4 stories · Inside The Perimeter, Atlanta
Sweet Cheats, the popular Cabbagetown bakery opened by former competitive bodybuilder Shirley Hughes in 2011, is preparing a special lineup of treats for Mother's Day weekend.
The Atlanta BeltLine Partnership's annual 404 Day of Service brought more than 200 volunteers and a dozen Atlanta-area colleges out for trail cleanups, plantings, and stewardship work along the Eastside Trail corridor. The April program has become one of the BeltLine's signature volunteer days, reflecting the loop's growing role as the city's shared civic backyard.
A wave of closings hit the metro area. Brew Dog on the BeltLine at Krog Street served its final beer after four years. Mojave in Sandy Springs also shuttered after seven years.
That empty lot at Chester and Fulton Terrace is finally seeing action. Lennar is building 33 townhomes about a block from the Eastside Trail, with condos to follow. The site sat vacant for nearly five years.
Cabbagetown is tiny. It's one of the smallest officially recognized neighborhoods in Atlanta, just a few blocks tucked between Reynoldstown, Grant Park, and the old Fulton Cotton Mill (now the Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts, reportedly the largest adaptive reuse loft conversion in the world). The neighborhood gets its name from the mill workers who once grew cabbages in their front yards. The streets are narrow, the houses are small, the street art is everywhere, and it feels like a place that hasn't been focus-grouped.
Food-wise, Cabbagetown's anchor is Carroll Street Cafe, which has been around forever and feels like the neighborhood's living room. Little's Food Store is a beloved corner market and cafe that people drive across town for. The mural scene here is arguably the best in Atlanta, with massive wall-to-wall pieces throughout the neighborhood, especially around the Krog Street Tunnel area. The neighborhood has BeltLine access via the Eastside Trail and is a short walk to Grant Park and Zoo Atlanta.
Housing is mostly small mill houses, shotgun cottages, and the massive Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts complex. Because the lots are small and the neighborhood is historically designated, there's less new development here than in surrounding areas. Prices have still gone up, but Cabbagetown has maintained more of its original character than many gentrifying Atlanta neighborhoods. The vibe is artsy, a little rough around the edges, and deeply proud of being weird.