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Biz bits: Crab Du Jour opens at Gallery of South DeKalb, La Chiquiada opens in Decatur

Business Decatur Food Trending

Biz bits: Crab Du Jour opens at Gallery of South DeKalb, La Chiquiada opens in Decatur

Joe Olszewski Regional Manager Crab Du Jour, DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson, Beau Stickley VP of Business Development Crab Du Jour Cut the ribbon surrounded by locals to mark the grand opening of Crab Du Jour Decatur. Photo courtesy of Crab Du Jour.
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This story has been updated.

Decatur, GA — Here’s a look at business news in our community.

— Crab Du Jour opened on March 21 at the Gallery of South DeKalb on Candler Road. 

Crab Du Jour is a cajun seafood restaurant known for its ultimate seafood boil where guest pick their own catch, from clams and crawfish to king crab legs or lobster, the sauce of their choice and the spice level, according to an announcement.

The restaurant also offers southern cajun specialties including Po’ Boys, wings, hush puppies and more.

“We are so excited to open our first location in the Atlanta market here in Decatur,” said Tom Lin, General Manager of Crab Du Jour Decatur. “We look forward to welcoming the community to experience our extensive menu of cajun-inspired seafood, delicious home-style specialties, and handcrafted cocktails to enjoy with friends and family.”

La Chiquiada, a new Mexican restaurant, will open in downtown Decatur in April. Photo submitted by Catherine Zuber.

— La Chiquiada will open in downtown Decatur in April. 

La Chiquiada will bring Mexican heat, California ease, and southern hospitality, with a side dish of soul, to downtown Decatur. The restaurant will be open for breakfast and lunch during the week and brunch and dinner on the weekends, according to an announcement.

“You can expect amazing coffee (Montgomery based Prevail Coffee), homemade pastries, and breakfast tacos to start your day, an awesome happy hour with delicious bites and killer cocktails to start your evening and a super delicious Mexican inspired brunch and dinner menu through the weekend,” owner Catherine Zuber said. “We will have California wines, local draft and bottle beer, and awesome cocktails.”

“With some good old-fashioned Southern charm and a lot of Mexican flavor, we at La Chiquiada are on a mission to prove that food has the power to bring people together time and time again,” she added. “We can’t wait to serve Decatur and the neighboring communities. We are looking to open our doors in late April.”

The restaurant will be located at 110 West Trinity Place. It will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4-10 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4-11 p.m. and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant will be closed on Mondays.

– Avellino’s Decatur has closed, according to a Facebook post in the Oakhurst neighborhood group. 

The post features a photo of a sign on the Avellino’s door that states, “This location will be permanently closed as of Tuesday, March 22. We appreciate all of the support we have received from our community for the past 15 years. We couldn’t have done it without you! Please come visit us at our Brookhaven location.”

Students at the Academe of the Oaks are taking experiential learning to the next level in a new investment class at the school. Photo courtesy of Academe of the Oaks.

– Students at the Academe of the Oaks are experiencing collaboration and ingenuity in a new investment class at the school. 

Here is the full press release:

ATLANTA: Science and mathematics teacher, Alejandro A. Rovira, noticed a trend among his students this year: their interest in stocks, investing, and trading. Following their curiosity and his expertise after receiving his MBA in finance, Rovira decided to dedicate J-term to an Investment class, creating a virtual stock exchange using an online platform called MarketWatch.

“The students are much more conservative with their virtual portfolio than I expected! They’re competitive and no one wants to ‘lose’ their money,” says Rovira. Students active-
ly manage their portfolios each day, researching and discovering rates, cryptocurrency, and new investments to consider.

The high schoolers quickly learned the mechanics of investing, budgeting, and managing a
portfolio. “It was fascinating to foray into the world of investing and I never realized how much depth there was to it,” shared 12th grader, Thomas. Allowing the students an opportunity to invest shapes their relationship and understanding of finance and money management, an essential life skill that is often not included in high school curriculum.

12th grader, Tobin, elaborated, “Through this course, I learned how I behave with money, and what I need to change about how I act with money.” J-term’s variety of electives serves as a powerful way for students and teachers to expand and develop their interests. It gives students a chance to get out in the community and learn new skills together, which fits right into the core values at Academe.

Quality Care for Children has named Ellyn Cochran as Its new president and chief executive officer. Photo courtesy of Quality Care for Children.

— Quality Care for Children has named Decatur resident Ellyn Cochran as its new president and chief executive officer. 

Here is the full press release:

ATLANTA – (March 24, 2022) – Quality Care for Children (QCC), an Atlanta-based nonprofit working to equip families and child care providers with the knowledge and resources to nurture and educate Georgia’s infants and young children, today named Ellyn Cochran as its new president and CEO effective April 11, 2022. Cochran will be the organization’s fourth president and CEO, following Pam Tatum who announced her retirement in January of this year after more than 30 years with QCC, and having served the last 18 years as its CEO.

