The start of a new year means one important thing for business owners: time to renew your business license. We understand this can be a confusing and arduous process. We are here to help!

Join us Thursday, January 18, at 6pm for an informative webinar hosted by Invest Atlanta and the City of Atlanta’s Office of Revenue. We're here to simplify the business license and zoning process, making it easier for you to navigate the essentials.

Agenda:

• Understanding the Application Process (25 minutes)
• Insight into Post-Submission Procedures (10 minutes)
• Addressing New Financial Documentation Requirements (5 minutes)
• Interactive Q&A Session (15 minutes):

REGISTER NOW

This one-hour webinar is tailor-made to empower you with the knowledge to effortlessly navigate Atlanta's business landscape. Whether you're a seasoned business owner or embarking on your entrepreneurial journey, this session will provide valuable insights.

The webinar will be recorded and shared by our economic development team, ensuring that the knowledge shared is accessible to any new business venturing into the city. Don't miss this opportunity to equip yourself with the tools necessary for success in the Atlanta business community.

The business license and permitting portal will be undergoing scheduled maintenance beginning Friday, December 29, 2023, at 7:30pm through January 1, 2024, midnight. General Business License customers will not have the ability to APPLY for a NEW application or RENEW an existing application for General Business Licenses during this timeframe. Normal operations will resume on January 2, 2024.

Please mark your calendar and plan accordingly for this maintenance window. Should you need additional assistance, please contact the office at (404) 546-0311 between the hours of 8:30am and 5:00pm ET. Apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause and your understanding is appreciated.

Shop EAV this holiday season and keep your dollars local! Every purchase supports a small business owner and keeps the diverse, one-of-a-kind restaurants, shops and services of East Atlanta thriving!

HOLIDAY SPECIAL: Purchase a shop EAV gift card now through December 31 and EABA will cover your eDelivery fees (saving you $1 + 5% of card value)!

Use the shop EAV digital gift card at one or multiple participating locations within the community.

Easy to gift via email or text message. No shipping - all fun!

Shop EAV

 Purchase gift cards, check your balance, view a current list of participating businesses, or join the program as a business (pssst.... it's FREE to join) at the shop EAV website.

Congrats to one of EABA's Members for being mentioned in Atlanta Magazine! Their "Best of Atlanta 2023: EAT" edition features our very own Mercer Street Meals. 

"No-Cook Option: Mercer Street Meals

A pandemic project turned brick-and-mortar, chef Lance Gummere’s Mercer Street Meals sells ready-made three-course dinners five nights a week. Preorder and enjoy chicken piccata, coq au vin, beef stroganoff, and more. East Atlanta." View the entire article here.

Thank you Chef Lance for your amazing meals and  for making East Atlanta your business' home.  

Atlanta Main Streets met up with @natlmainstreet representatives to tour Sweet Auburn with the guy who knows it all... Lejuano Varnell of @sweetauburnworks

As an Atlanta Main Street cohort (alongside @virginiahighlanddistrict, @l5pbiz, @westendmerchants and @sweetauburnworks), EAV Main Street is dedicated to supporting EABA and East Atlanta through Design, Organization, Promotion and Economic Development.

We have work to do and continue to push for more @cityofatlantaga support to develop the Main Street program even further. Our goal is to preserve and promote East Atlanta as the historic, cultural and unique place it is, with a focus on small business and community.

We had a great time celebrating with y'all at the 2023 EABA Holiday Party Hop! 

On a perfect December evening in the village, we were joined by our fellow business members, board members and the EAV community to celebrate the successes of 2023  while also fundraising for EABA's Main Street initiatives.  This year we kicked up the holiday fun a notch with a village bar hop! The evening started with festive cocktails at Midway Pub, hopped over to Ten ATL for raffle prizes, food from EABA members + more drinks and then stumbled over to Eldertree for the DJ, cookie/wine bar, MORE drinks and shenanigans!

Special thanks goes out to EABA's Events Chair Liz Lootens of AtlantaPurus for organizing this wonderful event. 

