What’s Up Dunwoody

Matthew Weber
  • 4.4 (27)
  • News
  • Updated Semiweekly

The What’s Up Dunwoody podcast is your insider’s guide to all things Dunwoody, GA. Hosted by Matthew Weber, it features interviews with local leaders, business owners, and community members who make Dunwoody unique. From events and news to hidden gems, the podcast keeps residents and newcomers connected to the latest happenings in the city. Whether you’re living in or moving to Dunwoody, tune in for engaging stories and hyperlocal insights that celebrate the best of our community!

  1. Sep 11 ·  Video

    340 - You Don't Have to Be Jewish to Belong at the JCC - Janel Margaretta

    Podcast 340 - You Don't Have to Be Jewish to Belong at the JCC - Janel Margaretta The JCC has been sitting on the land off Tilly Mill since 1961, back when it was farmland and Dunwoody was still decades away from being a city. It's still a huge part of Dunwoody's culture. Sixty thousand people walk through the doors every year now, and nine out of ten of them tell Janel Margaretta they made a friend while they were there. Measuring that is literally her job. She is the Chief Impact Officer, and she raised the money for the biggest renovation that campus has seen since 2000. You see it in small ways. A bus brings kids from school to Club J while a parent gets a workout in. When you show up at the pickleball courts, you always see someone you know. Summer camps are where kids grow up. Janel calls it the third spot, after work and home. All are welcome. You don't have to be Jewish. She said it comes down to kindness and honesty and caring for one another, and that is it. Sixty five years on the same piece of ground, and that is still the whole idea. Camp Barney registration opens September 23. And the Book Festival is back November 1 through 22, one of the largest Jewish book festivals in North America and somehow already in its 35th year, with Harry Connick Jr. on the lineup.

  2. Sep 7 ·  Video

    339 - 31 Years of McKendrick's Steak House, and What's New on the Menu - Chef Branden Holte

    Podcast 339 - 31 Years of McKendrick's Steak House, and What's New on the Menu - Chef Branden Holte McKendrick's is a Dunwoody institution. Claudia and Doug McKendrick opened it across from Perimeter Mall in 1995. It's been named one of the top five power bars in Atlanta and has won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence every year since 2003. Servers who've been there more than a decade are still bringing out the same great steaks. That corner of Park Place has watched restaurants come and go, and McKendrick's just keeps holding it down. There's a new chef now. Branden Holte came on in June, brought in by operating partner Anthony Casiello. He's an Atlanta guy, and the first thing I wanted to know was whether he touched the steaks. He didn't. Same cuts, same purveyor, still Meats by Linz and the Linz Heritage Angus line. The real changes are in places you wouldn't think to look, like a rebuilt fish program where nothing goes to waste and a tuna tataki that replaced an old tuna tartare that had gotten a bit played out. Little changes, and they sound like they add up. If you've been to McKendrick's before but not lately, now's the time to go back.

  3. Sep 4 ·  Video

    338 - Varuni Napoli, Rosetta Bakery, and Discover Dunwoody at High Street - Mark Galvin

    Podcast 338 - Varuni Napoli, Rosetta Bakery, and Discover Dunwoody at High Street - Mark Galvin There are not many people I get to talk Dunwoody with the way I talk Dunwoody with Mark Galvin. The man knows everything new. He is the Chief Marketing and Operating Officer at Discover Dunwoody, and once a month we catch up. High Street took up a good chunk of it this time. Varuni Napoli is open, Rosetta Bakery opened right beside it, and TriNet just cut the ribbon on a new regional office there. Discover Dunwoody just announced that it is moving its offices there by the end of the year. We got into Perimeter Mall moving its food court toward Macy's, with entrances from the Ashford Dunwoody side and the back parking deck. We also covered Van Leeuwen at Park Place, Beyond Juicery + Eatery at The Shops of Dunwoody, and the Dunwoody Village Merchant Alliance with Sips Around the Village. The Discover Dunwoody events page is filling up for fall. A 12-foot Busy Bee sculpture by Huelani Mei is unveiled at Windwood Hollow Park on September 10, the Butterfly Experience runs September 5 and 6 at the Dunwoody Nature Center, Farm to Table moved to Thursday, October 1 at Donaldson Bannister Farm, and much more.

