updated On: February 20, 2020

Questions? Email MIC’s Zoning Committee

This is one of the zoning cases that MIC’s Zoning Committee is involved in. For more information about MIC’s process and other zoning cases, click here.

This application is for a printing company.

Case Number: OB-1

Location: 41 Veterans Memorial Highway

Applicant: David Collins

Future Land Use Map Category: Neighborhood Activity Center

Current Zoning Category: Light Industrial

Requested Zoning Category: no change; request is to change stipulation restricting use to prior owner’s business, which was commercial kitchen stainless steel fabrication

Hearing Dates:

Planning Commission: n/a

Board of Commissioners: February 18, 2020

Application as Filed: Click Here

Stipulations Letter:

MIC’s Position: Click Here

Final Staff Analysis:

Board of Commissioners Decision: Approved

This Post Last Updated On: February 20, 2020

Questions? Email MIC’s Zoning Committee

One of the most talked-about subjects in our Facebook group is restaurants. MIC’s Economic Development Committee decided to visit Mableton restaurants periodically and provide some basic information about them — or in other words, “shine a spotlight” on the restaurants in our community. MIC does not endorse the restaurants; the Spotlight exists simply to introduce Mabletonians to restaurants in Mableton.

Date of visit: Sunday, December 22, 2019

Food type:  Menu includes breakfast, lunch, dinner

Takeout/Delivery: (Did not detect from website)

Location:  1450 Veterans Memorial Highway SE, Mableton GA 30126 (a stand-alone, next to Pizza Spot, across from RaceTrac, corner of VMH @ Discovery/Oakdale)

Phone: (404) 699-7114

Hours:  24/7

Website:  https://locations.wafflehouse.com/ga-mableton-2070

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Waffle-House-1602228450064884/

Food Safety Score:  90 (11.13.19)

Ambience:  Bright, cheery, bustling, inviting, diner-ish, neighborhood vibe

Wifi: Not detected

Parking:  Ample, nicely paved

Experience:   We sat at the counter; a lively and fun experience, as if we were in an episode of “Cheers”, watching an episode of SNL (Saturday Night Live).  Food was hot, fresh, quickly delivered, even perfect soft-poached eggs. The interaction of the staff was fun to watch while working in tandem in the fast-paced, efficient atmosphere of short-order cooking.   Some of the repartee among the workers was delightfully hilarious (as well as supportive).  A “Regulars” program is available on their website for updates, coupons, fun facts, and gift cards are available.  Will definitely return!

Very straightforward meals: We had an All-Star Breakfast (choice of toast/biscuit),eggs, hash browns, (choice of country ham/bacon/sausage) and a Bacon-egg-cheese sandwich (with choice of grits or hash browns)

For all the Restaurant Spotlights, click here.

This is one of the zoning cases that MIC’s Zoning Committee is involved in. For more information about MIC’s process and other zoning cases, click here.

This application is for a townhouse development.

Case Number: Z-18

Location: 1341 and 1371 Old Powder Springs Road

Applicant: The Revive Land Group, LLC

Future Land Use Map Category: Neighborhood Activity Center

Current Zoning Category: Light Industrial

Requested Zoning Category: RM-8 (eight units per acre)

Hearing Dates:

Planning Commission: Recommended approval

Board of Commissioners: February 18, 2019

Application as Filed: Click Here

Stipulations Letter: Click Here

MIC’s Position: Click Here

Final Staff Analysis: Click Here

Board of Commissioners Decision: Approved with Conditions

This Post Last Updated On: February 20, 2020

Questions? Email MIC’s Zoning Committee