May 21st Election Decides Gwinnett County School Board District 3

Peachtree Corner resident and Cuban immigrant Yanin Cortes shares her journey from struggling with English in her first year in an American elementary school to running for the Gwinnett County School Board. Endorsed by local leaders, she highlights system strengths and challenges. Yanin is a talented singer, entrepreneur, and mother of three who stresses the importance of community support, clear policies, and continuous improvement to address new challenges. Listen in to hear more about this candidate and the upcoming election. Hosted by Rico Figliolini

Resources:
Yanin’s Campaign Website: https://yanin.org/

Timestamp:
00:00:00 – Yanin Cortes Runs for Gwinnett County School Board
00:01:41 – From Immigrant to Aspiring Musician
00:03:55 – From Music to Family and Entrepreneurship
00:05:48 – From Educator to Entrepreneur: A Diverse Journey
00:08:09 – Pursuing a Passion for Education and Community
00:10:12 – Celebrating Gwinnett County’s Diverse School System
00:14:36 – Navigating Discipline and Safety Challenges in Schools
00:17:22 – The Role of the School Board: Oversight and Support
00:20:10 – Balancing Community Input and Systemic Realities
00:22:51 – Implementing Policies: Complexities and Challenges
00:24:29 – Improving School Safety and Restoring Trust
00:28:48 – Navigating Diversity in School Systems
00:31:50 – The Joys of Family, Community, and Running a Restaurant
00:35:17 – Advocating for Community and Children in School Board
00:37:57 – Importance of Voting for School Board

Podcast Transcript:

Rico Figliolini 0:00:01

Hey, everyone. This is Rico Figliolini, host of Peachtree Corners Life, where we begin to see a lot of electioneering going on, a lot of more things going on out there as far as this May election, May 21. That’s coming up in a few weeks. And this has several nonpartisan races that are decided this May versus a primary and final elections in November. So what’s happening this month is extremely important to you, and you need to be aware of it. And this is one of several podcasts we’ll be doing with candidates. And I appreciate Yanin Cortes showing up and speaking with me about her race for Gwinnett county school board. Thank you for being here this morning. Appreciate it.

Yanin Cortes 0:00:44

Thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure, too.

Rico Figliolini 0:00:48

Sure. Love to hear more about why you’re running and stuff. I just want to give some background about you. So this is for actually district three election of Gwinnett county school board, which represents geographically Peachtree Corners, parts of Norcross, Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Suwannee and Sugar Hill. Fairly large District 31 schools, public schools in that district. And you entered the race with actually several endorsements already. So the retiring board member that’s been representing Peachtree Corners in this area for like 28 years, Mary Kay Murphy, has come out and endorsed you. Amelia, Mike Mason has endorsed you, and so has representative Scott Hilton. All of them, Peachtree Corners residents, all of them involved so heavily in the community. So some great support you have. Now, I’d like to hear, you know, I’m sure the rest of us would like to hear a little bit about, you know, why you’ve decided that you want to run, but tell us a little bit about your story and then why you’ve decided to run.

Yanin Cortes 0:01:51

Sure. I am a first generation immigrant. I was born in Cuba, and I came to the United States when I was ten years old, and we migrated to Hollywood, Florida. Out of all places. Yes. And it’s funny because everybody says I went to Miami, but that was not my story. And Hollywood at that time was a very american town, all american town, although the Cubans were living somewhere in Miami. And I probably was one of two children in the class that spoke Spanish. And it was a hard year for me. I call it the year of silence, since it was really hard to just talk to anybody. But I had amazing teachers that guided me, that were there for me. And I think that’s where my love for school started because I had so much support. And being an immigrant family here, it’s a very hard thing to go through, especially parents coming, not knowing the language, working two jobs to making sure that people have, that we had food on the table. So I went through the whole years and I kind of went into music. And for a while there, and after I graduated high school, I decided that I wanted to be a famous singer. You know something? The dream of everybody, they just want to be. And I went through auditions and I wrote songs, and I spent a lot of time on track. And I got signed with company EMI.