  4. Aug 26 ·  Video

    337 - This Chamblee Gym Is the Next Step in My Son's Basketball Journey - Lee Miller

    Podcast 337 - This Chamblee Gym Is the Next Step in My Son's Basketball Journey - Lee Miller A lot of Dunwoody kids are already playing basketball through the Dunwoody Metro League at Dunwoody United Methodist, Dunwoody Baptist, and Kingswood, or through All Saints' own league. But that's a few months of games and then nothing until next fall. That gap is exactly what got my attention at EHB Chamblee. I sat down with Lee Miller, who's run EHB (Elite Hoops Basketball) for over 20 years and owns all four of the company's metro Atlanta locations, including the Chamblee one, which is a short drive from most of Dunwoody, right next to Chamblee Plaza off Peachtree Industrial. We got into what a class actually looks like there (Skill Development, Shooting, and 3-on-3, all 75 minutes) and Lee's brush-your-teeth logic: you can't cram basketball skills into two weeks before a season, you show up once a week, year-round, and it sticks. That's what we started doing with my son Sam. He's there one day a week, and we've already seen real improvement, enough that we'll probably bump it up to two days a week. I asked him about EHBL, the in-house league EHB runs opposite the traditional winter season across all four of their metro Atlanta gyms, and we also talked about NIKE Basketball Camps, which EHB has run as the official Southeast provider since 2005. The skills membership itself, which is what we do, is month-to-month (Starter, All-Star, or MVP), no long-term contract. It's a great starting point that won't break the bank, and it gets your kid used to just showing up for training every week. --- Full episode summary lives here: whatsupdunwoody.com/podcast-337

  5. Aug 13 ·  Video

    336 - Saints + Council Plans Second Location at Perimeter - William Pitts and Ian Winslade

    Podcast 336 - Saints + Council Plans Second Location at Perimeter - William Pitts and Ian Winslade Saints + Council is coming to Perimeter Mall. If you've had brunch at the original in Midtown, you already know why that's a big deal. Saints + Council founder William Pitts and Culinary Director Ian Winslade just held their groundbreaking ceremony on the mall's parking lot outparcel next to Lazy Dog, and they walked me through everything that's coming. The building will run about 8,000 square feet with fireplaces, water features, and a covered patio with a telescoping roof. We got into the origin story behind the Dutch Baby, the dish that almost became the whole concept before Saints + Council grew into a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner restaurant. We got into their menu favorites like braised short rib and a lemon miso salmon. William also got real about company culture, real paid vacation, 50 percent covered medical, and paid maternity leave for restaurant staff, which isn't something you hear about often in this industry. There's a personal layer to this one too. The new spot sits right across the street from Café Intermezzo, where William shared his last meal with his father years ago, and it's just down the street from where he lives now. His first two restaurants have already shown real success, Saints + Council in Midtown and his Oaxacan-inspired Cuevacía, both under his restaurant group Spur Hospitality, are thriving. Permits are still in progress, and they're targeting a 2027 opening.

