County Warns of Buford Highway Scammers

People have showed up at businesses posing DeKalb County fire inspectors.

Over the last few months, several businesses in the Buford Highway corridor have been targeted by imposters who are identifying themselves as Fire Inspectors and requesting cash payment for an inspection. Some of the business owners have reported the fraudulent behavior. The Chamblee Police department is investigating. According to DeKalb County Fire & Rescue Chief Edward O’Brien, “Business owners can always be sure a DeKalb County Fire Rescue is official in three ways: 1) inspectors will always be in a marked county vehicle, 2) inspectors will wear a DeKalb County uniform and have proper county identification, including a badge and 3) at no time will an inspector request payment for any kind for an inspection.” DeKalb County encourages …

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Buford Highway Concrete Medians: Safety Measures or a Pain?

Take our Patch poll and tell us if you think these concrete medians being constructed along portions of Buford Highway in Brookhaven are a good idea.

Concrete medians along portions of Buford Highway - some of which lie inside Brookhaven city limits - have been under construction for several weeks now. Some of the medians have been built along stretches of Buford Highway that are lined with apartments on both sides of the road. Others, however, are being built along Buford Highway's retail and commercial districts, including just outside two of our favorite restaurants, El Potro Mexican Restaurant and First Wok Chinese. Both lie just north and south of the Briarwood Road/Buford Highway intersection. Patch wants to know: what do you think about these concrete medians going up on Buford Highway? Are they a good safety measure? Are you going to have any trouble getting into and out of …

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Lawrence's Cafe Moving from Buford Highway to Decatur

The Lebanese restaurant will open on downtown's West College Avenue early next year.

Buford Highway is losing one of its ethnic restaurants. Lawrence's Cafe is moving from the relatively grungy but long-celebrated stretch of diverse eating establishments to downtown Decatur early next year, according to a Tweet from Oakhurst Realty. The Lebanese restaurant will open at 910 West College Ave. Here's a summary of what the joint offers from its website: Lawrence's enticing menu includes soups, salads, kabobs, gyro, chicken, beef and seafood dishes; and a large selection of vegetarian meals. Specialities include Lawrence's Platter, a combination of six different dishes, and Seafood Tahini, large shrimp and sea scallops sauteed in tahini sauce. And of course hummous, baba, grape leaves, kibbie and much, much more. The lunch menu…

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Hydrant Eruption Causes Buford Highway Shutdown

A car crashed into a fire hydrant on the highway near Chamblee Tucker Road on Thursday morning.

Just in case you were driving down Buford Highway this morning, wondering why it was periodically shut down around 6:30 a.m. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A major DeKalb County thoroughfare was shut down during Thursday’s morning rush hour after a car crashed into a fire hydrant, causing a geyser of water to spew high into the air. Read the AJC story for more information.

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Another Pedestrian Struck on Buford Highway

A man sustained a broken leg and other injuries after he was hit by a car Wednesday morning – the latest in a history of pedestrian injuries on the busy highway.

Another pedestrian was struck by a car and seriously injured on Buford Highway this morning. The incident occurred at about 6pm north of I-285 on the busy thoroughfare, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Read their story for more information. But it's the latest in a long history of similar incidents on the highway where many nearby residents use the MARTA bus system and don't have cars. Here's some previous coverage in North Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch:

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Crime Blotter, May 31-June 6

A selection of recent crimes in the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area reported to DeKalb County police.

Two men robbed at gunpoint on Buford Highway Two men walking down Buford Highway were robbed at gunpoint early Sunday morning, DeKalb County police said. The victims, a 27-year-old and a 19-year-old, were walking south in the highway's 3200 block when they were approached by three suspects shortly after midnight, the police report said. The first suspect pushed the barrel of his gun into the 27-year-old's stomach and said, "Give me your money or I will kill you," and pointed the gun at his face.  The victim gave the suspect $30. A second suspect pointed a white gun at the 19-year-old victim, and he handed over his cell phone and $30. The suspects fled as an arriving officer witnessed the incident. Thief breaks into car while victims walk …

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Man Robbed, Shot Outside Buford Highway Apartment

The suspect shot the victim in the leg after he took his wallet Thursday morning.

Buford Highway Bad News for Pedestrians

A PBS report looks at how dangerous the busy thoroughfare that frames the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff community can be for people without cars.

This isn't news. According to the date stamp on YouTube, this video went up in 2010. But I'm not a regular PBS viewer, and I imagine most of you aren't either. So, I'm putting this baby up. I don't walk along Buford Highway. I don't have to. I don't live near there, and I have a car. If I'm there, it's usually to eat foreign cuisine, and my feet never touch the roadway. But that isn't the case for a lot of people, and this PBS story looks at how Buford Highway has become a poster child for pedestrian danger in the Atlanta area as areas that were designed to be traveled by people with cars are increasingly populated with people who don't own them. The result? You get lots of people crossing a dense, fast-moving highway, and that can't be …

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Crime Blotter, Feb. 10-16

A selection of crimes reported to DeKalb County police in the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area.

Teens caught playing with gun, drinking at playground A 17-year-old and a Sequoyah Middle School student were caught handling a handgun and drinking in an apartment complex playground Monday afternoon, DeKalb County police said. A police officer responded to The Villas at Druid Hills apartment complex, 3183 Buford Highway, following a call regarding suspicious persons at the playground at about 12:10pm, the police report said. When the officer arrived, he noticed two teens who fit the descriptions in the call walking toward the playground's gate after leaving the deck. The officer questioned the teens. The teens, a 17-year-old and the 14-year-old middle schooler, told the officer they were hanging out. While checking out the playground …

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Wine Selection in Buford Highway Eateries a Challenge?

One writer makes some suggestions for people eating at eclectic restaurants along the popular highway known for foreign cuisine.

Have you ever struggled with wine selections while trying out some of the more authentic foreign cuisine along Buford Highway? A writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution faced that issue recently: One of the easiest paradigms of wine pairing is to pick a wine from the region where the food originates. That’s easy if the dish is beef Bourguignon (a red Burgundy will do nicely) or Alsatian-style coq au vin (a dry, luscious Alsatian riesling is just the ticket). But what if you’re at the table at Panahar (a Bangladeshi restaurant located at 3375 Buford Highway, Atlanta) and a smiling Mirza Ameen, the owner, arrives with the house specialty: lamb vindaloo? One doesn’t find too many wineries within 3,000 miles of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital…

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