Around Towne

by Cherryl Greenman

What's New

We will soon have a new restaurant in the Shops at Eagle Point. Stonebridge Tavern will open its doors in the space formerly occupied by Fresco's in the near future. This new restaurant will feature such specialties as crab cakes, prime aged steaks and seafood. They will also have a blue plate special for $9.99, which will be available anytime during the day. B. K. Foster, the new owner, has lived in this area for seven years and is originally from Knoxville, TN. He has previously worked in the Roswell area and says he is "excited about this new opportunity to not only live, but work in the Towne Lake area." The restaurant is scheduled to open mid summer.

The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has approved a contract with North Cherokee Electrical Contractors for installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Eagle Drive and Parkbrooke Drive (adjacent to Bruster's Ice Cream). This should help ease the traffic congestion during school rush hour by providing buses easier access to Eagle Drive.

The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has also approved a contract with Baldwin Paving Company for construction of a sidewalk on the bridge over Noonday Creek on Towne Lake Parkway (the bridge just west of CVS Pharmacy).

You can now go online and access detailed records of individuals who are convicted felons on parole in Cherokee County. A database similar to the state's sexual offender database has been created, which includes the parolee's photo, physical description and special alerts. To access the parolee database, visit www.pap.state.ga.us/parolee_database.htm.

The designer outlet shop, Horse Feathers located next to Portraits by Faith, has their Spring line of clothing in stock. Owner Kay Brock has added several new Spring lines including Sacred Threads, Parsley & Sage and a new line of Stone Wash summer dresses. They also have added the Burt's Bees line.

St. Michael the Archangel church on Arnold Mill Road will hold their annual Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday, April 20 at 12:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Debbie Quinn at (770) 516-0009.

In an ongoing effort to maintain a safe and secure environment for students and staff, the Cherokee County School District has posted the Superintendent's Status Report - Safety and Security online. You can access this report on the internet at www.cherokee.k12.ga.us.

What's On Going

The Ambers, a new fine dining restaurant opening soon next to Towne Lake Fitness in Southpointe at Towne Lake, is now busy hiring staff and preparing for their grand opening.

Ritz Camera is also busy hiring and preparing to open their doors in the space previously occupied by Joe Mugg's in the Kroger Shopping Center. This will be a great addition to our community for all you photography buffs.

Speaking of great additions, have you been to the Orients yet? I am referring

Cherryl is the Editor of The TowneLaker magazine. She lives in southwest Cherokee with her son Dale and daughter Lori.

to the Orients in the Towne Lake Village Center. Oh my! What fantastic one of a kind items. Steve Wong says that the Grand Opening they held recently was a huge success. "People from the community love our special items," Wong says. He travels to Asia and hand picks each item. And he only buys one of each to make each item really unique. I saw some truly unusual Buffalo carvings created by an old Chinese gentleman. Wong said this type of carving is almost extinct. The Orients is open each day until 7:30 p.m. or "later if there are customers in the shop," stated Wong.

The Crossings Shopping Center (located on Towne Lake Parkway behind Bullock's Wine and Spirits) continues to make progress. The Center will be anchored by a Publix with a new smaller layout compared to other Publix in the area. Washington Mutual Bank is slated to open in one of the outparcels of the Center.

What's Closed?

We are sad to report that the Silver Lining has closed their doors. They were in The Plaza at Towne Lake by the Mellow Mushroom.

Towne Lake Diner
Decio's Pizza

by Kara Kiefer

Where can you find New York style pizza, fabulous pasta dishes and sidewalk chalk? Decio's Pizza. This restaurant, which occupies the former Mama's Pizza, is located in the Eagle Pointe Shopping Center at Eagle Drive and Putnam Ford Drive. Decio's is owned by Amy and Eric Dec. The Decs formerly owned Spike's Brick Oven in Marietta, which happened to be on AOL's Top 10 for pizza places! They brought their expertise and high standards to Towne Lake a little over a year ago.

Decio's features traditional Italian favorites in pasta, pizza, calzones and sandwiches called "Grinders." The salads include antipasto (one of their best sellers), Greek and pesto chicken. One of the more unusual pizzas is called "The Gump." The name comes from the movie (Forrest Gump) and it's also Amy's maiden name. The pizza has pre-set ingredients which is posted daily. A lot of the ideas for "The Gump" come from Decio's customers. According to Amy, the thing that sets this restaurant apart is providing food that no one else does and using high quality ingredients. Decio's imports many ingredients from New York and New Jersey and they use only a certain brand of flour and a certain brand of pepperoni, and each batch of cheese is taste-tested before it's ever used. Amy said the restaurant would rather sell out of a particular ingredient or dish before compromising the taste.

Decio's is a great place to go with the entire family. They have a kids' dough line where children can play with and toss pizza dough like a pro! And what about the sidewalk chalk? One of the best features about Decio's is the patio seating. The kids enjoy complimentary sidewalk chalk and the ground is decorated with all the "little Picasso's" artwork. The rolls, the salad, the vodka cream sauce... I'll need to head to the gym, but it was SO worth it!