About Brookhaven reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2025)
6 DECEMBER 2025 ROUGHDRAFT.NEWS PEACHTREE 6\ / . 4.L Lights, laughter, and holiday livablebuckhead.com/holiday cheer all season Livable Buckhead EDITOR'S NOTE Where it began and where it ended EDITOR'S NOTE CATHY COBBS Welcome to the Reporter Newspapers’ December issue, our last of 2025 (words that are hard to comprehend). This issue marks one year since I took over our print publication duties, and it’s been both a wild ride and a steep learning curve. From my first issue in January featuring our annual 20 Under 20 winners, I came to the rude realization that there is a difference between “busy covering two city beats” and “busy spinning five or six plates that absolutely must never crash to the ground.” While the schedule for many of our monthly issues is set in stone, I have had the opportunity many times to flex my creative muscles. While pursuing stories, I practiced yoga with an emotional support (Photo by Cathy Cobbs) llama, interviewed best-selling author John Grisham, delighted in pictures of pets and their people, almost met Timothee Chalamet (your loss, buddy), and wrote many other stories that took me from Dunwoody to Downtown Atlanta to Dalonegha. I was given a front-row seat to the amazing writing produced by our stellar staff— something one doesn’t always witness when buried in a city beat. I was fortunate to have the support of our editor-in-chief/dining reporter Beth McKibben and executive editor Collin Kelley who guided (or dissuaded) me regarding some of my "ambitious-but- not-that-smart" ideas and lent more than a helping hand when the plates started slowly slipping off the poles. And finally, big thanks to our publisher, Keith Pepper, who said “yes” more than “no” as I tried to put my personal stamp on the print publication, and reminded me (in vain) that it doesn’t have to be that hard. I’ll go to the grave disagreeing with him on that point. The hard work by our staff is so very evident in this final 2025 edition. We have a special section celebrating Sandy Springs’ 20 years as a city, one that involved the work of many of our reporters and support staff, cooperation from city leaders and organizations, and lots of late nights dreaming about and executing a narrative to honor the hard- working heroes who fought like hell to make incorporation happen. But that’s not all — our dining team spent the entire year eating its way through metro Atlanta to compile a list of the best new restaurants around metro Atlanta — with the deserving winners highlighted in this issue. Hot off the press, as the old timers say, are the results of the December runoff elections that held a few surprises, and some not-so-surprising (the Sandy Springs mayoral election). We also have our usual round-up of city news, holiday happenings, and other stories you might have missed while your plates were spinning. Along with my friends, family, life-saving yoga classes, and life-shortening addiction to Fritos and Peppermint Patties, I am grateful for the readers and the advertisers who continue to support Rough Draft, its print publications, and daily newsletters. Have a great holiday and see you in 2026.
