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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 15
Thursday, November 15, 2007
New owners, new look for Silver Grill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No, that’s not a fried chicken and turkey and dressing-deprived mirage on Monroe Drive this week as drivers do double-takes in front of the old Silver Grill. The legendary eatery’s neon sign is lit once again and the diner is back open, nearly a year after it famously closed up shop, following a successful 58-year run.
Say hello to the Silver Midtown Grill, courtesy of its new owners Stephan Barrani and Sam Scott.
The duo has completely refurbished the outdated space (think new marble counters, hardwood floors, light fixtures and finally credit-card machines) while retaining the Silver Grill’s crowd-pleasing menu and somehow luring back signature employees, including manager Vivian Wynn, chef John Fendell and grill cook Peggy Mack. Bless her heart, Peggy Hubbard, the Grill’s 74-year-old waitress, who’s been dutifully delivering collards, corn bread and sweet tea to tables for nearly 50 years, also has returned.
Former regular Michael Thomason drove past the shuttered Silver Grill back in June and met the new owners, who were working on the space. He persuaded the pair, who wanted originally to open a similar eatery, to rebirth the Grill. Thomason then got on the horn to Hubbard and company and coaxed them back as well.
“The Silver Grill was such a community thing, it was difficult to let that go,” Thomason told Buzz Thursday. “I still can’t believe it’s back. Seeing that neon lit up again is just incredible.”
While Thomason says that some upgrades were needed to bring the old building up to code, regulars shouldn’t be too concerned about the upgraded aesthetics.
“It’s not too fancy,” he assures. “It still looks like a diner.”
The Silver Midtown Grill also eventually will open for breakfast as well as weekend brunch. Its new owners hope to make the Grill a 24-hour operation at some point, too.
So has legendary “Silver Grill Blues” songstress Diamond Lil popped back into the eatery since its reopening this week?
“No, but we’ve got to find her,” Thomason told us.
Buzz has a hunch that’s now no longer an issue …
‘Bandit’ ‘07
Braselton custom muscle car shop YearOne is honoring the 30th anniversary of the locally filmed “Smokey & the Bandit” by building 50 updated versions of the classy 1977 Trans Am from the film and recently gave the first one to Burt Reynolds himself.
They delivered the Trans Am to Reynolds in Los Angeles last month, a moment captured on film by cable network DIY for its show “Celebrity Rides,” which airs Friday night at 10. After more than 1,000 man-hours of work, YearOne pieced together vintage Trans Am parts to create a version with a different paint scheme, wheels and interior (plus modern-day power) that still looks basically like the original.
During an earlier episode, Reynolds consulted with YearOne and accepted most of the modifications but held firm on the distinctive hood bird. YearOne wanted to modify it, but Reynolds pooh-poohed the changes as “whitewashing” and insisted the bird stay the same. “That’s the most important thing about it,” said Reynolds, who still owns a couple of original “Bandit” Trans Ams from the film.
“I’m not going to argue with Burt Reynolds,” said designer Phil Brewer on camera.
“We compromised on a few things,” YearOne President Kevin King told Buzz. “But for the most part, he was a jewel to work with. And he was thrilled to see the results.”
If you want one yourself, it will set you back anywhere from $130,000 for a basic version to $205,000 for a totally tricked out edition. Check it out at www.yearone.com.
Quote of the day
“It was embarrassing. ‘Hey Chong, what are you in for?’ … ‘A bong.’ … ‘A bomb?’ … ‘No, a bong.’ “
Tommy Chong, one half of the 1970s stoner comedy duo Cheech & Chong, on his recent real-life stint behind bars for selling drug paraphernalia during an interview with Dave FM’s Mara Davis Thursday. Chong is in town for a weekend of shows at the Funny Farm.
Sick bay
New York singer-songwriter Regina Spektor postponed Thursday night’s scheduled show at the Tabernacle downtown. According to Atlanta radio station Dave FM, the vocalist, currently out on the road promoting her new album “Begin to Hope,” collapsed onstage at the Ryman Auditorium during a performance in Nashville Wednesday night. Spektor has rescheduled her Atlanta show for Dec. 5 at the Tabernacle. Tickets for Thursday’s show will be honored at the Dec. 5 date.
OVERSCENE
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox dining at Kevin Rathbun Steak in Inman Park.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Marg Helgenberger (“CSI”) is 49. Country singer-guitarist Keith Burns of Trick Pony is 44. Jazz singer Diana Krall is 43. Actress Lisa Bonet is 40. Actress Martha Plimpton is 37. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal (right) (“World Trade Center,” “Secretary”) is 30. Actor Noah Gray-Cabey (“Heroes,” “My Wife and Kids”) is 12.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
Nancy Grace out of the hospital (UPDATED)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CNN Headline News talk-show host Nancy Grace is doing well and left an Atlanta hospital Thursday following postpartum complications stemming from her delivery of twins Nov. 4, according to her publicist.
“Nancy is definitely feeling better,” said Grace’s publicist Patty Caruso Thursday afternoon. “The babies will be there for a couple more weeks so they can get fat and sassy.”
Grace, after her baby delivery last weekend, had fluid in her lungs but was released. This past Sunday, she had trouble breathing and her husband David Linch rushed her to a local hospital. (The Atlanta hospital name was not released for privacy reasons, Caruso said.)
