Dentist Near Johns Creek, GA

Homegrown in Alabama, Cookie Fix is making its way up I-20 as a part of Johns Creek’s planned mixed-use development, Medley.

In a previous post by What Now Atlanta, 11 restaurants were announced to come to the suburban location. Cookie Fix is the first dessert eatery planned for the mixed-use site.

Founded and owned by Amy Jason, the Johns Creek store will be the first in Georgia. This particular store will be a franchise location, owned and operated by Missy Moon out of the Atlanta Metro Area.

In addition to Cookie Fix, Moon just signed leases for two Nothing Bundt Cake franchises: Columbus Park Crossing North, 5555 Whittlesey Blvd Columbus, GA 31909, and at Fayetteville Pavilion, 72 Pavilion Parkway GA 30214.

Gary Woodward, Senior Vice President, JLL Tenant & Landlord Representation, was Missy’s broker on all three upcoming franchise leases.

Future patrons of Medley who may be familiar with Cookie Fix can expect the same type of experience from the existing locations.

“Our menu changes daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonally. We have 25 different varieties per week and about 100 different cookie varieties per year,” Jason said about the menu.

Although the Johns Creek location will be a franchise, it will offer consistency in the menu and freshly baked goods with no warming drawer.

Customers can also expect to consistently enjoy Cookie Fix’s top three-selling cookies – chocolate chip, heavenly peanut butter, and salted dark chocolate caramel.

Cookie Fix is based in Alabama, beginning with Amy Jason’s passion for desserts. From an early age, she loved to bake sweets and transitioned from less extravagant desserts to cookies as her life as a mother and wife got busier.

Amy Jason explained to What Now Atlanta that after successfully baking cookies for friends and family, she was encouraged by a mentor to sell her cookies to the masses.

Jason opened her first location seven years ago in Homewood and expanded to Cahaba Heights in Vestavia, Alabama. Huntsville opened as the third Alabama location and the first franchise for the organization.

Cookie Fix is also opening a franchise location in Franklin, TN and is excited about expanding its footprint in Medley.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Many people across our area honored the Juneteenth holiday on Monday.

The date June 19, 1865 commemorates the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas.

It happened two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863 to free slaves.

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“I am related to, I believe 80% of the people here,” Sabrina Aquell said.

Aquell said her family tree is deeply rooted at the Macedonia African Methodist Church Cemetery in Johns Creek.

“Most of the people buried here are related to me. The Osleys, you’ll see a lot of those headstones,” she said.

The land is tucked away in the forest off State Bridge Road.

Aquell said her grandfather Sam Jones is buried here, but after that, the history is lost.

“We can’t find Sam Jones’s mother,” she said.

But she knows her family is here.

“As this was a part of a plantation, they were burying slaves up here long before the fence was here and the houses were there,” Kirk Canaday with Descendants of Macedonia Cemetery said.

Canaday is a local historian and has been researching the cemetery and its history for years.

Canaday said George Morgan Waters owned the plantation.

He showed Channel 2′s Larry Spruill the map of the area.

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It showed the burial sites they have found thus far, but he believes there are more

“One of those problems here is when you’re looking for older graves if people are in the ground without a casket, you’re not going to see the depressions,” he said.

Canaday said the gravesite dates back to deep slavery and slavers were here before and during Juneteenth.

“People were alive. They were working in this area. (During Juneteenth) oh yeah, they were here. This plantation was here. There’s a narrative here in Johns Creek, where their narrative is, they talk about the early family settling here. One of them has the same last name as you, Spruill,” Canaday said.

Now many say during slavery the history was not officially written down but passed from generation to generation verbally.

That’s why family members who have relatives here at this cemetery say it’s important to document this history.

“So really it’s like we’re standing on historical ground?” Spruill asked. “We’re standing on sacred ground. Yes, you are,” Aquell said.

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Jonny Hickey won’t be heading into senior year alone, his bearded dragon named Alberta will be right by his side.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — As thousands of students return to school across the Peach State, seniors are returning for their last first day of high school.

