Decatur Square

My favorite city square. Along with the various events — Decatur Beer Fest, Book Festival, 4^th of July, and many others — it’s a cool place to hang. Lots of restaurants. Lots of pubs. And two ice cream joints — Jeni’s and Butter & Cream.
Parking can be an issue but only if you need to be close. You can always find spots somewhere near the square if you’re willing to walk a few blocks.

I first went to Decatur Square in the 90’s. At that time, it wasn’t as developed as it is now. It was a quiet, little town square and kinda ghetto. Now, it’s bustling with trendy bars and restaurants.
One thing for sure is that parking has gotten worse. I used to be able to park for free at certain places. Now every little streets and parking spaces are pay only. And most of them only let you park for max 2 hours. Maybe that was needed because it was hard to find parking as Decatur Square grew more popular.
Well, if you don’t want to drive, there is a Marta station right at the square. So you can just ride Marta.
They do have a ton of restaurants there. They are all walking distances from each other, and most of them seem good. Some are new, and some have been there forever like Raging Burrito.
You can choose among different style of restaurants. You can get great pizza at Sapori di Napoli. You can have awesome sandwiches and drinks at Victory Sandwich bar. You can eat sushi at Sushi Ave. You can get great food at Iberian Pig. Heck, even King of Pops hang out there.
There’s also a ton of drinking establishments like Brickstore Pub, Mac Magee, and others. They have cafes like Java Monkey and Starbucks, of course.
In the center of the square, there’s a huge gazebo. You can see people doing Bagua or Taiji at certain times of the day. It’s a nice place to hang out. But in the end, it’s a gazebo.
Nearby, there is the Dekalb Historical Center where people can rent to hold events. For example, a Unilocal Elite Event was held there one day.
Overall, I have good memories of Decatur Square. From my younger days getting tossed around by taijiquan guys, going to that Unilocal Elite event, and eating crappy Asian food; until today where I can finally eat great food there.