Rico Figliolini 0:03:46

Oh, wow. Yeah, sure. Famous record company. Sure. Label.

Yanin Cortes 0:03:50

Yes. And I got to travel the world first. The first signing was with a group. It’s a three girl group, and we represent. And we went all over the place in Europe. And then after that, I decided that I wanted to just have my own thing and write my own songs and decided to be a solo artist. And I got signed with EMI also, but in South America. But after that, somehow in between that, I got married, I started having kids. And then I decided, oh, I don’t want to be traveling all the time. I need to pay attention to my kids.

Rico Figliolini 0:04:27

You have three.

Yanin Cortes 0:04:28

Well, my son, at that point, he was only one. And my husband has supported me because he’s also a musician. He was also signed with Sony and, you know, but then we just came back to Miami. Now this time Miami, and I went back to school and decided to go for education. And my husband went to FiU and he said, well, you know what? Don’t worry. I’ll go study hospitality and business administration, and we’ll go move to Atlanta and open a cuban restaurant. Your mom was amazing chef and cook. And you will sing whenever you want to. You will have. You can on the weekend. There’s a good. Yes, it is. He is amazing. He is wonderful. And he made that dream come true. He did. And we both graduate. I graduated when I got to Atlanta. I transferred to Georgia State, and that’s when I finished school. But we opened the restaurant in between that, and I started teaching at Shiloh High School.

Rico Figliolini 0:05:40

So you guys own, actually, mojitos in downtown Norcross? The crossing. The crossing in downtown. No, cross as well. And the mojitos at the forum. Yes. Entrepreneurs, talented singers. It seems like it. And you were a teacher at Shiloh High School for a while, too, right? A former educator, yes. And. And you’re. And you have three kids?

Yanin Cortes 0:06:11

I think I have three boys. I call them boys, but they’re men already.

Rico Figliolini 0:06:15

Two of them, sure. Yeah, I would imagine. Well, so one of them still home, I guess? Or are they all home, or does that work.

Yanin Cortes 0:06:25

Yes. I also have a nine year old. We started over again somehow. Don’t ask us why, but it’s an amazing experience. I think as you grow older, then you say, oh, maybe I should have done that with the other one.

Rico Figliolini 0:06:37

And that’s interesting. Yeah. The last one, I have three kids, and the youngest is seven years apart from the middle one. So, yeah, you get to see that. And I also come from immigrant parents. I was first born in the States here. So I can appreciate coming from a household that had no english speaking. And I think my kindergarten or first grade teacher had my parents in because I was speaking half Italian, half English. They can understand everything I was saying. So I can appreciate the difficulties of a young family and educators that were present with you at the time really does make a difference, because I think if you had the wrong teacher, you might not have been as fortunate. Right?

Yanin Cortes 0:07:21

No. I have to say teachers were amazing for me, especially in high school afterwards. And at the beginning, they were there to guide me. They were there to support me. They knew that I was going through a rough time. And then in high school, my music teacher was an amazing teacher because it was like a family. We ended up in this choir. There was only 14 of us, and we were like a family for the whole four years, and that kept me going. And you have some people that if you were struggling in a subject, he will go, hey, what’s going on? And let’s go. You have to do this. I know you love singing. I love. I know you love doing this, but you always have some inspirational, some person that. A mentor that tells you, hey, let’s go for it.

Rico Figliolini 0:08:17

Curious. What instruments did you. Did you play, or did you.

Yanin Cortes 0:08:22

I was singing all the time. I played guitar a little bit, but I wouldn’t, like, even dare say that in front of people because they make me play or some horrible song.

Rico Figliolini 0:08:34

Have you sung at the restaurants?

