5 Questions with Don Radcliffe, Ella Guru Record Shop Owner

The record store quietly returned to the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area in November. Here are five questions for its owner.

Ella Guru Record Shop has been around this part of town before. First opened in the Vista Grove shopping center in the late 1990s, it then moved to the Toco Hills Promenade, expanded in 2007, moved to Inman Park later that year, closed in 2009 but has now resurfaced in Oak Grove. Now located on Lavista Road in the shopping center with Beer Growler Nation and other shops, Ella Guru is back and ready to satisfy the demands of anyone looking for that old-school vinyl sound. Owner Don Radcliffe answered five questions from North Druid Hills-Briarcliff Patch. Q: What attracted you to reopen in the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area? A: We'd known the Kontoes family for a long while. They own Evans Fine Foods, over at North Decatur and Clairmont…

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Melton's Reopens to Packed House

Melton's App and Tap reopened its doors for the first time in nearly two months and its fans filled the seats in appreciation.

Melton's App and Tap reopened Dec. 30 following a closure due to a rat problem that at one point left its continued survival in question. With fresh new coats of paint, a new brick wall facing Pet Supermarket--the source of the rat problem--and seats filled with appreciative diners, Melton's is back in top form. Though they were slated to open at 4 pm, they opened their doors a little early and were immediately busy. A line eight deep waited to get a seat at 4:10 pm. Each stool at the bar was already full at 4 as well. By 4:15 pm, the house was already halfway full. Waiters greeted their customers, reuniting with the faithfuls, and at one point someone began a round of applause for the restaurant. Aside from the aesthetic changes in the …

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Documentary About Walmart To Be Shown Tuesday at PushPush Theatre

“Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price” criticizes the company's business practices.

Opponents of a Walmart proposed for Suburban Plaza will are working to generate more support. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, a documentary that criticizes Walmart’s business practices will be shown at the PushPush Theatre at 121 New St. in Decatur, just behind the Corner Pub and Figo Pasta. “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price” was released in 2005. Moviefone says the movie “is one in a series of muckraking documentaries from director [Robert] Greenwald which includes the films Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, Uncovered: The War in Iraq, and Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties.” At 1 p.m. on Dec. 14, the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Selig Enterprises’ plan for a parking …

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Loyal Patrons Vow To Support Rat-Plagued Restaurant

Melton's App & Tap owner finds love from customers.

Will You Shop Locally for Christmas This Year?

Georgians are part of a national movement to keep holiday cash at home.

“Look, Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know.” – Lucy van Pelt to Charlie Brown in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” Americans have worried about losing the true meaning of Christmas since at least 1965, when Charlie Brown lamented the holiday’s commercialization in a Peanuts special. This year, there’s a movement afoot to bring Christmas closer to home. An apparently anonymous essay circulating on the Web has drawn the attention of people in Georgia. It calls for buying local services as gifts instead of products manufactured in foreign countries: You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city…

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Melton's Given Go to Reopen But Will It?

After a judge gave an OK to Pet Supermarket in North Decatur to reopen after being shutdown for a massive rat infestation, Melton's App & Tap, an adjacent restaurant, has to decide for themselves.

Melton's App & Tap could reopen to serve you food soon – or never again. And even after a judge gave the neighboring Pet Supermarket permission to reopen after a massive rat infestion that also closed the popular restaurant, the restaurant's owner now has to decide whether he's willing to put his finances on the line to open the doors again. Aaron Melton, the owner, closed his restaurant Nov. 6 after a customer spotted a rat. The owner has said it could take more than $100,000 to make the necessary fixes to reopen – an amount he said he's isn't necessarily eager to reinvest, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. From the story: Melton said it would be at least four weeks before he can reopen. He has estimated the entire episode …

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Helping Melton's Survive

Melton's App and Tap is in trouble. How can you help?

Local restaurant and hangout Melton’s App & Tap has been closed since Nov. 6 due to a rat infestation that owner Aaron Melton said began in July with an invasion stemming from the Pet Supermarket next door. While Pet Supermarket is also closed due to a judge’s injunction, and they are repairing a common wall separating them and the restaurant, Melton’s is in deeper trouble simply because they are a small business without a national support system of money to fix problems like these. Melton’s needs at least $100,000 to complete its repair work and reopen. Until then, one of my favorite places to go for good food like their amazing brisket sandwich, served by people who have been universally friendly and awesome in my experience, remains …

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