The Insider
When a hair cut is really a drag
Atlanta Business Chronicle - by Wendy Bowman-Littler
When a hair cut is really a drag
Tommy Thomas of Thomas Barber Shop -- an Atlanta fixture since 1959 -- jokingly told to a customer that if someone brought a tutu by his shop he'd wear it for a day.
That was all the incentive Genuine Parts Corp. director William C. Parker Jr. needed. He promptly contacted Atlanta Ballet board member and former chairman Lynda Courts, who asked the dance company's costume shop to "build" a tutu to fit the barber -- a self-described "big boy."
Parker, Courts and dancer Julianne Kepley then visited the shop unannounced -- complete with the customized tutu and a photographer. Good sport that he is, Thomas wore the costume throughout the day as he cut and trimmed his customers' hair. Pliés were not included.
"It was strange, but everybody laughed about it and they thought it was great. I had fun with it," Thomas said. "I'm just from the south side of town, and if you double-dog dare me I'll do a little bit of everything."
Now, Thomas is using his tutu experience to help the Ballet raise money. He's selling a limited number of the signed pictures to his customers and donating the proceeds to the organization. The original tutu and a huge poster of the photo also will be permanently displayed in his shop in the A&P shopping center at the corner of West Paces Ferry Road and Northside Parkway.
-- Wendy Bowman-Littler
The end for Coach and Six
After a 35-year run, the Coach and Six Restaurant will serve its last supper May 17. Opened by Hank Soloff, the restaurant quickly became an unofficial club for Atlanta's old guard and was a power-lunch place in the '70s and early '80s before enduring a slow decline.
Current owners Frank and Sue Heavlin hoped to return the restaurant to its glory days when they bought the restaurant from George Lefont of Lefont Theaters Inc. in 1994. "It's sad to see it go," Sue Heavlin said. "It had been a landmark, but I think it has had its day."
Although the deal hasn't closed, the Heavlins expect to sell the Coach and Six to Los Angeles restaurateur Frank Holoman within the month. Holoman plans to convert the restaurant at 1776 Peachtree Street to Boulevard Cafe, an upscale soul food eatery, according to the seller's representative, Steve Josovitz of the Shumacher Group.
Sugarloaf sensation
One of the most popular golfers swinging a club at Sugarloaf Country Club during the BellSouth Classic didn't carry a PGA Tour card.
In the backyard of one of the pricey 10th fairway homes, an energetic toddler spent the better part of Saturday afternoon spanking Titleists with a tiny driver and drawing cheers from the appreciative crowd.
The boy was hailed by the gathered masses as the second coming of Tiger Woods, and one fan shouted that the obviously-well-off kid should put out a tip jar.
Sugarloafers soliciting change from the crowd? Not likely.
Boarding up
Internal maneuvers continue at The Robinson-Humphrey Co., the 102-year-old Atlanta brokerage firm.
Several weeks after appointing a director of research and chief financial officer and four months after naming a new CEO, the firm added five new members to its board of directors. That expands R-H's board to 28 people, quite a big board for a firm that's a subsidiary of a much larger company.
Robinson-Humphrey's new directors are Kirby Kuklenski, executive vice president and Atlantic Coast regional director; Gerard O'Meara Jr., the director of research; Douglas Van Scoy, senior executive vice president and Southern divisional director; Milton Woodruff Jr., executive vice president, block trading; and Jeannie Wright, executive vice president, personal financial planning.
Kelly's last stand?
When Pope & Land Enterprises Inc. President Larry Kelly stood in support of his company's Buckhead rezoning petition at the May 8 Atlanta Zoning Review Board meeting, he probably understood how Gen. George Custer felt at Little Bighorn.
After Kelly and two or three others raised their hands to support Pope & Land's request, Zoning Review Board Chairman Oscar Leonard asked for a show of hands against the petition. Dozens of people, many sporting "Don't Jump the [Buckhead] Loop!" patches, expressed opposition as Kelly slunk back into his seat.
But the meeting won't be Kelly's last stand. The Buckhead requests were deferred and he'll get another shot in 60 days.
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