Yanin Cortes 0:08:37

Yes, I used when we opened the restaurant in 2008. I’ve been singing ever since then. Friday and Saturday night. I took some time off when I had Lincoln, my. My youngest. But right now, I’m still singing every Saturday night and forum location.

Rico Figliolini 0:09:01

Cool. So let’s get. Let’s dig down a little bit about why. You have great background, obviously good endorsements, but why are you looking to run for Gwinnett county school board? What is motivating you to do that?

Yanin Cortes 0:09:14

Well, I love this community. Kids are my passion, too. They. I can see their faces light up every time they learn something, and I think that we should keep that going. And I think being a member of the school board will help. We have a lot of immigrants coming into our county right now, and our county is the most diverse county, and I think it in nation. And it’s incredible that we have such a diversity, such a love. Guene county has always loved education, so I wanted to make sure that I wanted to be part of that. I wanted to encourage people. I wanted to be the voice for the parents that have concerns and just voice that to. To the schools. And I wanted to be the voice for our community saying, hey, we want to make sure that our tax dollars are spent wisely. And I know that we all have anxiety, but I believe that Gwinnett county has an amazing school system. We just need to come together and talk and come bring consensus and just making sure that we’re working together to achieve success for all students, you know.

Rico Figliolini 0:10:45

That’S great to hear. The county has gotten, like you said, it’s actually a majority minority. It’s changed over the decades. I’ve been here since 95. My kids have gone, all my kids have gone through public school the same way I did in New York when, before I came here. Simpson elementary Picnicville, Norcross they went through the IB program at Norcross. In fact, the two of them that went through IB, if they hadn’t gone through, I think they wouldn’t have done as well. The IB program really taught them how to write, how to be critical thinkers, how to mold things together, subjects. So the school system has done some good things, right? Yes. What do you think they do well at the school system right now?

Yanin Cortes 0:11:32

Well, definitely those programs, the IB program, the early learning for. They have a play to learn program right now that they, including the parents, to come before they get to school so they can learn how to teach their kids to be ready for kindergarten. We have the program. A lot of people don’t know about it, but it’s amazing because it just prepares. We have all the stem programs that we have right now with a paltry weekend. We have just different alternatives for students that are looking. I think there’s a pathway to careers that they’re developing in some of the schools that if a kid wants to go to trade school instead of college, he’s going to have. He will have that ability to concentrate on that. And some people don’t know what they want, but if they’re guided, and I think this is one thing that we can concentrate that I will fight for in the school board. Okay. Yeah. What else do we have? We have a lot of things that are amazing. The sports, amazing sports here. That sports people think it’s just one of those things, but it drives kids. It gives them discipline. It makes them do their best, because they know they have to be good. They have to do good in their studies so they can go and participate in the sports. And the same thing with music. Marching band was a haven for my kids because they were musicians. None of us came out. So both of my kids were marching band, and the teachers were amazing. Mister Ventura, Pinckneyville, I love him so much. He was guidance for my kids, and he has that tough discipline. But at the same time, you know.

Rico Figliolini 0:13:39

I can appreciate that. Yeah. These teachers that teach in Gwinnett county schools are underserved, I think, in some right way. So under respected by some people, but they’ve done a great job. I totally agree. Sports has been a tremendous drive. I mean, more sports athletes come out of Gwinnett County, Gwinnett county, and Norcross High school, but even some of the other high schools, for sure. And not just football or baseball or soccer, but volleyball, lacrosse. I mean, this city and this county has produced so many athletes, even theater and music, like you said. I mean, the theater at Norcross has done great, and some of the other high schools as well. So there’s lots there. But there are big challenges, right, to the school board, to the school system, I should say. School board has been changing over the last few decades. Different representations have come in. Tools have changed also, right? Social media has made it a little difficult. TikTok, Instagram, not that they’re bad apps. They’re just like anything else. They’re used badly sometimes. Right? Yeah. So you have disciplinary school safety issues. We lockdown school shootings, although we haven’t had any that I’m aware of in Gwinnett county that are. That were inside of school sometimes. Shootings on. On high school campus, maybe, but mostly, it’s unrelated to the students sometimes. So what do you see as challenges to the school system and when, with regard to discipline, school safety?

