Small Town Love…Conyers, Georgia

For the past 2 years, I lived in a town 40 minutes outside of Atlanta.  Conyers is a place most people know of or have least heard of but most can’t say they have been. Until recently, I fit into the live here but do not know of category. Yes I created my own category!  I mean, I would drive down what I considered the main street of Conyers, Highway 138, and wish for more. I often complained that the only way for me to get what I wanted in food and entertainment was to drive into Atlanta. How wrong I was! I signed up to take a tour of Conyers courtesy of the Conyers Tourism Board. And now Conyers is so more to me than the place where Vampire Diaries was filmed.

Before I get started, I want to take time to thank a couple of people. Thank you to Teri Haler of Conyers Convention and Visitors Bureau. Your tour helped to change my mind about the where I now call home. Also thanks to Toby Bloomberg, President of Atlanta Food and Lifestyle Bloggers’ Society, for organizing this wonderful tour. Now to share some of what helped me fall in love with my small town

Have you ever been to a Monastery? Me either! The first stop of our tour took us to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Sitting on 2,300 acres of land it is nature at it’s best. There are trails for running, walking and biking, a beautiful church with stained glass created by one of their very own monks, a museum where you can learn all about the monastery and all things relating to monasticism. Monasticism or monk hood is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. You’re welcome. The property also boasts an all natural burial ground, no chemicals of any sort are used in body preparation and caskets must be of all natural materials. Pretty cool, huh? You can still care for Mother Earth even in death.

The last two places I want to mention are the bakery and the gift shop. They kind of go together. Well at least in my mind. The monks at this monastery make some great treats; fudge, fruitcake and my favorite biscotti. I forgot to mention when we first arrived, we were blessed with coffee and a tray full of biscotti. This was not your ordinary biscotti, the dry, extra crisp kind that you soak in your coffee or tea. This was a moist dense cake filled with nuts and fruits and was very hard to stop eating. It definitely gets #CIPapproved. The important thing is that all of their goods can be purchased in the gift shop. See why they go hand in hand now? You can purchase all their yummy goodness as well as other spiritual and religious items in the gift shop. Check out their website to find out how you can visit them and enjoy all things Monastery of the Holy Spirit.

The second leg of tour took us into Olde Towne Conyers. It’s like the downtown of Conyers. You can find the court and many of the municipalities you need for a small, thriving city. There are even some really cute store fronts, some of which we got to visit during our tour. After a full morning at the monastery we were good and ready for lunch. Our first stop The Tin Plate. This place has become my saving grace. There have been many nights on my way back from Atlanta that I wanted something to eat but would not do fast food. The Tin Plate has come to the rescue because their kitchen doesn’t close until 10pm. Wait I skipped some stuff. The Tin Plate is what I have been hoping for in Conyers. A non chain restaurant offering locally sourced foods with a farm-to-table concept. The food gods answered my prayers.  They source the beef for their burgers from White Oaks Pastures. That name should be familiar to you because I recently wrote a post about them. If it’s not, check them out here.  So we know the burgers are good but did I mention the hand cut fries made on site with the unheard of flavor combinations? Flavors like the Thai Coconut Fries or the “PB&J” (pimento cheese, bacon and pickled jalapeños) and so many more. They even make some pretty amazing salads. You just can’t go wrong with choosing to eat at the Tin Plate. Make sure you visit their website here to read all about them and their menu.

We continued on our tour by taking a stroll across the street to the E-Station. It’s Conyers answer to the ideal work space. You no longer have to fight the noise and bustle of the local Starbucks or Panera Bread to have a meeting or get some work done. You can utilize their open space desks or opt for a private office space with door so you can look really official for your twelve o’clock meeting. There is full A/V equipment as well as printing & copying services too. You can have all this with daily drop in fees or do a monthly membership. After viewing a presentation on Conyers at the E-Station we proceeded to walk around the corner to Beasley’s Pharmacy. This pharmacy is pure nostalgia, like you walked back in time. They have a soda fountain counter. You can get a hand crafted milkshake or ice cream float to name a few of the things offered. Let’s not forget that it is a pharmacy so you can fill your prescriptions there as well. And just like any other drugstore there are knickknacks you can purchase including nostalgic games like pick up sticks and my favorite jacks. Some of you may have to google those games because they are not something you play on a screen. LOL! The best thing about Beasley’s Pharmacy is that it has been family owned for 85 years. You can’t beat that.

From Beasley’s we headed to one of the newer businesses in Olde Town Conyers, Corks and Cuvee. Conyers has it’s very own wine shop. Not a package store but an actual place dedicated to wine, wine lovers and learning about wine. The space is beautiful and inviting. The owner, Regina Jackson, has crafted a place where you aren’t afraid to ask questions about all things wine. She offers daily wine flights, private tastings, wine and wine accoutrements; everything for the wine enthusiast. Check out her site here to learn about all she offers.

Teri was the hostess with the mostess and represented Conyers to the utmost.  As any fine hostess would do, she ended our night with appetizers and cocktails at Las Flores, a Mexican restaurant located in Olde Town Conyers. We had margaritas, on the rocks of course, fresh made salsa with chips, a platter of street tacos and yucca fries. We were a group of happy bloggers. Visit their website to see if they have your favorite Mexican dish here.

This tour helped me to appreciate where I now call home. I got to meet some wonderful new people while hanging out with some old friends. Memories made. So when you get an opportunity, come on out to Conyers so you can make some memories of your own.

Until next time…

~The Chef In Pearls