Simply Buckhead

FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR

With more than two decades of experience in health and nutrition writing, Karina Antenucci is a seasoned editor, content strategist and wellness expert. She has led editorial teams for national and regional publications, and her work has appeared in Health, Marie Claire, Delta Sky, Parade, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Magazine and Southbound, among others. She is a regular contributor to Simply Buckhead’s Wellness column and is the founder of the wellness platform Badass + Healthy. A Certified Intrinsic Health & Wellness Coach and Usui Reiki Master, and nearing the completion of a master’s program in nutritional sciences, she brings both a holistic and evidence-informed lens to her work.

FOOD NEWS

Craving the incredible flavors of Detroit-style pizza but looking for something a little on the lighter side? 🍕✨ Emmy Squared Pizza’s West Midtown location has just dropped the perfect solution: introducing the brand-new Skinny Square!

This brilliant new menu item takes everything diners love about their signature pies—the crispy, cheesy frico crust, the premium ingredients, and those iconic flavor combinations—and crafts it onto a thinner base. Made with exactly half the dough but still generously loaded with all the toppings of a regular slice, the Skinny Square delivers maximum flavor in a perfectly petite portion. It is the ultimate choice for a lighter lunch, a quick bite on the go, or simply a great way to leave a little extra room for their amazing appetizers!

Head over to West Midtown to experience this new take on a classic, and check out the full menu at emmysquaredpizza.com.

IN THE MIX

Nicky Hines’ Brown Girl Mixers sweeten social experiences!

Nicky Hines was a longtime corporate food and beverage veteran with almost 30 years under her apron. But 10 years ago, she began an event and catering company, A Dining Diva, on the side. “I’d take a vacation day and host dinner parties, which translated into me doing cocktail classes,” she says.

She was doing so well with her side hustle that she eventually left her corporate job in 2019 to pursue A Dining Diva full-time. The timing was not great; the pandemic followed swiftly after she had made that decision.

Hines did not let world events derail her, despite feeling hopeless. “Everything we did was social; the whole concept of the company was to be social,” she says. But customers continued to ask her to show up, even in the most precarious of times, including a customer who requested she do an online cocktail class.

“People from all over the country joined me for this girls’ happy hour,” she says. In advance of the event, Hines sent participants mixology boxes that included homemade cocktail syrups. Customers loved the concept and the syrups. Her business grew from there, eventually leading to a 100-person, two-day, online event with Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey.

While the events were fun, the main feedback the Upper Westside resident kept getting was that her attendees wanted syrups in bigger bottles. So in 2022, she found a commercial kitchen, applied for a Department of Agriculture license and began commercially bottling her Brown Girl Mixers line...

Read more in the latest issue of out now!

📝 Lauren Finney Harden
📸 Joann Vitelli

browngirlmixers.com