James September-October 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 16
country’s biggest and longest-range
bomber during World War II. After
the war the plant closed, but Cobb’s
population grew by 60 percent from
the 1940s to the 1950s. Lockheed
(later Lockheed-Martin) took over
the closed plant in 1951 to assist
in refurbishing the bombers for the
Korean War.
Over the last decade, the rapidly growing business community
can be attributed to many factors
that Cobb Chamber CEO Sharon
Mason enlightened me about,
especially the significant impact
of The Battery Atlanta and Truist
Park where the Atlanta Braves play
baseball. This mega-entertainment
complex has provided the county
with an economic windfall, with
many locally owned restaurants
benefiting from the Braves’ success
since moving to Cobb County. Athens-based Terrapin Taproom pairs
up with Fox Bros BBQ, Antico Pizza
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Napoletana, and El Super Pan— just
a handful of the mouthwatering
spots where you can enjoy a bite to
eat on game day or any day.
Imagine a massive cruise ship
pulling up next to the I-285 and I-75
interchange and spilling its contents into the Battery. Then you can
visualize the magnitude of this entertainment behemoth. The Battery
is also home to the Omni and Aloft
Hotels and the corporate headquar-
SEPTE M B E R/O C TO BE R 2 0 2 4
ters of Papa John’s and TK Elevator.
Chamber CEO Mason says, “We are
experiencing more existing industry growth across all of Cobb due
to the strong support companies
receive to expand their business at
every stage, and we intentionally
visit hundreds of businesses per
year with all of our local partners
to better understand and address
needs and challenges across all of
our commercial geographic areas.”