Yanin Cortes 0:15:15

Well, school safety has to be a priority. It has to be the number one. Just because if we don’t have. If the teachers don’t feel safe, if the kids don’t feel safe, there’s no learning going on, because everybody’s just worried about survival. Right?

Rico Figliolini 0:15:31

And we.

Yanin Cortes 0:15:33

I think the school board went through a very difficult time about a year ago when they. Two years ago, really, when they decided to change the discipline policies, and. And it created chaos, in a way. And some of the teachers didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know if they were afraid to discipline, and that caused a lot of confusion in the system. But they did go back this year, and they decided that they were going to take back and try to go back to the old way. And I think that was a great decision. But it took some courage from people to say, Mary Kate Murphy was one of those people that said, we need to. I take my vote out this one. Can we go back to the place where we were, where we can control our classrooms, where the teachers have the power to control their classrooms, where the administrators have the power to control their building?

Rico Figliolini 0:16:39

And.

Yanin Cortes 0:16:42

So I think it’s getting better, and we still have a lot of work to do. It’s just that I think it was something that’s kind of set us back a little bit. But I have faith in Gwinnett County. I know that we will go through this. I’m running because I want to be that pathway to, hey, we can get through this.

Rico Figliolini 0:17:06

So what do you find then? The role of the board? Right. You’re volunteers, don’t get paid. I mean, this is stipend, but it’s really not considering the size of the budget. This county, I don’t think anyone ever gets paid well, and they do it for the love. You know, you’re running because you want to be on the board, because you want to feel like you can provide your guidance. So. But what is the role of the board, in your mind?

Yanin Cortes 0:17:34

The role of the board is three main goals and pretty much hiring and firing of the superintendent. Overseeing. Not overseeing, like, micromanagement, but making sure that all the laws that are already in place are being followed, and. And also just giving support to the superintendent so that they can achieve their goal. Approving budgets, making sure that we don’t go over budget, and that it is appropriated to things that will benefit the students and teachers because they’re the heart of this whole thing. We can say this or that, but the students, we have to make sure that we have quality educational systems for them. We have to make sure that we have. The teachers are being taken care of, that they have competitive salaries, and that they’re being supported. So the school board is in charge of overseeing or just making sure that everything. Everything is running how it’s supposed to be. Okay, but we are not supposed to make policy unless it’s something that is, that we notice, that is somebody’s not following what they’re supposed to be doing. But usually the superintendent is the one that makes everything happen, and we say, okay, yes or no? And we come together and saying that.

Rico Figliolini 0:19:20

All right, so there’s leadership. You guys are there to make sure and guide that leadership or policies to make sure. I mean, you all have a vote on the board. So obviously budgeting and all that, anything that happens, the board is voting on. And it’s not always unanimous. Right? I guess that’s good. Yeah, I mean, that’s a good thing. I mean, you don’t want. I mean, it’s good to be unanimous that you all are in agreement on things, but it’s also good to have diversity as far as opinions go. The fact that the disciplinary changes that happened two years ago were reversed now two years later because people are honest about failure of it and how it would work. So going to the role of the community then, because two years ago, pretty much that was the response from the community. So the whole idea was not just a response from the community, but it was also the people that were elected to the board decided that that’s what they thought should be done because the community maybe was voicing that opinion or the loudest voices were out there. So there’s a role for the, for the community. Sometimes it could be right or wrong.

Rico Figliolini 0:20:34

Right. But what do you, what do you see as that role from the community?

