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ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS DECEMBER 2025 | 13 graduate, said while his friendship with Fortenberry started in the classroom, it has developed into a lifelong one long after he left DHS. “He has always supported and pushed me to run towards God, and chase my calling, speaking words of truth and encouragement to me,” Langley said. “From letters of recommendation, career guidance, and simply catching up over coffee, Steve has and always will be on my team. All I can say is thank you for loving me so well.” Fortenberry said he is proud of his students, not just for their business achievements beyond the classroom, but for the quality human beings they have become. “Yes, there have been a lot of entrepreneurs and business leaders who have come out of the class, but also a lot of great moms and dads,” he said. “I’m also proud that we have a lot of graduates who’ve come back to teach at Dunwoody.” In fact, two DHS graduates are set to take over the program — D.R. Keen and Ryan Gentry. “It’s their time now,” Fortenberry said. “I will miss the relationships I’ve developed with students and their families, and it’s tough leaving Bass and the teachers, but I’m still going to be around and still involved in ‘Bring it Home,’ [a fundraiser to expand the Dunwoody High School stadium].” Fortenberry said he’s not sure of his next professional steps, but knows that “there’s going to be a time my wife is going to be sick of seeing me.” “I’ll need to do something, but not sure of what that will be,” he said. Bass said that although life will continue without his “partner in crime,” there will always be a little something missing. “He is so beloved and will be missed tremendously.” Date night plans? We've got them. Kroger reportedly taking over former Walmart space Atlanta’s 50 Restaurants By Cathy Cobbs Kroger has recently signed a lease to take over most of the former Walmart at Perimeter Village in Dunwoody, according to news reports. Tomorrow’s News Today was the first to report that the Cincinnati-based grocer is expected to open one of its large-format Marketplace stores in place of the former Walmart, which closed last July. Kroger will occupy a 116,824 square- foot space, about 64 percent of the former 183,500 square-foot Walmart, the news outlet reported. Kimco Realty, the owner of Perimeter Village, has not yet made a formal announcement about the lease on its website or in other company communications. Kimco Marketing Director of Marketing Christa Kremer said the company doesn’t “have any updates to share at this time.” On Kimco’s website, the space where Kroger would be leasing is still listed as available. The website says the center has about 1,800 parking spaces. Last July, the Walmart Supercenter in the center closed, citing underperforming sales, along with another location in Marietta. “This decision was not made lightly and was reached only after a careful and thoughtful review process,” Walmart said in a statement about the closing. “We have nearly 5,000 stores across the U.S. and unfortunately, some do not meet our financial expectations. While our underlying business is strong, this store hasn’t performed as well as we hoped.” Many regular shoppers, however, believed that the real reason behind the store’s closing was a lack of customer service and frequent incidents of shoplifting and other low-level crimes. Statistics pulled from Dunwoody Police call records from January 2023 to May 2024 reveal that authorities were called an average of twice a day for mostly low- level criminal activities, like shoplifting, disorderly conduct, solicitation, panhandling, and civil disputes. Authorities say that reports of criminal activity at the Ashford Dunwoody location was second only to incidents at Perimeter Mall. Kroger closed 60 unprofitable stores nationwide within the last year, including four in metro Atlanta — Buford Highway in Brookhaven, Morosgo Way in Atlanta, Douglas Road in Alpharetta, and Memorial Drive in Decatur. SEE THE LIST AJC.com/Atlanta50 A] C FOR TICKETS AND SPONSORSHIP INFO PLEASE VISIT WWW.SPIRITOFDEKALBAWARDS.COM CROWNE PLAZA ATLANTA PERIMETER AT RAVINIA 4355 ASHFORD DUNWOODY RD NE ATLANTA, GA 30346 VIP RECEPTION STARTS AT 5:30 PM COCKTAIL HOUR STARTS AT 5:45 PM DINNER & AWARDS PROGRAM STARTS AT 7:00 PM CEO LORRAINE COCHRAN-JOHNSON IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DEKALB CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESENTS Co-Sponsor FRANKIE L. ATWATER, SR. PRESIDENT & CEO DEKALB CHAMBER OF COMMERCE C.— Sponsor LORRAINE COCHRAN-JOHNSON CEO DEKALB COUNTY The former Walmart space in Perimeter Village (Photo by Cathy Cobbs) SCAN QR CODE FOR TICKETS & SPONSORSHIP INFO PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE DEKALB FOOD RESILIENCE ALLIANCE