  6. Jul 21 ·  Video

    335 - Building Community in Dunwoody at Crema Espresso Gourmet - Roey Shoshan

    Podcast 335 - Building Community in Dunwoody at Crema Espresso Gourmet - Roey Shoshan Thirteen years ago, a small group of friends missing the coffee culture they grew up with back in Israel took over an old butcher shop on Mount Vernon Road and turned it into Crema. Roey Shoshan was one of them, and he joined me to talk about how that little shop became one of the most loved gathering spots in Dunwoody. Roey and his co-founders sold their stake in 2014 to Erez Inbal, who took over with business partner Udi Goldstein and has carried Crema forward ever since. Roey doesn't take the credit for what it's become. He points straight to Erez for building it into what he calls Dunwoody's version of Cheers, the kind of place where the staff knows your order and your name before you say a word. We also got into why Dunwoody has seen a real coffee shop boom since COVID, and why Crema's still the one everyone else is measuring up to. We talked about the choices behind that feeling too. Crema still doesn't have a drive thru on purpose, Erez wants people walking in the door and saying hello. During COVID, when so much of Dunwoody shut down, Crema found ways to stay open for the community that leaned on it. It also traces back to a serious investment in their espresso machine, a La Marzocco, on day one. Roey works at the JCC too, and we touched on what that place means to Dunwoody, though that's a conversation for its own episode. --- Full episode summary lives here: whatsupdunwoody.com/podcast-335

  7. Jul 10 ·  Video

    334 - The Low-Key Walk That Became Dunwoody's Newest Community - Jess Zeewy & Delia O'Malley

    Podcast 334 - The Low-Key Walk That Became Dunwoody's Newest Community - Jess Zeewy & Delia O'Malley Jess Zeewy and Delia O'Malley were just doing their normal walk around Brook Run Park, until they decided to invite some friends along. 27 Dunwoody women showed up. We talked about their zero expectations philosophy, why admitting adult friendship is hard, and how the group spans every age. That first week, a 21 year old fresh out of college showed. As well as a 67 year old brand new to Dunwoody who didn't know a soul yet. Jess brings her background as a personal trainer and nutritionist, and Delia's own wellness journey over the years shapes how judgment free it all feels. Lucky Goat Coffee Co. became their official post walk spot after owner Josh reached out within hours of launch, wanting real community and offering to help. Their GroupMe has grown to about 108 women strong. Lucky Goat's celebrating its one year anniversary this week, with a Kendra Scott event coming in August, and a Pure Barre class in the works for September. If you want to join in, they walk Sunday mornings at 10am and Wednesday evenings at 6pm, both at Brook Run Park. No pressure, no sign up required, just show up. --- Full episode summary lives here: whatsupdunwoody.com/podcast-334

  8. Jul 6 ·  Video

    333 - How IHG Became One of Dunwoody's Biggest Community Partners - Colin Macdonald

    Podcast 333 - How IHG Became One of Dunwoody's Biggest Community Partners - Colin Macdonald Dunwoody just had its 50th annual 4th of July Parade, and by every account it was the biggest and best one yet. IHG Hotels & Resorts was this year's platinum sponsor, and I sat down with Colin Macdonald, who runs IHG's franchise operations across the U.S. and Canada, to find out why a company headquartered in Dunwoody keeps showing up for this city. Turns out the parade was just one small piece of it. We also got into IHG Army Hotels, the part of the business that runs hotels right on military bases, the renovation that turned Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia into a real destination under GM Sharon Kilmartin, and IHG's work fighting human trafficking alongside groups like Wellspring Living and Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp. IHG has been headquartered behind Ravinia for more than thirty years now, with about 1,300 employees and five hotels right here in Dunwoody. If you haven't tried Parkwoods, the restaurant and bar on Ravinia's ground floor, or the Backyard at Parkwoods out back, put it on your list, especially once the holiday lights go up in December. And a big thank you to the IHG team, they didn't just show up on parade day, they helped us spread the word beforehand too. Full episode summary lives here: whatsupdunwoody.com/podcast-333

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4.4
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About

The What’s Up Dunwoody podcast is your insider’s guide to all things Dunwoody, GA. Hosted by Matthew Weber, it features interviews with local leaders, business owners, and community members who make Dunwoody unique. From events and news to hidden gems, the podcast keeps residents and newcomers connected to the latest happenings in the city. Whether you’re living in or moving to Dunwoody, tune in for engaging stories and hyperlocal insights that celebrate the best of our community!

Information

  • Creator
    Matthew Weber
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    351
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2018 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    What’s Up Dunwoody

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