The Class of 2024 will embark on their final stretch of over a decade of education. Jonny Hickey is one of those seniors, heading to his final year at Johns Creek High School in Fulton County. Jonny won’t be heading to senior year alone, his bearded dragon named Alberta will be right by his side.

Jonny will be among the nearly 9,500 students with cognitive disabilities attending Fulton County Schools for the 2023-2024 school year. For Jonny, his autism is his superpower.

“Jonny’s actually been in public school since he was 3,” Jonny's mom, Linda Hickey said.

Linda said back-to-school prep really begins when the school year ends. She said they spend the whole summer working on Jonny’s academic and social skills adding his success in school is a team effort between their family and his instructors.

It all starts with an individualized educational plan. This is a document laying out Jonny’s goals and accommodations needed for him to succeed in school.

Jonny’s former special education teacher E’Lisa Ladson, who he refers to as “Coach Ladson,” said Jonny is a perfect student in the class and she builds off his strengths.

“If 20 kids are asleep, Jonny is the one awake raising his hand and asking questions,” Ladson said. “A lot of students have their disabilities. There are some areas that they struggle with but there are also some things that they are really good at."

Jonny said his favorite subject is chorus. The award-winning 18-year-old senior has found his footing in school plays and performances.

“There was a theatre banquet on May 2. I got my trophy, I got an award. It’s called ‘Rookie of the Year,’” Jonny said.

While his passion is rooted in the arts, Jonny’s academic performance is just as important. Linda said it was important for Jonny to graduate and get his diploma.

“We have a schedule,” Jonny said. “We have chorus, algebra, flex - all kinds of things."

While Jonny is looking forward to his senior year, many other students like Jonny are just getting started on their journeys to grade school.

Jocelynn McCullough is working with those young minds. She’s an interrelated (IRR) special education teacher at Heards Ferry Elementary.

McCullough said her goal is to lay a foundation so that the next generation of students with cognitive disabilities at her school is set up for success down the road.

She said on the elementary level, that means working on academics, social and emotional skills, as well as working with her student’s families to provide the necessary accommodations for their success in the classroom. It also means working with other staff at the school to make sure those students have a good experience when they leave her classroom.

“We have to collaborate effectively, we have to build that relationship and foundation in order for the student to be successful,” McCullough said. “We are going in with a positive attitude."

She's already starting the year with a smile and hope.

"We are going in saying-- we are going to have an amazing year. Everybody, regardless if they have a disability or not, every student has a strength. Let’s take our students' strengths and build upon that,” she added.

According to Fulton County Schools, 631 students with cognitive disabilities graduated with diplomas in 2022 and 591 students in 2023.

After more than a decade of schooling, Jonny and his family are looking forward to the moment he crosses the stage and gets his diploma in 2024.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — The Johns Creek Historical Society is mounting a campaign to save a 69-foot water oak that stands in the way of a planned Shake Shack near the Publix on State Bridge Road.

The tree, with a spread of 100 feet and a trunk 48 inches in diameter, has withstood the test of time dating back more than a century, but it now faces the axe as part of the proposed building project.

“In a city with very little remaining that physically ties to its history, the tree is a treasure,” writes Joan Compton, president of the Johns Creek Historical Society.

Compton created a document detailing the water oak, aka the Publix tree. In it, she advocates the denial of site plans for a 3,500-square-foot Shake Shack, which call for its removal. The project would subdivide a .72-acre out-parcel from an 8.65-acre property, which Compton says means there are other options.

The Publix tree is one of 17 heritage trees Compton has listed in an Excel spreadsheet, a project started during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the oldest tree in Johns Creek, near the Regal Cinema, dates to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Each tree tells the history of different parts of the city, she said. Macedonia Cemetery, where locally enslaved people and their descendants are buried, sits just up the road from the Publix tree. The land was once part of the Cherokee plantation.

“Over its long lifetime, the tree would have seen the horse-drawn traffic of traders, travelers, and local farmers on their way to and from the Warsaw and Medlock ferries …” Compton writes.

The tree “evaded the axe and plow,” she writes, and for decades it grew, despite rapid development.