Yanin Cortes 0:20:39

Obviously, we have to pay attention to what the community says because they have concerns sometimes. I think that not every. Some people think. I don’t know. What I’ve encountered is that everything is magical and happens in a magical way, but there’s so many, so many levels to everything and, okay, well, this happened because of that, and they tend to blame one person alone. And in reality, I mean, it’s a huge system and we have. I know, I ran the restaurants, so I know that even though you have some policies, not everybody’s going to follow those policies in the way that it was intended to be followed.

Rico Figliolini 0:21:30

Right.

Yanin Cortes 0:21:30

And it’s hard because we are a lot of people, but we all one, you know, we are that school system. Right. So. But we all bring different perspectives into that, and I think they’re all valuable because everybody has a different need in their mind and how we see the world. So the community should be heard and should be paid attention to. And that is when we get together and we say, okay, the community is asking for this. Is this reasonable? Is this going to work in the school system? I think the problem was, okay, the community is saying this and we need to do that or we need to change the laws about this. Yes, but what would that entitle? And how can we accomplish that without bringing the whole system down. Yeah. We cannot burn the house because they won’t have a house anymore. Right.

Rico Figliolini 0:22:34

That’s a great way of looking at it. Yes, for sure. And you’re right. I mean, there’s thousands and thousands of employees in the county, and not everyone will. Just. Even a small business, like with 30, 40 people, not everyone follows that policy the way you said it, so I could say that. And you’re right, because even though you may agree on the subject to implement, it gets complicated. Right?

Yanin Cortes 0:22:58

Yes.

Rico Figliolini 0:22:59

It’s like Congress, when Congress passes a law, people think that, well, that’s. That’s the law. Whereas now the department that has to take care of implement that law now has a set of guidelines and policies to deliver that. And that could be completely different than what was intended by the law. So I can understand the disciplinary and policies changed because they were trying to address something, but in the end, it didn’t address it properly, I guess. And this is why there was more problems there. So there’s a lot of action. Right? There’s a lot of action.

Yanin Cortes 0:23:39

Sorry, I’m not used to talking like that. But, yeah, that’s something that we can learn, definitely. When we. When something is done and it’s not successful, it’s an opportunity to learn and just to go forward. And I think that’s the mentality that we have to have for our school system that we love in our community. That is the mindset that we have to. Let’s not just point fingers at everybody. Let’s go forward.

Rico Figliolini 0:24:10

Cool. Good way of looking at it. I think if you’re elected to the school board, are there any particular actions you’d like to see happen or policies that you would like to see implemented? Anything new that you’d like to see, any actions that you’d like to see the board do once you’re elected?

Yanin Cortes 0:24:28

Well, definitely. My main safety, like I said, is, number one, making sure that whenever we have a policy that is in place, that we follow it, but that we have training for the teachers, training for the administrators, that we. That we have a plan that works and. Or that the people that are managing that portion because operations is more left to the superintendent. We are governance, and the superintendent is in between both of them.

Rico Figliolini 0:25:03

Right.

Yanin Cortes 0:25:04

Governance and operations. So at one point, we just have to talk to if we have a concern, and I think it should be in a diplomatic way, and I think it should be in a civil way. And lately we haven’t been seeing, because we have the same objective. The objective is to have a great school system, and I think that should be the vision.

Rico Figliolini 0:25:31

Do you think the school handles diversity well, the school system?

Yanin Cortes 0:25:37

I think Gwinnett county has been one of the pioneers in that because we have been diverse for a long time. I think when we go into just making everything a blend game or a politics get into the school system, that’s when we lose, because we will start saying, oh, this is. We’re. Like I said, we’re all different. I think it’s a plus for us. I think we can make this an amazing example for the whole nation. And I think when Gwinnett county has been taking steps towards that.

Rico Figliolini 0:26:14

Cool. Now, you’ve been running as, obviously, you’re running as a candidate right now. Are there priorities as a candidate? I mean, are you. You knocking on doors and stuff? I’m sure you’re meeting people. What are you hearing out there? You know, what are they, or what are people saying to you that you can share?

