Explore markets and eateries of Atlanta’s revitalized East Side
Think outside the box on your next trip to Atlanta. I’ve done the usual in the Southern city — the CNN tour, Georgia Aquarium, and before it was recently closed for construction, Underground Atlanta. Still, navigating Atlanta was not something that came naturally to me.
I decided to remedy that on a recent trip, and chose as my base of exploration, the city’s newly revitalized East Side. Much of the area had, over the years, been given over to industrial sites, which in turn, had been abandoned.
So, just what is it that’s once again turned the tides of fortune for Atlanta’s East Side?
The BeltLine, a multiuse, 22-mile loop around the city, which when completed in 2031, will go a long way toward making Atlanta an urban paradise (complete with parks, green spaces and public art), or at least a metropolis as welcoming to cyclists and walkers as it is to motorists.
The 2-mile East Side Trail was the first segment to open in the fall of 2012, and was greeted with overwhelming excitement by Atlantans eager to view their “City in the Forest,” as it’s often been called, from something other than a car window.
I began my own odyssey at the Krog Street Market (krogstreetmarket.com), a renovated warehouse which had at one time been home to Tyler Perry’s studios. It’s now home to an eclectic mix of local businesses, from jewelry makers and chocolatiers to flower sellers and restaurateurs.
I stopped in one, the Little Tart Bakeshop (littletartatl. com), to try its homemade pastries, cheeses and jams.
While walking along the BeltLine, I gawked at the public art lining both sides of the trail. I could have been in an outdoor art gallery: railroad overpasses painted in pretty pastels; a piano decorated with bizarre Daliesque images siting under one of the overpasses as if waiting for someone to sit down and play, and other exotic pieces, ranging from a metal bench in the form of a ladybug to a circle of tall cedar stilts.
Soon, I arrived at Ponce City Market (poncecitymarket. com). In the largest adaptive reuse project in the Southeast, the 2.1 million-square-foot former Sears-Roebuck warehouse has been redeveloped into an epic urban market.
In addition to local retailers and six James Beard Awardwinning restaurants, the multilevel marketplace also features apartments and lofts. My favorite part of the market, however, was the rooftop Nine Mile Station (9milestation.com), an elevated beer garden/casual restaurant with sweeping views across Atlanta from Buckhead to Downtown.
Following an outdoor picnic accompanied by a beer flight (the Founders Green Zebra — ale brewed with watermelon and sea salt was terrific), I headed over to the adjacent Skyline Park (skylineparkatlanta.com), and tested my skill at all manner of old-time carnival games.
It’s easy to see why Ponce City Market has become a rallying point for people citywide.
BEYOND THE BELTLINE
Another neighborhood that has put Atlanta’s East Side on the map is Cabbagetown, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. While lauded for its architecture — an eclectic collection of Victorian, Romanesque, Bungalow and Craftsman styles — it is the street art that really defines the area.
The Krog Street Tunnel that connects Cabbagetown with Inman Park has become Ground Zero for the murals. An organization oversees all the art and potential muralists must be invited to share their work. There are op art murals inspired by Andy Warhol; visionary murals inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien and Hieronymus Bosch, and amusing murals inspired by Stan Lee and his