Good Day Atlanta viewer information: July 9, 2021

The curtain rises again at Marietta’s historic strand:  

When it comes to the Marietta square, there’s no greater icon than The Strand.

"I’m a Marietta native, and as a small child I’d come up here, ride my bike, and then always watch the movies on Saturday afternoon," said board chair Kim Gresh late last year, during our last visit to the historic theater.

Marietta’s Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre celebrated its 85th birthday in 2020, unfortunately marking the milestone during a global health crisis. The coronavirus pandemic resulted in tough times for the theatre; Gresh said 72% of revenue at The Strand comes from live events.

But you know what they say: the show must go on.  And now, with the lifting of restrictions and availability of vaccines, the famed Strand stage is coming alive again.  

General manager Andy Gaines says the venue is booking up quickly, with live events rolling out this month and continuing into the fall. Included on the schedule are the critically-acclaimed "Menopause The Musical" in September, a "Grease" sing-a-long screening on July 16th, and DEPARTURE: The Journey Tribute Band on July 30th. Information on upcoming shows and tickets may be found here.

We never miss a chance to spend some time exploring The Strand — and now that audiences are returning to seats, it seemed like a good opportunity to stop by and check out what’s new.  Click the video player for a peek at our morning inside this legendary metro Atlanta venue. 

Burgers with Buck:  

William Platt is a local Atlanta success story. Not only does he love to inspire others, he loves to help others too.

Platt grew up in Atlanta’s Herndon Homes, a 500+ unit public housing complex that was demolished in 2010. And his restaurant, Rosie’s Coffee Café is, as he describes it, "about a red light away" from where his old neighborhood used to be. For the record, he owns multiple restaurants in Atlanta, including in the metro area and beyond, but this week #BurgersWithBuck paid a visit to the Northside location of Rosie’s, which literally sits in the shadow of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

 There are two distinctly different burgers on the menu at Rosie’s, Rosie’s Angus Burger and Big Will’s Turkey Burger. Since #BWB always aims to please, this week we decided to feature both of them. 

Let’s start with the Angus burger which could certainly be described as BIG. It starts with a 1-pound Angus beef patty that is prepared with "love" and seared on both sides. It is served atop green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles … adding cheese and bacon is optional. All of that is served on a toasted, buttered brioche.

Mr. Platt (aka Big Will) loves to eat turkey, so it stands to reason that his namesake burger is of the turkey variety. It starts with a half-pound, homemade turkey patty that is also prepared with "love". It is served atop lettuce, tomato, bell peppers, and onions and also served on a toasted, buttered brioche bun.

Both are delicious, and depending on your preference, you can’t really go wrong. For the record, #BurgersWithBuck is lobbying to have the name changed on the Angus Burger.  We were thinking it could be something like Rosie’s and Big Buck’s Angus Burger. Call it what you want, but make sure you give it a try.

One more thing, #BWB featured Restaurant Ten in December of 2019. It is located just down the street from Rosie’s in the Castleberry Hill Neighborhood of Atlanta, and here’s a link to that story if you’d like to check it out again, https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/burgers-with-buck-restaurant-10. There are also two other Rosie’s locations around town, the original on Sylvan Road in East Point, and another on Bankhead Hwy. in Carrollton. Heads up, a little birdie told me there could soon be a few more locations, so stay tuned.

For more information about Rosie’s Coffee Café including the locations, menus, and hours of operation, go to their website, https://www.rosiescoffeecafe.com/. And, as always, if you have a favorite burger that you would like to see featured on Good Day Atlanta, tell me about it on https://www.facebook.com/BuckFOX5 or https://twitter.com/BuckFOX5, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #BurgersWithBuck and/or #BWB.

Baylee Littrell talks about his upcoming concert at Eddie's Attic plus a free outdoor appearance at the Brookhaven Summer Block Party. For more information on Baylee Littrell click here.

FOX Soccer lead studio analyst Alexi Lalas joins Good Day to talk about COPA America: For more information click here.

Alex Breckenridge and Martin Henderson talk about season three of "Virgin River": For more information on the Netflix series click here.

Pet of the day is from Best Friends Animal Society: For more information on how you can adopt today's pet of the day click here.

Pike Nurseries has tips on indoor plants: For more information click here.

Seen on TV