Yanin Cortes 0:26:34

Well, pretty much the concerns about safety, concerns about high quality education and what is happening to. There’s a lot of anxiety right now about the school system. I think it’s because it was caused because of the discipline implementation policy, that it was chaotic, and everybody just. We need to gain that trust back, I think. And we can do that by just. The school board, honestly, has been acting. They’re always in a fight right now, or it looks like. It seems like that. And would you project that to people? It doesn’t project any confidence. And so, I mean, you see a situation from the outside. You have no idea what’s going on in the inside. It doesn’t tell you the whole thing, the whole story, but there’s a lot of things that go on and that people are working very hard. Our teachers are working really hard every day to teach our students. Our administrators are doing the best possible things that they can do for the teachers and our students. So I believe that’s happening. I just think that because of the discipline fiasco, that’s if we are, the school system has to recuperate. And also, we have a lot of immigrants coming in our system right now, and it’s creating. The graduation rate is not being measured, in my opinion, the way that it should be measured, but that we have no control over that because that’s all over the country, right?

Rico Figliolini 0:28:22

Yeah, for sure. So the system is. Yeah, any school system that has an influx of a lot of immigrants, there are challenges. Right? Language, culture? A little bit. Although we are a multicultural county, I mean, it’s just like we have representative of, I don’t know how many. Over 150, I think, different nations in our country, and certainly from the Pacific Rim in Asia to Latin America to other countries as well, coming. Coming here. So there’s always going to be challenges, I guess so it’s good to have someone, I think, that understands those challenges that’s closer to the immigrants experience than not. Do you think your business background prepares you for the school board?

Yanin Cortes 0:29:10

In some ways, I think so, definitely. I think having the opportunity to have mojitos and the crossing and been an amazing experience for me because I have dealt with, I call it two kinds of customers. Right. Our employees are our customers because we have to make sure that we provide a good working environment for them. And our customers that come in every day and they’re asking for a specific product, are we supplying that to them? Are we providing good customer service? Are we. Are we understanding what they want from us either from. Are we managing the situations that we’re supposed to. It just teaches you. And we have every. When you go on a Saturday night to mojitos, every nation is there. Sometimes I sing and I go, okay, who do we have? Anybody from Mexico. Anybody from here. And then people can. Ukraine. Yes. And everyone like, oh, my God, there’s, like, people from everywhere in the world in this place.

Rico Figliolini 0:30:23

Oh, for sure.

Yanin Cortes 0:30:23

Just having a good time. And everybody has a different culture. And sometimes when I’ve had the problem with employees not understanding each other or maybe some. Some kind of disagreement, I find that it’s mostly because they have a different culture, and the way that they thought about this is the other person is different. It thinks about it in a different way. So we do have a challenge. It’s a big challenge. But that is why we. I believe we have to find a common thing. Okay, you have a problem with this employees. What is wrong? What is your problem? And then they will talk to the other, and at one point, they would see that they were both looking for the same thing, but in different places.

Rico Figliolini 0:31:14

And that’s amazing. I definitely, you know, that is amazing. You’re right. I think, in that regard, that we all want to go to a certain point. It’s just how we get there. And you’re right. Culture is really. I mean, I grew up in a neighborhood that was jewish, italian, and keep and tell people when I. When that’s the case, you know, I grew up on meatballs and matzo balls. You know, it was all. It was all family, and we all ate and eating around a dinner table, made everyone equal, you know, we sharing foods and stuff. But so that’s what I see, you know, when I hear restaurants and stuff. And that’s a difficult business also. So you guys must have been through a difficult time, even through COVID and. And just even running a business like that with help and employees.

Rico Figliolini 0:32:06

So I can imagine.

