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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > May > 02 > Entry
Ludacris adds more Spice to his life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
That paper note taped to the front door of Midtown’s Spice restaurant is informing regulars of the worst this week: The trailblazing neighborhood eatery is temporarily shuttered.
Owner Bruce Patterson confirmed Tuesday to Buzz that he has sold the restaurant and the land at 793 Juniper St. Seven years ago, Spice opened on the eve of the new millennium, back when the neighborhood more closely resembled a shooting gallery than its current mecca for pedestrian-friendly mom-and-pop shops and eateries.
“It was a big green crack house,” Patterson recalled Tuesday with a laugh. “You were afraid to go in there by yourself when I was looking at it originally. I like to think that with Spice, we helped to set the tone for Midtown’s advancement. Maybe we were a little ahead of our time.”
Almost from the time it opened, the eatery lived up to its name. Mere months after its debut, Spice famously gave its chef, general manager, sous chef and three assistant managers the heave-ho. In the kitchen, Spice also notably hired and later lost Pano’s & Paul’s legend Paul Albrecht and Turner South “Home Plate” celebrity chef Marvin Woods.
And in true soap opera fashion, one particular Spice manager famously gave us the silent treatment for years, complaining that we had once quoted him too accurately in this space.
According to paperwork filed in Fulton County, rapper/actor/producer/entrepreneur Ludacris and his mother, Roberta Shields, purchased the business on April 12 for $2.7 million. The rapper’s rep Chaka Zulu indicated to Buzz this year that Luda was indeed considering the purchase (if Luda and Zulu wish to disclose their plans for the popular Midtown restaurant, we’ll be happy to pass them along).
And Patterson’s future endeavors?
“I’m considering investing in the planned film version of something called ‘Peachtree Battle.’ “
Of the city’s longest-running play, Patterson quipped, “Have you heard of it?”
CELEBRITY DOCTOR OFFERS GUIDE TO LIFE
CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta had a room full of the cable news network’s high rollers and well-wishers at the launch party for “Chasing Life” Tuesday night at Mason Murer Fine Art in Midtown. His new book is a guide to longevity.
“In our culture, we actually plan for bad health and not the opposite,” Gupta, clad in a black suit with white pinstripes told us. “We need to reverse that. In Japan, a person’s sense of purpose actually increases as they age.”
Perhaps the prettiest couple in the room? CNN anchor T.J. Holmes and TLC singer Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. And the gorgeous petite pop star’s tips for good health? Working out with weights (her handshake is no-nonsense) and jogging through Stone Mountain. Oh, and abstaining from alcohol. “I don’t drink at all,” she whispered to us. “It just tastes nasty to me.”
THEATER AWARD FOR ATLANTA’S MANOS
Broadway got a taste of the Chris Manos charm the other day. In New York City for the League of American Theatres and Producers’ spring powwow, the Theatre of the Stars chief picked up the league’s Distinguished Lifetime Service Award for his 47 years in showbiz. Manos, 76, has presented more than 700 shows during his Atlanta career. Joking about receiving the award at his age, he said, “If you stumble going down the stairs, they say, ‘Hurry, we better do something.’ ” (Two years ago, he received the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts’ first Georgia Arts & Entertainment Legacy Award at the Fox Theatre, and Broadway diva Jennifer Holliday flew in to belt her trademark song “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls.”) The award from Broadway’s national trade group would have been a surprise, Manos said, but he knew something was cooking when his three children showed up. His new crystal-star sculpture with the league logo is “pretty,” he said, but he was especially thrilled to get to try out his legendary arsenal of jokes on a fresh crowd.
“My baseball stuff went over big,” said the unsinkable Braves fan. Previous recipients include “Hello, Dolly!” author Jerry Herman, Carol Channing and “Chicago” producers Barry and Fran Weissler. That, quipped Manos, is “high cotton.”
GEORGIA REVIEW WINS IN BIG APPLE
The Georgia Review, the Athens-based literary journal, took home a prestigious National Magazine Award at ceremonies held in New York City Tuesday night. The Review’s winner, an essay by writer
Michael Donohue in which the author reconstructs the long lives of two characters using an abandoned box of papers, beat out work from such mags as The New Yorker and Smithsonian.
Editor Stephen Corey and his staff probably would have celebrated even if they’d lost. In recent days, the Review, which is marking its 60th year, won a boatload of awards from the Magazine Association of the Southeast. And win or lose, the Review was the magazine of honor at a post-awards party thrown at the Manhattan apartment of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” author John Berendt.
HIGH FIVE
Top cellphone ringtones For the week of May 5
1. “What Hurts the Most,” Rascal Flatts
2. “Irreplaceable,” Beyoncé
3. “Poppin,’ ” Chris Brown featuring Jay Biz
4. “Two Step,” Unk
5. “Crazy [expletive],” Buckcherry
Courtesy: Billboard
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Engelbert Humperdinck is 71. Singer Lesley Gore is 61. Country singer Larry Gatlin is 59. Singer Lou Gramm of Foreigner is 57. Actress Christine Baranski is 55. R&B singer Angela Bofill is 53. Country singer Ty Herndon is 45. Wrestler-actor the Rock is 35.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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