“Saved once as a heritage tree when the Publix shopping center was built, it’s in jeopardy again.”

Shake Shack plans, approved by city staff, were expected to go before the Johns Creek Planning Commission July 10. A final vote of approval is scheduled for a later City Council meeting.

According to the city staff report, the zoning applicant initially considered incorporating the tree, but the existing topography presented a challenge. The tree sits on a 5,400-square-foot raised bed, 4 to 5 feet taller than the surrounding parking lot. Traffic flow was listed as another issue.

To abide by the city’s Tree Preservation Administrative Guidelines, staff placed conditions on the application. For specimen trees — defined by their high value in type, size or age — their removal must be replaced with a greater density in vegetation.

The applicant must also plant a 12-inch caliper hardwood by the proposed restaurant’s patio. Community Development Director Ben Song said the developer’s Land Disturbance Permit would include more detail to ensure the replacement tree’s survival.

While not a requirement, Song said the applicant was also asked to seek an independent arborist to evaluate the tree. The arborist’s report was expected to be filed July 7.

Before the application was accepted, Song asked if the tree could be transplanted, but for a tree that size, the risk could be too great. Lynn Pennington, president of Johns Creek Beautification, assumes the Publix tree would not survive a transplant.

“Based on the root structure, the size of that tree – where could it go? Where could you transport it?” Pennington asked. “It's wider than a double-lane highway.”

Compton sent her document to Johns Creek officials and others in the area, including Johns Creek Beautification, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the city’s natural beauty.

“Most everything, when it comes to development, is taken down,” Pennington said.

She envisioned an alternative, one that has people gathering for picnics under the tree. Pennington hopes the Publix tree could motivate various groups to inventory all the city’s heritage trees and provide signage.

“Everybody respects trees and loves trees,” she said.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A popular fast food chain is trying to open a new location in Johns Creek, but residents near the spot are pushing back against it.

Shake Shack, known for their burgers and fries, and yes, shakes, would have to cut down a long-standing tree to make room at the location.

The neighbors in the Johns Creek area nearby want to protect the tree, which is 100 years old.

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On Monday night, Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson learned the neighbors scored a win.

The 100-year-old oak tree could block Shake Shack from opening its planned location on State Bridge Road.

There’s a final vote in two weeks, but a city commission voted to keep the tree where it is.

By doing so, the commission gave Johns Creek neighbors at least a temporary win, while potentially putting the popular burger chain in a pickle.

One of the neighbors opposed to the Shake Shack spot is Joan Compton. She told Channel 2 Action News that the 100-year-old, 69-foot-tall tree was important.

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“It’s a little oasis in a large suburban shopping center and we felt it was worth keeping,” Compton said. “We didn’t want to sacrifice this tree.”

For Shake Shack to make their restaurant, developers would have to cut the old tree down so they can make room for the drive-thru.

Compton is one of several neighbors fighting the business’ proposal.

“These old trees are a conduit for people who might not think about the history her to start thinking about it,” Compton said.

Shake Shack wants to build their new location on State Bridge Road near Medlock Bridge Road. It’s the business intersection in Johns Creek.

Not everyone is against Shake Shack removing the tree. Some people say that the tree standing in the restaurant’s way is dying.

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“We do feel like this tree has to be addressed because of the potential hazard it now poses,” Tyler Morris, Willow Capital Partners, said.

A representative linked to the project made a case for the restaurant’s plan to the Johns Creek Planning Commission on Monday. He said a study by an arborist revealed the water oak has defects that might cause limbs to fall over the next decade.

Still, neighbors who want to protect the long-standing tree pushed back.

“People say this tree is not going to last long, these fast foods are going to last less than this tree,” Royce Reinecke, another neighbor, said.

The planning commission denied Shake Shack’s proposal, but the final say lies with the city council in two weeks.

Compton said she has nothing against Shake Shack itself, just the location, echoing the sentiments of other residents.

“We need to save it and enjoy it for its entire natural and full lifecycle,” Lynn Pennington, of Johns Creek Beautification, said.

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