Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, May 18,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
Downtown diner reopens with new owners
Julia Fechter Dawson County News
The new "My Place Diner" is located at 104 Ga. 9 North, next to the Circle K
gas station in downtown Dawsonville.
By Julia Fechter
jfechter@dawsonnews.com
One Dawsonville res
taurant now has both new
management and is offer
ing more country-style
cuisine to satisfy what
many locals have been
craving — breakfast in
downtown.
Rick Fenical and his
sister-in-law, Diane
McDonald recently
acquired the assets of a
former eatery located at
104 Ga. 9 North and held
a grand opening this past
week as “My Place
Diner.”
The red restaurant
building is situated down
town next to the Circle K
gas station at the comer of
Hwy. 9 and Hwy. 53.
Fenical said they were
able to quickly turn the
place around in about a
month, doing things like
refreshing parking lot
lines, adding new signage
at the road and painting
and installing new interior
cooking equipment.
He said the key deci
sion for him and
McDonald was to change
the diner’s concept from
lunch and dinner to break
fast and lunch.
“It’s a small town,” he
said of Dawsonville.
“People go home and eat
during the week... we’ll
have a family dinner
[here] Friday and
Saturday. I really wanted
to do the diner concept
because, really, there’s
nowhere to sit down and
eat your breakfast in
downtown Dawsonville.”
The menu lists fresh
diner-style options,
including hand-cut pork
loins and steak and
cooked-to-order French
fries.
Fenical described their
grand opening week as
busier than usual but man
ageable. McDonald
has two decades of food
service experience, work
ing from the dining room
all the way up to manage
ment. While she serves as
what Fenical called the
“face of the business,” she
can also jump in with him
and others to help with
the back-of-house duties.
“So I know [about]
being out there with your
crew and not just saying,
‘You do it,”’ McDonald
said. “I’m out here work
ing with them (the serv
ers), talking to everybody
and getting feedback.”
She’s enjoyed having
the opportunity with the
diner to talk with and
meet new people.
Fenical said that once
everything is running
smoothly with the restau
rant, McDonald will take
over as the hands-on per
son as he transitions to a
business opportunity in
Cleveland. However, he
plans to work a couple
days a week on alternat
ing shifts so that an owner
is always present.
“It’s been a challenge,”
McDonald said about her
team’s work modifying
the diner. “I want to see it
succeed, whereas there
have been places that’ve
been here that didn’t. I
would like to see it be a
part of the community.”
Erica Jones Dawson County News
Dawson County BOE Member Karen Armstrong
presents outgoing Superintendent Damon Gibbs
with a gift during the board's May 10 meeting,
thanking him for his hard work as superintendent.
FROM 1A
BOE
The school system’s
retirees for the 2021-22
school year are:
• From Black’s Mill
Elementary School:
Kelley Reeves.
• From Kilough
Elementary School:
Sandra Tankersley
and Angela Howard.
• From Riverview
Elementary School:
Debbie Tauber.
• From Robinson
Elementary School:
Lance Stiffler and
Kim Anderson.
• From Dawson
County Middle
School: Tammi
Edwards, Josh
Carpenter, Renee
Rogers and Kim
Fleming.
• From Dawson
County Junior High
School: Kevan
Richardson and
Lidia Simonds.
• From Dawson
County High
School: Stefanie
Gibbs, Cherie
Ferguson and
Glenda Brandt.
• From the Dawson
County Schools cen
tral office: Corby
Ledford, Jamie
Ulrich, Tracey
Compton, Jim Rich,
Terri Wallace and
Damon Gibbs.
During his superinten
dent’s report at the end of
the board meeting, Gibbs
took a moment to remi
nisce on his time as super
intendent and to thank the
board for all their hard
work and support during
his time in the district.
“I’ve been very emotion
al for a couple of weeks,
and let me tell you that
emotion is not from being
sad; it’s actually from being
proud of the work that
you’ve done,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs read a statement
he had written encompass
ing his final thoughts,
prompting tears from many
of the board members and
the school administrators in
the audience. He recalled a
call he had received from
Roger Slaton eight years
ago, asking him if he
would take on the position
of the Dawson County
Schools superintendent,
and how Slaton, along with
the other board members
and all of the staff and
administrators, had wel
comed him into the com
munity with open arms.
“Over the past eight
years I could not have
imagined a better opportu
nity to make a difference;
this board has allowed me
to get out of the box and do
whatever it took to meet
the needs of our children,”
Gibbs read in his statement.
“Your support has been
unwavering even during
the most difficult of cir
cumstances.”
Gibbs finished his
remarks by saying that he
wishes all the best for the
district as he moves into his
retirement, passing the
baton to incoming superin
tendent Nicole Lecave.
“I pray that God will
continue to bless our
1 Dawson team; we never
know what tomorrow will
bring but together we can
overcome anything,” Gibbs
EARLY DEADLINES FOR
MEMORIAL DAY
Because of the upcoming holidays Dawson County News
will alter its advertising and legals deadline as follows:
Retail Display Ads
Publication Date Deadline
Dawson County News
Midweek Edition 6/1-2 Thursday, 5/26 3:00pm
Classifieds / Legal Ads / Obituaries
Publication Date Deadline
Dawson County News
Classifieds 6/1-2 Thursday, 5/26 3:00pm
DawsoiCountyNews
will be CLOSED
Monday, May 30,2022
in observance of Memorial Day
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Photo by Dawson County School System
During the May 10 meeting of the Dawson County Board of Education,
board members recognized the school staff and administrators that are retir
ing this year.
said. “And I would argue
that this is not a goodbye;
it’s a see you later.”
Following Gibbs’ state
ments, Board Member
Karen Armstrong spoke on
behalf of the board, pre
senting Gibbs with a gift
and thanking him for his
hard work over the past
eight years.
“We wanted to get you
just a littie something from
us... it’s not a million dol
lars but there’s a million
dollars worth of love in
here for you,” Armstrong
said to Gibbs. “We appreci
ate you; not only our
school system but us as
well and the children.”
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