Lots of Local Food at Alon's, and a Quick Overview of Backyard Chickens

So I've been having some of my one-on-one meetings at Alon's Bakery and Market, on Ashford Dunwoody Road right acrosss the street from Perimeter Mall (and awfully close to where our new City Hall will be). That's because Starbuck's is too crowded in the morning and the very nice manager who willingly French presses me my own cup of organic coffee is busy with other customers and I hate to trouble him (but that's the only way to get organic coffee there). Alon's is farther away for me, but the rough wood tables by the coffee bar (where they serve locally-roasted coffee) are plentiful (and there is a large outdoor eating area, for when it warms up just a tad more in the morning), I love the Tuscan yellow walls, and the jazz overhead could make you linger all morning, if you're not careful.

What I didn't realize was that, in addition to making its own gelato, chocolates, breads, pastries, prepared food, granola, and roasted nuts, Alon's carries a growing list of locally-produced items. The list I cobbled together, with the help of Chris the manager and Sandy from the cheese department, includes:

* A number of Sweet Grass Dairy cheeses. I visited and wrote the Edible Atlanta article about Sweet Grass Dairy, if you remember seeing that (the link is no longer online), plus I mention them in my column in the current issue of New Life Journal. (Also, I wrote the cover story about the "greening" of restaurants in that issue as well.)

* Johnston Family Farms milk. This is a small family farm of grass-fed cows where they use no growth hormones. I called and verified. They will be participating in the Georgia Organics Conference trade show this weekend.

* Featherwise Farms free-range, pastured eggs. These are Chad Carlton's eggs! I didn't recognize the name of his new egg farm! If you've never had real eggs like this, you might enjoy my Magic Eggs post.

* Arden's Garden. Here's my Foodshed Planet post about a manufacturing plant tour of this local juice company.

* Persimmon Creek wines. Big national award winners. Check out another post here.

* Terrapin beer. Out of Athens.

* Whynatte Latte. I don't know these folks, but Sandy told me they were local.

* Dancing Goat, J. Martinez and Batdorf Bronson coffees. See Dancing Goat post here.

* Bee Blessed and Savannah Bee Company honeys. Bee Blessed includes a honey from bees who fed on wildflowers in the Greater Atlanta area. Raw or minimally-processed local honey contains local pollens that can have an immunotherapy effect on those who consume it daily, thereby reducing allergies. I know this first-hand. My older daughter, my mother and I have all been allergy-medication-free for at least four years now as a result of local honey.

* SCAD houseware items. I love that Alon's included attractive small serving dishes designed by students at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

I talked with Alon yesterday and asked why he didn't identify these items as "local," that there are many people who are choosing to vote with their dollars for local items in order to have a "sense of place," support local farmers and artisans, and keep more money circulating in the local economy. He liked the idea and is considering some sort of labeling or blackboard that calls attention to these items.

Alon also said he'd like to have a farm stand in the parking lot so that this location has a little bit of the feel of the Morningside location, which is directly across the street from the stellar Morningside Farmers Market.

For those who have been following our community's work to help make farmers markets legal here in Dunwoody (our current zoning laws do not allow for it), you can imagine how I almost fell over.

"Not so fast, Alon!" I cautioned. "It's more complicated than it sounds!"

And speaking of local eggs and zoning laws, chicken-keeping is currently not allowed in Dunwoody, according to the City staff with whom I communicated yesterday in reaction to the chicken-keeping hearing at Roswell City Hall today. To amend the zoning law to reflect the many other cities where backyard pet chickens are allowed (with appropriate restrictions on size of coop, number of chickens, space from nearest occupied dwelling, no roosters, and cleanliness), we would have to do the exact same thing as we are currently doing with the farmers market amendment (which specifies a farmers market as an ancillary use at a place of worship's property, by the way, since it is the least complicated way to get approval and allows markets at locations with the necessary features, such as electricity, bathrooms and safety from traffic).

According to City staff:

The process starts with City Council directing staff to initiate a text amendment. After this direction is received, staff researches and compiles an amendment. All amendments are first heard by the Community Council, then the Planning Commission, and finally by Mayor and Council.

So, if you are in support of amending our zoning to include backyard pet chickens (this practice is way more Martha Stewart than Beverly Hillbillies, for those who are not familiar with what's happening nationwide, and most people do it not just for the eggs but to teach their children or to help keep bugs out of their gardens without pesticides), please contact your councilmembers (your HOA covenants are another story, by the way). You may also be interested in seeing the Chicken Whisperer at the Dunwoody Nature Center on April 4 and/or visiting the Chicken Whisperer's website. Also, there's the Decatur Chicks in the City Tour on Saturday, April 25 from 2:30-5:30.

As you get informed on this issue, please remember that some community and school gardens include at least a small coop for the educational value it brings to children, and it would be nice to one day have at least one community or school garden right here in Dunwoody. It might be nice to keep the option open of having a little coop.

In the meantime, Chad's eggs are available seven days a week at Alon's.