All Aboard Frosty Caboose!

So my daughter and I were on our way to the Chamblee library because after returning the nine-disc Mermaid Chair book-on-CD to the Dunwoody drop-off, which is open even though the library is closed for a month, we got a phone message that said, "Disc #4 is missing, and if you don't come to Chamblee to return it, the fines will keep accruing."

So off we went, taking side streets, when we fell upon this eye-catching train caboose transformed into an ice cream stand named Frosty Caboose (it had a "soft" opening, so to speak, about a month ago). We stopped and patronized it, and here's what I love. It is painfully adorable. It serves Greenwood ice cream, locally made right in Chamblee. It ties in thematically with the "branding" of Chamblee and its train roots. And it recognizes the nature of children by allowing kids to climb on one end of it (which makes for a great photo op).

But there's more. There are benches under shady trees by grassy knolls where you can sit and watch the world (and real trains!) go by and you are not in the middle of a boiling hot parking lot (can anyone say Bruesters?). There is a clearly-marked, sign-in-the-middle crosswalk spitting distance away that leads you to a charming, inviting pizzeria. And, if that's not enough, our very own MARTA bus #132 goes right here (the closest stop is just up the road in front of the impressive Chamblee City Hall) on its way to its terminal stop at the Chamblee MARTA station just down the block.

The lesson for Dunwoody? Branding matters. Sense of place matters (someone commented at the meeting last night that we don't want development that looks like the same as every other place in the Unites States). Walkability and ease of access matters. And yes, we do already have buses that take you places (as opposed to the comments I keep hearing at the Comprehensive Plan meetings!). Bus #150 might as well call itself the Dunwoody loop trolley about which everyone keeps talking. Dunwoody Village, check. Borders shopping center, check. Perimeter mall, check. The movie theater, for goodness sake, check. And Bus #132 goes to Frosty Caboose, and frankly, that's a very good thing!

The Frosty Caboose Grand Opening is this Saturday. Click here for details. Oh, and here is a coupon. All aboard!