Taste of Atlanta still not a good neighborhood fit

Good old Premier Events. They handle a lot of the logistics for various festivals and events; for a ‘certain level’ of clientele. Others, well not so much. Some, they just see the opportunity and handle it themselves. Heck, they got tents and stuff, might as well use them. Genuinely nice folks.

One of the varied events that Premier handles is one strangely called “Taste of Atlanta” except, it is not. What it is, as described to me a few years ago, is incestuous collusion between the super and semi-super TV chefs and their darling critics within the local and national media (“O" mag's ‘people’ LOVE our event!”), hopefully giving Midtown that *special* Buckhead sparkle! Also thrown in is something called “variety” and the obligatory bone to the restaurants whose business suffers during this four-day invasion of the West Side Neighborhood (Cheetah, 5th street eateries, etc.)?

TOA is devastating to the neighborhood business because it shuts down the main artery that feeds business the people necessary to continue to survive for 4 days. Spring Street, a one way to the south road into the businesses south of Spring Street, gives patrons one small option (4th) to get to these businesses and Hotel parking. Initially, Premier went through the motions of ‘working with neighbors’ to get approval, but 4 years of the same demonstrates this festival, well, technically benefits no one in West Midtown. Even the typically ‘profitable not for profit’ charity the event is built around is culinary based. I sense a pattern. Lazer beam clean. Kind of like a 1% incestous thing....

Most businesses choose or are forced to close, if within the confines of the festival and are not participating; based on my personal experience, participation isn't cheap and not everyone sells food. At night there is no pedestrian traffic allowed in this lively entertainment district. Tech kids coming to the venues have to walk from North Ave instead of 5th of *horrors* Tech tunnel opens.

Through the years, I've tried to work with the festival, attempting to work out compromise, only to be dismissed at every concern. This is going to happen and that is that. There is money to be made and who cares about this area?

Sound familiar?

Even a manager of the Conference Hotel who did not want to be named lamented how much of a negative impact the layout is to their business "but since Tech approves the festival *sigh*". I remember some neighbors not being happy about the negative impact at the 6th street condos but I cannot document that at this time.

TOA, represented by (I think) solely managers for Premier quietly went through neighborhood approval process sham last spring. After this event, I am going to canvas the area businesses and see what we can do to move this over to the public pavilion area at Atlantic Station. There, NO ONE is negatively impacted, and even Premier gets to sell booze and VIPS at a premium. 

What can you do for this tired and constantly run over neighborhood, Reader? Meh, stay home. Why should you stay home? Have you been to this thing? I have. It’s pretentious, overpriced, hard on the feet and boring. The parking will be horribly overpriced. Nothing at all like Buckhead, so head on down to Cypress Street Pint and Plate, Taco Mac or Ted’s. They will appreciate your business more than that yawning teen dishing a glob of glop in a serving cup-that-will-be-4-tickets-please. And I know what they pay for that beer! You don’t want to know!

So please reader, be a micro neighborhood activist. Do something that does not directly and positively impact your financial bottom line or line of sight. Do something for “small business owners” and kind of OK fast food.

All I can do is try to use this to amplify the concerns of several businesses. And offer a spiffy REAL smoke BBQ sandwich and cold beer for a spiffy price. Might as well get something good to eat while you are down here.

In the meantime, assemblers of tents and stackers of barricades are gathering in the lots, and another weekend of invasion vigilance begins on The Western Front.

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