Get to know Nova ...

Nova is one of our Gathering Grounds baristas. He grew up in many small towns along the Texas Gulf Coast. He has been a barista since 1999, starting at Caribou Coffee in Emory Village, then Javaology in Sweet Auburn before settling down in Kirkwood. He knows more than you will ever want to know about the history of coffee and will talk your ear off about many esoteric and marginally interesting subjects like early Edo period Christian Ninjas and isolated extinct Indo-European Centum Branch languages in west China.


Here's more about our featured barista - next time you stop in, say hello!

Favorite authors: China Mieville, Richard Adams, Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, J. G. Ballard, William S. Burroughs


Favorite directors: David Cronenberg, Satoshi Kon, Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii, David Lynch, Chan-wook Park, Guillermo del Toro


Favorite musicians: COIL, Belle and Sebastian, New Order, Midlake, Blonde Redhead, Chromeo, Justin Timberlake


Pets: Pep Pep (cat)


Hobby: Indie Rock house shows, Japanese Console RPGs and Survival Horror Video Games. Pipes, Cigars, and Scotch. COFFEE!


Things I want to learn: Japanese, Farsi, Auto repair, Carpentry, Horse-back riding


Favorite Gathering Grounds drink to make: topless mocha for here


Favorite Gathering Grounds drink to drink: latte plain and simple


Best thing about coffee: the CO2 hitting your nose when opening a 5lbs bag of light roast coffee


Favorite thing about Gathering Grounds: The espresso and the music selection.


Best thing about Gathering Grounds customers: Kirkwood customers are SO much nicer than Emory, Norcross, and Sweet Auburn customers. When so much customer service let alone customers are rude and seem to have a chip on their shoulder y'all are a total anomaly.


Tell me about: Why I should go back to college or move to Chicago. novaterata@gmail.com or www.novaterata.com (coming soon!)

2nd Annual Holiday Open Mic Night!

Atlanta Humane Society Pet Parade

Gathering Grounds is hosting some walkers for the Atlanta Humane Society Pet Parade fundraiser. It's Saturday, April 14 at Candler Park. All proceeds from the Pet Parade benefit the shelter. As Atlanta's oldest private non-profit organization, The AHS cares for thousands of lost, unwanted and abandoned animals each year. The AHS receives no funding from the government or United Way and relies on private donations and special events like the Pet Parade.

For more information, visit www.atlantahumane.org

If you would like to walk with us, email our barista Amy at amy@gatheringgroundskirkwood.com and she'll help you sign up for our team for the standard $25 entry donation.

If you cannot walk in the Pet Parade that day, but would like to help the shelter by donating, please visit our personal donation page at https://www.firstgiving.com/gatheringgrounds

Help us reach our goal of raising $150 for the Atlanta Humane Society!

Peep My Latte!

It's time to celebrate springtime and the Easter season with a special latte of the month ... introducing Gathering Grounds' very own creation, the Spring Peep Latte!

A warm, toasted marshmallow latte with a colorful peep floating on top! How can you resist it? Just come up to the counter and say, "Peep my latte!"

So perfectly puffy and peep-a-licious, you've got to taste it to believe it!

New art for the month of March!

There are many works of art on display at Gathering Grounds that were made at the Neighborhood Charter School in Grant Park by Ms. Curtis' fourth grade art class.

The kids were learning about the life and artwork of Gustav Klimt and began the project by looking at pictures of his paintings as well as reading a book called Klimt And His Cat. The book tells about Klimt from the perspective of his pet cat. Together, they travel the world and work in the studio. It is illustrated in a similar style to what you would see in Klimt's most famous paintings.

Once they understood his work, they made their own Klimt-inspired artwork. The artist used a lot of gold paint in his works, so they used gold paper for their background. They copied the style of background that they saw in some of his paintings using dark red paint applied in a textured way. Then, to create the subject, they combined paper collage with polymer clay. They used the clay to make elaborate dresses and cloaks to simulate the fancy dresses that Klimt had his models wear. Through this project, the students experimented with several materials and techniques: paper, paint, collage, polymer clay, relief sculpture and print making.

Visit the Neighborhood Charter School website at: www.neighborhoodcharter.com

Meet Amy!

Amy is one of our Gathering Grounds baristas. This is her first coffee job, but coffee has long been a love of hers.
She has other loves - her dog Ohren, her Vespa, her Mac iBook and puppetry. In fact, Amy has an M.A. in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut! Yes, you can major in that. She appeared in a couple shows last year at the Center for Puppetry Arts and recently completed her graduate studies in Design at Atlanta's Portfolio Center. Anybody know of any fun graphic design jobs out there?

Here's more about our featured barista - next time you stop in, say hello!

Favorite books: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whislestop Cafe, The World According to Garp

Favorite movies: A League of Their Own, Amelie, Babel

Favorite musicians: Dar Williams, Girlyman, The Jayhawks, Indigo Girls

Pets: Some fish, snuggly cats (Jonah and George) and Ohren, the Wonderdog

Hobby: puppetry (I wish it could always be more than a hobby - maybe someday)

Things I want to learn: knitting, tennis, ASL


Favorite Gathering Grounds drink to make: iced latte

Favorite Gathering Grounds drink to drink: hot latte or macchiato

Best thing about coffee: its scent

Favorite thing about Gathering Grounds: The people I work with are all amazing in their own ways. I also like the opportunity to learn about coffee and to learn the art of espresso drinks.

Best thing about Gathering Grounds customers: Their (usually) good attitudes - especially after they've had their morning coffee! I like that they are willing to wait a little bit for a hand-made espresso drink, as opposed to the automated "robots" that make drinks at the Big Green Monster. And I love that they support our local business and others in Kirkwood!

Ask me about: Puppetry, to see a photo of my dog or where you can adopt a wonderful dog or cat: PAWS Atlanta (www.pawsatlanta.org)

Tell me about: Your cute pets or any design job you can help me snag! (www.amyrush.com)