Omnivore Atlanta

Please plan to participate in this tomorrow. You can get the list of the many participating restaurants on the Atlantans Together Against Crime website.

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GROUP EFFORT: It was a packed house at the new Tin Lizzy's in the days following John Henderson's murder.

The Grant Park community has been in a mixture of sadness and anger since the killing of bartender John Henderson at the Standard on Memorial Drive Wednesday, Jan. 7.

As has been widely reported, John was closing the bar with fellow bartender Ashley Elder when four young men broke through the front door. They shot John once in one leg and, as they were leaving, fired shots through the door of the office where the two bartenders were left. A bullet struck John in the head. He died a few hours later at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Wayne and I are regular customers at the Standard and John waited on us many times. He was a funny, energetic man. Like many others in the neighborhood, we felt like we were in a nightmare during the few days following the shooting. We were at the Standard last Monday for its regular curry special and the mood of the pub was subdued but it was good to see it busy. The front room was filled with flowers, candles and notes commemorating John.

Apart from the sheer grief, there’s also concern about the increasing crime in Grant Park and the city in general. Wherever we dined in Grant Park last week, people were talking about John and the need for better police and private security. The murder at the Standard was exceptional but the armed robbery was not.

One thing seems certain, though. The event isn’t keeping people from dining in the neighborhood’s restaurants. In fact, we’ve had waits at the newest spot to open, Tin Lizzy’s Cantina (415 Memorial Drive, 404-554-8220). Tin Lizzy’s, the child of a Buckhead restaurant with the same name, is located in the space recently vacated by Six Feet Under, which has moved to a larger space half a block away.

Not much has changed about the space that I noticed. There’s still a large and very crowded bar. The interior architecture is unchanged. The restrooms are still too small.

I was prepared to hate Tin Lizzy’s. (more…)

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Following the murder of Standard bartender John Henderson, several restaurateurs in Grant Park are attempting to organize a dine-out benefit in the area. The plan is to donate 20 percent of sales to Crime Stoppers (404-577-8477) in order to add to the current $10,500 reward for information leading to arrests of John’s killers.

The tentative date is Wednesday, Jan. 28, lunch and dinner.

We’ll keep you posted here as details emerge.

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WGLC-TV has posted this photograph of John Henderson, the 27-year-old employee of the Standard who was murdered early this morning, on its website. (The Channel 46 site also includes video about the murder.)

Although I’m a regular at the restaurant, I couldn’t place the victim’s name and face — probably because I didn’t want to believe it was someone I knew. I’m sickened to see that he was one of our regular servers, a very funny and personable kid, with a slightly edgy manner about him.

I cannot imagine what kind of person would kill someone so brutally — firing a gun at him four times — after he’d already been given the money he was after. It is especially vile to see someone so young murdered.

A memorial fund has been established, according to Channel 46:

Donations may be made in two ways to the John Henderson Memorial Fund. You can donate online at www.grantpark.org and follow the link to make a donation via credit card or by mail to the Grant Park Neighborhood Association, P.O. Box 89235, Atlanta, GA 30312 to make a donation via check.

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