During the renovation of the Decatur building, I discovered a whole new level of Murphy’s Law aggravation with regard to timing and logistics. Despite my best efforts to consolidate tasks and plan my days, every time I arrived at the Norhtcrest Rd location and settled in to work, the phone rang and I had to return to the Decatur building. Finally I gave up and decided to camp somewhere in Decatur where I could get wi-fi and await my next summons. I decided to try Dancing Goats and was immediately struck by the spacious atmosphere. There was a time when I enjoyed clutter and funkiness, but as I get older I’ve grown weary of “bohemian” accoutrements, decor and especially odors. Dancing Goats is clean and contemporary. There are really comfortable deep leather couches to sink down in or, if you’re in an attentive business mode, you can opt for clean counter tops and firm chairs

Decor is all fine and dandy, but is the coffee good? Well, you can smell a distinctive roast in the air when you walk through the door, and I’m happy to say - it’s possibly the best coffee to be found in the Atlanta/Decatur area. It’s a good thing it’s at the bottom of Ponce and not next door to our shop or I’d be consuming far far too much caffeine on a daily basis. As it is, I drop in at least a couple times a week to get my fix and pick up whatever the guys want as well. The Chilly Goat beats any other frozen concoction I’ve had and when you see the work that goes into it, you’ll know why. Another plus I noticed was the staff. everyone there has been very friendly from the first purchase. The manager Lorrie Bodnar made us feel very welcome as a new business and has been kind enough to refer us as well. On a good day, I counted 16 laptops humming away in there and 1/2 of them were Macs. That’s a high ratio. We hope all of those folks realize we’re over here and stop in. Go to Dancing Goats. You’ll surely become a regular.

A huge perk of our new Decatur location is that we’re no longer limited to the sad selection of slop trough offerings that surround our Northcrest location. Decatur abounds with great places to eat. For starters, there’s 2 great coffee houses within just a few blocks of our shops. Java Monkey (for those who like the more textural, funky style coffee shop) is on Church just across from Marta. Very nice folks. Good coffee. The one I’ve spent the most time at is Dancing Goats at the bottom of Ponce across from Watershed. I used Dancing Goats as my office for the duration of the Decatur renovation (say that 5 times fast). It’s a large well lit space with lots of good seating and great coffee. On a side note - I counted 16 laptop users in there the other day and 8 of those were Macs. That’s an unusually high ratio but perhaps not amongst the “coffee house crowd”. I guess I now have one leg in that crowd, but if anyone hears me raving about espresso machine technology or swooning over barista’s - please slap me sharply across the face……then duck (it may take me a moment to realize it was for my own good). But I digress….

There are so many quality lunch spots in Decatur, one could easily transform into a quivering mass of blubber if one wasn’t careful. At Watershed you can get high-end southern fare made with fresh ingredients and great attention to simplicity and purity. Sort of a refined version of Matthew’s in Tucker. If you want a truly excellent sandwich, you need look no further than Sawicki’s on Ponce across from CVS. Pastries a Go-Go is another favorite spot…and the list goes on and on. I’m having to alternate between salads, dry cheerios & fruit so I can allot an occasional “bad” lunch because let’s be honest - who the hell REALLY enjoys going out to lunch and picking at a salad while the person across from you is cramming a Rueben and fries down their gullet? Not I.