CAFE CULTURE
Experience the joie de vivre of France just down the street at Buckhead Village, where the soon-to-open Saint-Germain Bakery & Cafe will serve fresh pastries and croissants, coffee and tea, soups and sandwiches, and other European yummies to sip and savor in a quaint Parisian space with indoor dining and an outdoor patio. Order at the counter and snag a seat for breakfast, light lunch fare and after-dinner sweets, from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. The cafe also features a selection of wine and bubbly by the glass with a focus on regional, organic and women-owned vineyards, artisan chocolates and custom macaron towers with 18 available flavors. Founder/co-owner Mathieu Jourdan-Gassin, who runs the neighborhood bakery with his wife, Heather, says it offers “a little slice of France at any moment of the day.” @stgermainbakery
CRIME BUSTERS
Move over, McGruff. Flock Safety is taking a bite out of crime from its expanded Atlanta headquarters at Westside Provisions District. The neighborhood watch startup produces solar-powered cameras and surveillance equipment that provide license plate and vehicle information to help local residents, businesses and law enforcement agencies. A spike in crime has led to increased demand for the cameras, which can also ping cars from the FBI’s most-wanted list. The new 9,700-square-foot space opening this fall more than doubles the size of the former office, now converted to an engineering hub for the fast-growing company that’s tracking over 1,000 cities. flocksafety.com, @flocksafety
CATERING KING
After half a century of service in the hospitality industry, Chef Vagn Nielsen of Proof of the Pudding has been duly crowned. He was honored with the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Allie Awards celebration for his exceptional contributions to Atlanta’s events community. “Being part of an industry for so many years where one is able to constantly be challenged with creativity and excitement is some of the best medicine one can get to keep an open mind, accept changes in life and be able to reinvent yourself to deal with life’s challenges,” says Nielsen, who’s orchestrated everything from elegant dinners for former presidents to conventions and golf tournaments since joining Proof of the Pudding as founding chef in 1984. Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, he formerly worked at Midnight Sun restaurant in Atlanta and The Anchorage House in Beaufort, South Carolina. proofpudding.com, @proofofthepudding
