Several local business leaders braved bitter cold temperatures Wednesday night to help urge revitalization in Atlanta’s west side.
A total of 30 CEOs camped at the under-construction Chick-fil-A on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in southwest Atlanta.
Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy, whose foundation has a passion for the west side and its historic neighborhoods that have struggled, including Vine City, was among those camping.
“We want to bring attention to the fact that this is a tremendous area of opportunity for Atlanta,” Cathy said.
He added that the local community needs their encouragement, involvement and engagement.
“We’re going to see the resurrection of a very strong, viable, healthy west side of Atlanta to complement all the other areas of Atlanta that are doing really well,” Cathy said. “This community has been left behind for... far, too long and it’s time to reinvest.”
Also among the group of CEOs was Alex Taylor, CEO of Cox Enterprises, which is the parent company of WSB-TV and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“30 CEOs getting real to draw attention to this neighborhood that needs to be brought back. Go Atlanta!” Taylor said in a tweet Wednesday night that showed a picture of the tent he would be camping in.
Other leaders who camped came from Habitat for Humanity, Georgia Power and the Atlanta Police Foundation. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also stopped by to lend her support.
The Chick-fil-A opened Thursday.
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