“Pam is a smart, fierce and dedicated advocate for Georgia’s families and child care providers, and it has been a privilege to work with her for so many years. Under her leadership, the organization’s scope and impact were expanded making QCC one of the premier child care resource and referral agencies in the country,” said John Giegerich, Chair of QCC’s Board of Trustees and Partner at CEO Coaching International.

Giegerich continued, “We are elated to begin working with Ellyn and know that her immense experience and leadership in early childhood education and development, public policy and fundraising will guide the execution of our strategic plan to improve the lives of our state’s families and children.”

Cochran’s appointment comes after a national CEO search conducted by QCC’s Board of Trustees. She is currently the Associate Vice President of Early Learning and Development for United Way of Greater Atlanta where she oversees United Way’s regional work in the areas of early education, child development and family engagement. Cochran has also been instrumental in securing annual funds, creating new investment strategies and programs, and providing leadership to grantmaking staff on the allocation of investments.

“I have long admired the work of QCC to ensure every child in Georgia has access to high-quality early childhood experiences that build a solid foundation for future success. Under Pam’s leadership, QCC has always centered its work on what is best for children, including a well-trained and supported early childhood workforce, providers equipped to deal with the unique needs of their families and communities, and parents connected to resources supporting healthy brain development. QCC has been the leader in working to ensure a strong early childhood system exists in Georgia for over 40 years and I am excited and honored to work with such a talented and experienced team to continue that charge,” said Ellyn Cochran, QCC’s incoming CEO.

Before joining the United Way, Cochran served as the Director of Innovation Strategies with GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students where she was able to facilitate several meaningful national and state partnerships including the launch of Frontiers of Innovation with the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and the state of Georgia.

Prior to her work in Atlanta, Cochran lived in Maryland where she held a number of education and policy roles. She worked in Baltimore City Public Schools from 2008 – 2012 in leadership roles including as assistant to the Chief Executive Officer, where she represented the district on Maryland’s Ready at Five Executive Leadership Committee. She also served as a Governor’s Policy Fellow for the State of Maryland and a Mayoral Fellow for the City of Baltimore in Maryland.

Ellyn has served on numerous boards and coalitions and is currently a fellow in BUILD’s Equity Leaders Action network (ELAN). She is a past participant in Leadership DeKalb, the Atlanta Regional Committee’s Regional Leadership Institute Fellowship, and a member of the inaugural cohort of the Georgia Funders Network for Racial Equity.

Cochran earned a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Journalism & Mass Communications and International Studies from Iowa State University and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) Emphasis in Education Policy from The John Hopkins University.

“I have known and worked with Ellyn since she arrived in Atlanta. I have admired her accomplishments and gotten to know her as a very capable leader and a strategic innovator with a gift for bringing people, organizations, and ideas together on behalf of Georgia’s children. QCC is poised for exponential impact, and Ellyn has the vision, commitment, and leadership skills to move QCC forward,” said Pam Tatum, president and CEO of QCC.

Tatum also commented that Ellyn will lead an amazing team of nonprofit professionals who have been critical in QCC’s success and will be crucial to QCC moving forward. They include:

– Reynaldo Green, Vice President of Nutrition and Family Well-Being, who oversaw QCC’s provision of enhanced child care referrals to more than 700 essential workers during the pandemic, has testified before Congress as president of the National Child and Adult Food Care Program Forum, and has expanded QCC’s nutrition work to serve nearly 21,000 children across the state.

– Robin Kirby, Vice President of Marketing and Development, who competed a successful capital campaign just prior to the pandemic, and then immediately raised an additional $2.7 million in COVID-related child care scholarships for families and stabilization grants for child care providers, in addition to more than $2 million of annual program and operating support.

– Angela Melton, Vice President of Early Care and Education, who ensured that in spite of the pandemic, QCC would stay focused on quality leading her team to quickly pivot to remote work, exceed Quality Rated goals, strengthen services to children and families enrolled in QCC’s Early Head Start program, and collaborated with partners to launch Literacy and Justice for All, a new language and literacy program created to empower children to be proficient readers.

– Monique Reynolds, Vice President of Child Care Business Support and Sustainability, who expanded our child care business support work, launched new initiatives, and positioned QCC as a national leader in proven, innovative strategies to increase child care sustainability.

– Jon Tuuri, Vice President of Finance and Operations, whose team not only kept the finances and operations in order throughout the pandemic but also secured important Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding for the organization, oversaw a successful technology upgrade and moved two of QCC’s three offices to larger facilities to serve the community more effectively.

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