About Atlanta Intown. (Sandy Springs, GA) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2014)
20 years later, Atlanta 30306 thrives Chris Schroder By Chris Schroder Twenty years ago, I quit my job and produced, printed and mailed the first issue of Atlanta 30306 (now INtown) to 10,000 homes and then took a long nap. Two days later, the phone started to ring with calls from appreciative neighbors who agreed it was time for a positive publication that did a deep dive on what was then an under-reported renaissance of close-in communities. Today Atlanta INtown is more secure with its fourth owner, though the monthly has all along remained true to our founding principles that people want to feel connected to and do business with neighbors, even as we were all becoming more global. Hundreds of people joined “the band” to lovingly prepare the 238 issues since then, and each have added their own individual spice to the homegrown recipe. Notables include my sister, some high school buddies, my two children, who wrote columns for years, and Jan (whom I married 10 years ago, a few years after we had both left the papers) and her daughter. One of my favorite stories was after we started posting content on the then- new World Wide Web. We received an email from a new resident who said he started reading our publication online while living in the Northeast and was so enamored of the people and stores we profiled that he packed up and moved to 30306. We were thrilled to see clips of our articles on refrigerators all over town years later. In the first issue, we reported on the 12 new coffee houses opening in the ‘hood and profiled neighbors who had built and lived in their original houses from the 1920s. As the years rolled on, we liked to think we had a small hand in stitching together what has become some of the most popular neighborhoods in the city. Just last month, I took a trip through the early years as we organized a complete collection of the numerous newspapers we printed, and delivered them to the Atlanta History Center to be part of its permanent collection. Many stores and houses have changed names and owners since then, but the sense of community is only getting stronger. ESI Atlanta native Chris Schroder founded this newspaper from his Morningside home. Today, he owns a PR firm in Midtown and publishes The Atlanta 100 eNewsletter. About the special anniversary cover Kyle Brooks In 2012, INtown asked Atlanta artist Kyle Brooks, who works under the name blackcattips, to create a special cover for our September issue featuring art on the Atlanta BeltLine. It turned out to be not only one of our favorite covers, but also a hit with readers and fans of Kyle’s whimsical work. In the spring, I reached out to Kyle about creating a painting for our 20th anniversary issue. I gave him some very basic parameters about size and shape, but told him to just have fun and create a piece that not only celebrated our two decades covering the community, but also included his hallmark characters. Over the summer, Kyle emailed me a rough sketch of the birthday cake, and I knew he was on the right path. We could have easily used old covers, graphic fonts or some other hackneyed idea for this issue, but I wanted something bold, fun and original. That’s how I - and Kyle - see the Intown neighborhoods we cover. Since that cover in 2012, Kyle’s work has become iconic around Intown, not only in murals along the BeltLine and in Cabbagetown, but in favorite restaurants and local businesses who have commissioned him to bring some fun and flavor to their establishments. If you’ve been to Fox Bros. BBQ, had a cocktail on the rooftop lounge at the Renaissance Hotel in Midtown, picked up sweet treat at Sublime Doughnuts, or popped in for a beer at the Midway Pub, you’ve seen his work. He’s created the signs and logos for Grant Central Pizza and Atlanta Progressive School, painted murals for kids at WestSide Atlanta Charter School and for parishioners for Village Church in East Atlanta. His work is also sought after by collectors, who buy his pieces or have commissioned him to paint murals in their homes. Recently, he even gave an “automobile tattoo” to someone’s van. We hope you’ll love this month’s cover as much as we do. If you want to find out more about Kyle and his work, visit blackcattips.com. ESI - By Collin Kelley North by Northwest After the success of Atlanta 30306, a new publication focusing on Buckhead called Atlanta 30305 was launched in 1996. In this July issue, all eyes were on the Summer Olympic Games, which would bring thousands of athletes and millions of visitors to the city for two weeks. There was also a story on new places to party in the club strip that was known as Buckhead Village. AtlantalNtownPaper.com November 2014 | INtOWIl 5