Huge THANK YOU to the following EAV small businesses for supporting this event with donations of event space, food, drinks + services: Midway, Ten Atl, Elder Tree, Argosy, Atlanta Purus LLC, Chelsea Sommers, Realtor®, Traci with an Eye Graphic Design, DJ Dookie Platters, Coffyn Pyes, Mercer Street Meals, Holy Taco, Grant Central East, Qommunity, + Flat Iron.

Our specially curated raffle packages helped raise funds for East Atlanta Main Street initiatives. You can take a look at the raffle prizes that were taken home by all the lucky winners  HERE. 

See y'all again next year! 

Thank you to all who made it out for our November Cocktail Conversations event! We had a truly informative presentation by Austin Taylor, marketing guru of Highland Mortgage.  We also did a mini EABA general meeting update for attendees. Engagement was great and the questions were flowing! Feedback from this presentation was ALL positive. We will definitely host Austin again in the spring and encourage all East Atlanta small businesses to take advantage of these FREE offerings from EABA. 

Special thanks to Argosy for hosting and providing snacks! 

Great information overall and some fun networking. Hope to see y'all at the next one!

Public Safety Townhall!!

Hey all! Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari's office has been working on a public safety townhall for quite some time. We have finally nailed down all the details. Given all of the issues that have been occurring, especially in Dekalb County, she wanted to make sure she involved multiple offices.

The townhall will include representatives from Atlanta E911, APD, Police Chief Darin Schierbaum, Atlanta Fire Rescue, ATLDOT, Department of City Planning, and code enforcement.

The event will be Wednesday, November 29th, from 4pm to 6pm, at Turner Monumental AME Church in Kirkwood.

The address is listed on the flier below. There will be a hybrid option provided closer to the day of the event.

To make sure they answer as many questions as possible, there is a link to a google form for folks to be able to submit questions ahead of time.

https://forms.gle/DFw1ZFRinq3SemHYA

There will also be a Q&A at the event. This form link above is just to make sure we use our time as effectively as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to comment below or email Liliana at lbakhtiari@atlantaga.gov.

Thank you all!

From Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari:

Hey neighbors! I know crosswalks on Glenwood Ave have been a long time conversation, so I wanted to update folks with some good news.

As neighbors may or may not know, the portion of Glenwood Ave that runs through the village is state highway and under the purview of GDOT, meaning that the city is unable to install or do anything on that section of road without GDOT's explicit approval.

That being said, with the help of ATLDOT, my office has been able to set up a regular meeting with the GDOT team and we are starting to make some progress.

GDOT is happy to help us fast track two crosswalks on Glenwood. The first two we are focusing on is a crosswalk by the Brannan senior towers and one near Haas Ave.

To get this done, ATLDOT must do a study of the street. The study should be done by next month. We will then send the study to GDOT, and they will use that to expedite shipping of materials and installation. When it is all said and done, we will have two crosswalks (to start) on Glenwood that will have proper signage and signals.

The whole process should take about 6 to 8 months. I know that doesn't sound fast, but it is given all the processes we will be working through.

I'll make sure to keep the neighborhood informed on progress, and as always, if anyone has any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Thanks everyone

Edit: also adding that this wouldn’t have happened without the neighborhood, without EABA, without EACA, and especially not without Nate Minor helping me keep this top of mind

Contact instructions from East Atlanta's case manager Michael Nolan of Intown Cares:

Thank you to Eastside Church for hosting our community training event where Liliana Bakhtiari and Michael Nolan of Intown Cares discussed the new pilot program and who/how to contact help when the need arises. If you missed it, you can view the entire conversation HERE.

The image attached to this post includes the new telephone number to reach Michael for all things related to his role in East Atlanta. You may text or call, but please be aware that he am rarely able to answer telephone calls and you will likely need to leave a voicemail. Please continue to tag Michael Nolan on FB when relevant issues are brought up in the group, but be aware that this is not a timely or reliable way to reach him, nor is Facebook Messenger.

PLEASE REMEMBER: If you are in a situation that is threatening or dangerous, call 911 immediately.

When you text the number above for the first time please send your full name (and business affiliation, if you have one) so Michael can add you as a contact. This will make communication much faster in the future should you need his assistance.