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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2006 > September > 17 > Entry
Info flows faster than drinks at charity event
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Occasionally, we’ll pop into just the right nightspot, and an entire column’s worth of boldfaced names are waiting, cocktails in hand, with juicy scoop.
Our visit to MidCity Cuisine on Thursday night yielded such nuggets.
The occasion: Hair salon owner Richie Arpino and Retromodern.com retailer Scott Reilly teamed up as celebrity bartenders to raise tip money for the nonprofit organization Breast Friends. Arpino, a budding photographer, also offered his third charitable calendar, “Dance,” for sale. The year’s worth of tastefully shot male nudes were signed for delighted female attendees by the models themselves as Arpino struggled to ascertain the ingredients in a vodka on the rocks.
“I was stumped about the brand of vodka, not what went in it!” Arpino clarified to Buzz during a short break from his cocktail-slinging stint. He says he was inspired to stage a benefit for Breast Friends after a family member was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Atlanta actor Daniel May, meanwhile, helped to provide inspiration for the 2007 calendar’s theme (a graceful, winged May even turns up midyear).
Arpino’s partner, actor-turned-restaurateur Mitchell Anderson, took the evening off from MetroFresh — his popular Midtown eatery — to help out at the event. E! recently sent a “TV Star Confidential” camera crew to the restaurant to interview Anderson about his roles on “Doogie Howser, M.D.” and “Party of Five.”
“They wanted me to talk about going from the heartthrob role on ‘Doogie’ to the ‘out’ character that I played on ‘Party of Five’ and how that intersected with me coming out in my personal life,” Anderson told us. “It was fun to do, but it also made me realize that my life is so different now.” The segment will air on E! on Sept. 23.
The dish on Doty
Outside on the MidCity patio, Reilly was pouring champagne for pals as we bumped into Atlanta chef Shaun Doty, whose eponymous Inman Park eatery will bow this fall. Local restaurant and nightclub owners can attest that Doty is currently waist-deep in permits and license-related red tape, courtesy of the ever-efficient city of Atlanta (at least he’s not battling one of those computer-generated parking tickets…). His neighborhood bistro now has a dining room focal point, thanks to a large communal farmhouse table that Doty recently found at his Inman Park neighbor Mark Sage’s Love Train Antiques shop.
“I was looking for a large table that neighbors could use as a casual thing, if they just wanted to drop in without a reservation,” Doty explained. “It’s really perfect.” Shaun’s will hopefully debut in November.
P.R. and Pecan pieces
Former Campbell-era mayoral mouthpiece and ex-Atlanta Gas Light Co. spokesman Nick Gold and friends also were on hand at MidCity, after taking in the Tipper Gore photo exhibition at Mitchell-Gold in Buckhead. Gold whispered that he’s finally ready to take the plunge and open his own public relations “shop” in the city. He promises details soon. Our take? If he could brilliantly guide Bill Campbell through the tragedy of that 1999 Buckhead daytrader massacre during wall-to-wall live coverage on CNN, starting his own PR company ought to be a cinch.
A few feet from Gold and company sat Clint Zeagler, the creative braintrust behind the city’s budding Pecan Pie Couture fashion line. Zeagler told us that his signature Southern-inspired T-shirts will be included at the upcoming “To a T” exhibition at the Museum of Design Atlanta, which opens Oct. 19. Also, Pecan Pie fashions will be on the runway at “Fashionada ‘06,” the charity skin cancer benefit for You Can Make a Difference, which will be held Sept. 24 at Atlantic Station’s Strip (tickets range from $25 to $200, info: www.youcanmakeadifference.info).
A Lotus blooms in Buckhead
As Thursday night threatened to become Friday morning, we arrived at the grand opening of the ultra-swanky Lotus Lounge — the first nightspot located at the new Lindbergh City Center on the cusp of Buckhead. The Asian-vibed 7,800-square-foot, two-tiered space was conceived by Amy Miller, who kept busy greeting her high-profile guests. Upstairs will normally be reserved for private club members, willing to part with up to $2,500 for use of personalized lockers for vino and cigars. Late Thursday, one of the ornate upstairs couches was occupied by a petite blond woman holding an icy glass to her face as concerned friends clustered around her. Details weren’t immediately forthcoming (of course, we asked). Downstairs, a DJ curiously spun INXS’ “Need You Tonight” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” as we peered around the dim club. We’re fairly certain that we saw Dallas Austin chatting with a female companion in one of the private areas. But extremely large men in nicely tailored black suits, and sporting earpieces, prevented us from nosing too close. Oddly, we didn’t see Jimmy or Rosalynn Carter anywhere on the premises…
Celebrity birthdays
Today: Actress Lauren Bacall is 82. Blues singer B.B. King is 81. Atlanta jazz guitarist Earl Klugh is 53. Illusionist David Copperfield is 50. Actress Jennifer Tilly is 48. Singer Marc Anthony is 37. Actress Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”) is 25. Singer Teddy Geiger is 18.
Sunday: Singer BeBe Winans is 44. Actor Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) is 41. Rapper Doug E. Fresh is 40. Singer Anastacia is 33. Singer-actress Nona Gaye is 32.
Contributing: News services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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