A Vinings Kind of Thursday

Vinings—the village proper—always intrigued me as an interesting place. There were cute shops and restaurants, and later when I learned the history behind Vinings it held even more interest. Still with all of that intrigue Vinings merely served as a quaint place to drive through as I continued to use Mother’s cut through long after our shopping trips ceased and I was on my own.

I made myself take a day out for me last Thursday. I went by the local Publix and picked up things for dinner (so I would have no excuse to NOT fix dinner that evening), made sure the family kitty had food, and then off to Vinings I went.

When I was a little girl my mother always used Paces Ferry Road near Cumberland as a cut through to get over to Lenox Mall. In that way she avoided downtown Atlanta traffic, and we always enjoyed the route dotted here and there with grand estates and historic homes—many of which have now been razed to make way for even more modern mansions or cluster-type estate communities.

I understand progress, but it’s rather sad as well.

Around 1830 Hardy Pace operated Pace’s Ferry which took people and goods across the Chattahoochee River as they traveled from Atlanta back and forth to Buckhead and Smyrna. Vinings was known at that time as Paces after the ferryman. Later the village became known as Vinings after William H. Vining, a construction worker for the railroad, who oversaw the construction of “Vinings Bridge”.

During Sherman’s March to the Sea, Union forces occupied Vinings. Several pre-Civil War structures were destroyed at that time including the Pace home which had been used as a hospital. All that remains today are the steps.

Following the Civil War, Vinings became an area for Atlantans to retreat to during the hustle bustle and often frustration of Reconstruction. There were plenty of springs and pavilions to encourage tourists.



On Thursday I made a beeline to the shops at Vinings Jubliee. I’ve bought several things for my home in the various stores as well gift items for friends. One of my favorite stores is Limetree Gifts.

For my lunch location I had many great places to choose from, but I opted for Soho, also located in the Vinings Jubliee complex.

Trey was my waiter, and after going over the specials for me I ordered a hamburger with Alpine cheddar cheese and Applewood Smoked Bacon. Instead of fries I ordered the fruit salad thinking that was a much better choice. Since my surgery I’ve sworn off the life’s blood of Atlanta—Coca Cola—so I had water instead.

Soho has many interesting lunch choices, but health concerns kept me from ordering some of the more exotic ones like the Maple Grilled Salmon or the Chinese Grilled Chicken Salad. Trey returned in a few minutes with my water and a small wire basket. Inside the basket was a nicely folded white linen napkin and nestled inside was a sliced French baguette. Within a small silver cup I found a creamy spread that was just warm enough with some type of diced peppers. It was a nice update to merely serving rolls as a precursor to a meal.

It didn’t take long for my hamburger to arrive, but while I waited I wrote a little bit of what you are reading here and observed my fellow lunch companions in the dining room—businessmen in suits to casual wear, groups that appeared to have come from an office setting ( a mixture of men and women), and of course, there were several tables of ladies who lunch—you know, those ladies who don’t work and lunch is their occupation. I caught smidgens of business-type conversations, two ladies were discussing an upcoming fundraiser they were planning, one table of ladies who lunch were discussing a wedding, and the two women next to me were discussing a recent hospital stay—too close to home for me.

When my meal arrived it looked like this:

My fruit salad included chopped Granny Smith apples, cantelope, and strawberries served plain. After cutting my burger in half to prompt me to only eat half I attacked my fruit saving half of the burger for last.

Everything was great, and hopefully in the future I can return to Soho and order one of the more exotic menu choices. I’d like to return to Soho some Wednesday night for something they call a Flight Night. Soho was voted “Best Wine Bar” by Atlanta Magazine. Per Soho’s website….a Flight Night is an evening where locals and inquisitive wine lovers gather to experience fine wines from famous appellations and regions around the world.

I rounded out my trip by stopping by Macy’s at Cumberland before heading back home.

It was a great Thursday!

Images can be clicked to enlarge them. The image of the the post-Civil War picnic was taken from the Vinings Historic Preservation Society webpage….a great resource for Vinings.

Another resource to check out is the official Vinings, Georgia webpage.