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
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CEO
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The former Walmart space in Perimeter
Village (Photo by Cathy Cobbs)
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