Grace, who is 48 years old, had blood clots in her lungs, which is dangerous, especially older women.
“Twenty percent of women that die as a complication of pregnancy is directly attributable to blood clots,” Dr. Lauren F. Streicher, a professor of obstetrics/gynecology at Northwestern University, told ABC News..
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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After yearlong absence, Silver Grill returns
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No, that’s not a fried chicken and turkey and dressing-deprived mirage on Monroe Drive this week as drivers do double-takes in front of the old Silver Grill. The legendary eatery’s neon sign is lit once again and the diner is back open, nearly a year after it famously closed up shop, following a successful 58-year run.
Say hello to the Silver Midtown Grill, courtesy of its new owners Stephan Barrani and Sam Scott.
The duo have completely refurbished the outdated space (think new marble counters, hardwood floors, light fixtures and finally credit card machines) while retaining the Silver Grill’s crowd-pleasing menu and somehow luring back signature employees, including manager Vivian Wynn, chef John Fendell, and grill cook Peggy Mack. And — bless her heart — Peggy Hubbard, the Grill’s 74-year-old waitress, who’s been dutifully delivering collards, cornbread and sweet tea to tables for nearly 50 years, has also returned.
Former regular Michael Thomason drove past the shuttered Silver Grill back in June and met the new owners who were working on the space. He persuaded the pair, who wanted originally to open a similar eatery, to re-birth the Grill. Thomason then got on the horn to Hubbard and company and coaxed them back as well.
“The Silver Grill was such a community thing, it was difficult to let that go,” Thomason told Buzz Thursday. “I still can’t believe it’s back. Seeing that neon lit up again is just incredible.”
While Thomason says that some upgrades were needed to bring the old building up to code, regulars shouldn’t be too concerned about the upgraded aesthetics.
“It’s not too fancy,” he assures. “It still looks like a diner.”
The Silver Midtown Grill will also eventually open for breakfast as well as weekend brunch. Its new owners hope to make the Grill a 24-hour operation at some point too.
So has legendary “Silver Grill Blues” songstress Diamond Lil popped back into the eatery since its reopening this week?
“No, but we’ve got to find her,” Thomason told us. Buzz has a hunch that’s now no longer an issue …
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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The truth about T.I. … pillows
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thanks to Huff Furniture’s Julie Huff, we can now confidently report that T.I.’s sofa pillows are indeed orange. Huff e-mailed Buzz Central Wednesday after we wrote about the rapper-actor’s new video message posted on Streetcred.com.
The performer, as you may recall, is under house arrest awaiting trial on federal weapons charges. In the Internet video, T.I.’s pillows on his orange couch appeared, well, pink. Huff tells us that the 50-year-old Buckhead business has decorated two homes for the embattled rapper and that his basement family room where he taped the message is designed “in the colors of fire … shades of reds, oranges and yellows.”
This must come as a relief to the PR folks at the rapper’s record label. After all, in the world of rap, “no flash, no bang” can be effectively spun. Owning pink pillows? Not so much.
Scoring a record
Atlanta Brave Tim Hudson and Atlanta Falcon Keith Brooking were on hand this week to salute the efforts of the U.S. Marines, sponsor Federal Express and the Atlantans who ended up helping to a break a world record for a toy drive. The athletes served as the official witnesses at a FedEx distribution facility as Atlanta ended up donating 3,328 pounds of toys for Toys For Tots. The 10-city toy drive — a charitable tie-in to the holiday family flick “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” — raised a record 28,000 pounds of toys across the country. The gifts will be donated to needy kids. For their efforts, Hudson and Brooking both get 100 toys to distribute to their respective charities, the Keith Brooking Children’s Foundation, the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta this holiday season.
Wanted: Reader thanks
The window is closing to get your poignant and/or humorous “What I’m thankful for” reflections into Buzz Central for our annual reader-driven Turkey Day column. Send them today along with your full name, where you live, a daytime phone number and a photo if you wish to buzz@ajc.com.
Buy a bowl today
If you dine at Murphy’s today for lunch, you’ll get to keep your bowl and help Open Hand, the city’s meal-on-wheels program for folks living with and affected by AIDS and other illnesses or disabilities. Since September, Murphy’s customers have been dropping by the neighborhood Wired & Fired pottery shop on Virginia Avenue to create soup bowls for the charitable effort. Today, starting at 11 a.m., diners can order a special bowl-centric lunch entree from Murphy’s executive chef Gregg McCarthy and, for a $20 donation, guests will get to take their freshly washed bowl with them when they depart. Among the celebs contributing their artistic touches to bowls in the fund-raiser: WXIA “Atlanta and Company” co-hosts Holly Firfer and Tom Sullivan and CBS 46 “Better Mornings” entertainment reporter Corinna Allen.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
“People’s Court” judge Joseph Wapner is 88. Actor Ed Asner is 78. Singer Petula Clark is 75. Actor Sam Waterston (“Law and Order”) is 67. Bandleader Kevin Eubanks (“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”) is 50. Singer Chad Kroeger of Nickelback is 33. Drummer Jesse Sandoval of The Shins is 33.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The next president could make some profound changes in the first 10 minutes.”
— Former president Jimmy Carter, eliciting laughs Wednesday, on how America’s reputation for respecting human rights could be restored, during a speech at the American Society of Criminology annual meeting at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta.
Contributing: David Simpson and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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