Chattarati Articles in Neighborhoods

Brewhaus to Bring European Flair to Hill City

2011-09-07T13:00:00Z

David Morton

Brewhaus, the North Chattanooga gastropub, opens Thursday, Sept. 15, on Frazier Avenue.

Germany may be celebrating its world-famous Oktoberfest this month, but Hunter Hart and Mike Robinson plan to bring the event here to Chattanooga, and keep it running year-round.

Brewhaus, a new gastropub run by the local entrepreneurs, is opening Thursday, Sept. 15, on the North Shore. With 12 beers on tap and nearly four times that being offered in bottles, Brewhaus aims to add a German pub atmosphere to the Scenic City.

"Even though Oktoberfest is technically from mid-September to the end of October, we want our patrons to feel like every day is Oktoberfest," said Tiffanie Robinson, PR representative for Brewhaus. "We'll have an atmosphere that will portray this with German bar songs, new German beers on tap each month, and special brew club incentives and events."

Brewhaus takes their approach to bringing this atmosphere to Chattanooga a step further, however, by sourcing several menu items from local businesses. With breads from Bluff View Bakery, rotating offerings on tap from Chattanooga Brewing Company, and local produce and pastries, the brewpub plans on truly integrating the German experience into our local culture.

"Our vision is to bring awareness of German culture and flavor to the downtown scene along by mixing in local Chattanooga ingredients to stay in line with the local food movement Chattanooga is so proud of," said Robinson. "This is a passion of ours, and we have chosen to center our careers around the art of good food and good drinks."

Brewhaus will be running special food and drink offerings coinciding with Oktoberfest to celebrate its grand opening.

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The Bethlehem Resource Center

2011-09-02T10:00:00Z

The Brainerd area has the most wonderful thrift store, the Bethlehem Resource Center, on Brainerd Road. This center has everything that you could be looking for such as furniture, dishware, clothing, computer equipment, children’s items, and casual/formal wear. Yes, the items are "gently used," but they are in very good condition, and hidden treasures can be found if you take the time to look around.

There are plenty of furniture items that could be used in a student’s or individual's first-time apartment. There are also saw a few computer items that could be used to start a home office or to teach someone the basics of computers. And if you are looking for a formal outfit for that one occasion where you don’t want to spend lots of money, they have a wide variety. Just take it to the dry cleaners, and you would have paid no more that $25 for a great elegant outfit.

The Bethlehem Resource Center accepts items by donation or on consignment sold through the store, and they will also sell your items on Ebay for you on a 50/50 split.

Personnel will negotiate prices with you if you believe something is priced too high. They stated that they are not in the business of making lots of money but helping the community. What a great philosophy to live by!

Before you throw things out during your fall cleaning, consider donating to the Bethlehem Resource Center. They will also come and pick up your donation from your home. Take a moment to stop by on Brainerd Road (next to the costume shop) and check them out.

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Pasha Coffee & Tea: Suggestions Welcome

2011-07-06T09:00:00Z

At Pasha Coffee & Tea, listening to customers is a priority — and one of the secrets to the coffee shop’s success.

Matt Skudlarek, assistant store manager since 2010, is invested in making Pasha the best that it can be.

“I think an important part of being a business owner or manager is listening to what people say and their suggestions," he said. "Even if it’s one out of every five suggestions you use, if you have 25 suggestions and five of them are great, then that’s enough to think and build on.”

One of these suggestions was to expand the menu to include more sandwiches and food items. Sales increased by almost 200 percent.

Chattanooga is a city of coffee shops, mostly concentrated in the downtown area. But Pasha is the only one of its kind in the St. Elmo community, something which allows it to be uniquely involved in the neighborhood.

Works by local artists are in a constant rotation on the walls. It’s an often-played venue by musicians, and it collaborates with other local businesses to keep the community informed about events. Skudlarek knows many of the customers by name and spends time building relationships with them.

“That’s definitely the thing that’s bringing me around to my second year is the type of people and the friendships I’ve made and the people I’ve met,” he said.

Meghan Katzenberger, a student at Covenant and a facilities supervisor, is a regular customer. “I like Pasha because it’s a really friendly, personal place with a homey atmosphere,” she said.

Its coffee is another unique feature. “It’s all organic, all free-trade coffee. We do Turkish coffee, cold-press coffee," Skudlarek said. When you get in an industry like this that is honestly in an oversaturated market you have to make yourself stand out, make yourself be a destination place, and I think that’s done a lot by those products — but also by the staff — and the way the place is run.”

Or and Ladonna Cingilli started Pasha in February 2009 in order pursue their dream of a neighborhood coffehouse in St. Elmo. Located right on St. Elmo Avenue, it’s in a good place to be at the heart of the community.

Last month, the coffee shop was bought by Tag Thompson. Thompson hopes to keep the same atmosphere, just increase the flow of customers.

Skudlarek isn’t worried about any more serious changes taking place. “I see it evolving. I see it maintaining that atmosphere that makes it what it is, but I definitely see it growing,” he said.

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Brainerd Farmers Market Menu

2011-06-17T11:00:00Z

There will be some new products this week — Reflection Riding wildflower honey, feta cheese, and local wheat flour. Many of the farmers are between their summer and spring crops, and they should all be back next week.

The other vendors who will be there:

Bama Breeze Farm
Dixie Soaps
Homestead Beef
Palma Ceia Honey
Sonrisa Farms
Walden Farm
Williams Island
Dean Towers
Niedlov's Breadwork
Buffalo Brad's Turkey Jerky
Velo Coffee
23balm
Hilltop Farm
Sandy Woodward
Mulberry Jam Studio
Turtlefat Collection

Grace Episcopal Church does not profit from the market in any way. The mission statement: Grace Church sponsors the farmers market to bring locally grown and processed healthy food and related natural items to support our community and small farmers and to make the world a greener, healthier place.

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Belvoir’s Annual Fourth of July Picnic

2011-06-13T12:00:00Z

The Belvoir Neighborhood Association (BNA) is once again hosting a July Fourth picnic from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be held at the Triangle, which is near the intersection of Mayfair and Sweetbriar avenues.

They will be serving hamburgers and hotdogs with slaw and beans for only $5. You can have an additional hamburger or hotdog for only $1. There is also a family special of $20 for five people. Drinks are included in the price.

Highpoint, a bluegrass band, will be entertaining again this year. Local police and fire fighters will join the group for lunch as well. The group will be setting up Sunday, July 3, at 6:30 p.m. in the Triangle. The breakdown will be after the picnic. You will also have the opportunity to purchase a BNA mug or T-shirt.

Additional details.

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Highland Park Commons Breaks Ground

2011-04-20T11:00:00Z

Elemi Architects

An architect’s rendering of the marketplace and pavilion.

Highland Park has been called many things over the years, many of which were not so positive. For more than 20 years, neighborhood residents worked hard to clean up the area from crime and restore many of the once-beautiful homes to their previous glory. This week during a groundbreaking celebration for the Highland Park Commons, however, it was described as a “thriving community” and a “phoenix neighborhood”.

On Monday, the long-awaited, privately-funded community development project celebrated the beginning of construction on the 2000 block of Union Avenue at the intersection of Willow Street.

Highland Park Commons will include three Futsol (short soccer) courts, a children's playground, community garden space, farmer's market space and a multipurpose building that will house concessions and restrooms. The facility represents a truly collaborative effort on the part of philanthropic foundations, the city, and the Highland Park Neighborhood to create a hub for cross-cultural community engagement. The park will take up approximately three-fourths of a city block.

The Maclellan Foundation, St. Andrews Center and Tennessee Temple University, along with the Lyndhurst Foundation, are the founding partners of the project. The idea was conceived in 2009 as a way to bring soccer facilities to a growing Latino population in Chattanooga. In addition, the U.S. Soccer Foundation awarded a grant to Highland Park Commons reflecting the foundation’s focus on improving the health and well-being of children in inner-city communities. The grant will support programming, coaching and equipment for players, and the construction of safe playing fields that will aid the continued growth of soccer in the United States.

Charlie Phillips, secretary of the board of Highland Park Commons and strategy director at the Maclellan Foundation emphasizes that the park is about more than soccer, “Although soccer will be a defining element of the park, Highland Park Commons was never intended to be merely a soccer facility. It will create an environment for families and the community to come together for recreation, fellowship and community building.”

City Council members Peter Murphy and Manny Rico attended the event, as well as County Commissioner Greg Beck and Sheriff John Hammond. Representatives from the Highland Park Neighborhood Association were also there.

Construction is expected to last around seven months, projecting the Highland Park Commons to open sometime around November.

Special thanks to Gregg O'Dea and Jack Money. Photographs courtesy of Alice O'Dea.

Layout for Highland Park Commons. DC Sawyer Design Group.

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Highland Park to Host Great American Cleanup

2011-04-08T10:00:00Z

Highland Park residents will gather at Tatum Park on the corner of Holly Street and Union Avenue on Saturday, April 23 at 10 a.m. to participate in the Great American Cleanup.

Neighbors and community volunteers will walk the streets of Highland Park to pick up litter around the neighborhood. After the cleanup, we’ll celebrate with a hot dog picnic at Tatum Park.

Sponsored by Keep America Beautiful Inc., the Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest community improvement program. It takes place each year from March 1 through May 31. Last year, volunteers donated more than 5.7 million hours to clean and improve more than 33,000 communities across the nation.

To organize your own Great American Cleanup event and for more info, contact:

Scenic Cities Beautiful Commission
Jeanette Eigelsbach
Chattanooga, TN 37403-3203
eigelsbach_j@chattanooga.gov
(423)757-0061

To learn more about Keep America Beautiful Inc., visit kab.org.

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Kids’ Library Focus Group

2011-04-07T09:00:00Z

What does the perfect library look like? On Saturday, April 9, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., the Eastgate library will hold a focus group to find out. It is for students in K-12. Please RSVP at(423)757-5310 or email wilkins_w@lib.chattanooga.gov.

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Bluebird Workshop on April 30

2011-04-05T14:00:00Z

John McGirk will host a bluebird workshop on April 30 for the Belvoir Neighborhood Association. If you'd like to attend, please meet in the triangle park at 9 a.m. He will discuss the results of the trails, the bluebird territories and how to recognize bluebird nests. The workshop will end with a walk to several of the bluebird boxes in the neighborhood.

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The Great American Cleanup Day

2011-04-04T10:00:00Z

The Belvoir Neighborhood Association will participate in the Great American Cleanup day on April 9. Anyone who wants to participate should gather at the triangle park at 9 a.m. The focus will be on the various small parks in the neighborhood, common areas along the canals, the entrances to the neighborhood, and the Barger Academy fence line. More information on the Great American Cleanup can be found here.

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