Yanin Cortes 0:32:08

And they become part of our family. It’s one of the things that I never say people that work for us. I say people that work with us to make this happen. Right? And, yeah, and it’s incredible because I have seen they got there, and before, when we hired, when they were hired, they had no family. Now they have a kid, and they’re still there. And some other people that had been through the restaurant, and then they left and went to college, and now they come back and say, hey, look, I graduated from college, and I went to this, and I always want to know. I have some of the kids that worked in the restaurant always coming back. And so you’re. You’re my mom. You’re like my mom, my second mom, and they all. And it’s just an amazing experience because you become so close to everybody and you feel what they’re going through. COVID was horrible for everybody, but I think it was an amazing thing when we couldn’t open and we didn’t. And some people just called me because I will work. I don’t care if you pay me or not. And. Or we decided, okay, you guys go home. I don’t want anything to happen that at the beginning when nobody knew what was going on and go home, we’ll pay you. And then I told Luz, I think we’re gonna run out of business, but lose is my husband. But it all worked out. Cause everybody knew that we had to survive that, right? And hopefully, thankfully, nobody in our. In our staff gets sick. Nobody in our family got sick.

Rico Figliolini 0:33:47

And everybody’s, you know, well, that is fortunate. That is fortunate. And I know the community supports mojitos at the forum and stuff. People always talking about. It’s like one of. One of the great icons in pastry corners. So we’ve talked quite a bit about the roles and everything. Is there anything that we haven’t spoken about that you’d like to share? I just think.

Yanin Cortes 0:34:12

I just want to tell you that my family loves this community. We love the schools. We actually moved to Peachtree Corners because of Simpson Elementary. I was looking around, and I was like, okay, this is the best school. This is where we’re going. And I remember that I didn’t even look at the house that was the only house left for sale in 2006, the house were flying off the market like hotcakes. I think this and some elementary, it was the home for my kids and Pinckneyville and Norcross. And I care for my community. I really care for our children. I want to make sure that people are looking at, looking at our school system in that way. I want them to have that love and passion for our community because I think that would, it will create something good, and that’s what I want to be there for. I know that my experience will come in handy in the school board. I know that I would be able to talk to the other people, the other school members, and talk to them and say, well, I believe this, and this might work like that. And then if they have to listen to their point of view, and somehow I think that I will be able to come into a conclusion and this is the best for our children because that’s the most important. Our children, our teachers and just our school system for our community.

Rico Figliolini 0:35:41

Very good. I was going to ask you to sell it to make sure people come out to vote, and you just did it. Where can they find out more information about your campaign, Yanin? Like, what’s the website address?

Yanin Cortes 0:35:56

Yanin.com.

Rico Figliolini 0:36:02

Okay. And they can go to that site, find out a little bit more information, contact you if they have questions, or maybe even ask for a yard sign if they want.

Yanin Cortes 0:36:13

Yes. That would be great. It’s funny because my son was, we were coming from school and he’s like, look at this. Look at your signs everywhere, mom. And I was like, oh, my gosh. I don’t know.

Rico Figliolini 0:36:30

They got to be special feeling I’m sure.

Yanin Cortes 0:36:33

A humble person that kind of intimidates me to see my name everywhere. That’s not like my style, but I, but that’s what we have to do is it’s, it is an election, after all.

Rico Figliolini 0:36:45

Yeah. Yes. You definitely have to be out there. And I understand you’re, you know, a quiet person that way, been told. But you have, you know, you, I think you expressed yourself really well here. So if anyone has any questions, they certainly can put questions to you on the comments below, depending on where you’re watching this, whether it’s YouTube or Facebook or on Twitter, which is where this goes live in a few days. So this not live now, obviously, this is simulcast live for those that may be watching it or post watching it afterwards. So I do appreciate your time here. Yanin Cortes, running for school board district three. And thank you very much for being with us.

Yanin Cortes 0:37:28

I just wanted to remind you, early voting is going on now until May 17, and then the election day is May 21.

Rico Figliolini 0:37:38

Excellent. Appreciate you doing that. So don’t forget, go out there, because, again, this is actually the only vote that you’ll be making for Gwinnett County School board, does not happen in November. This is a nonpartisan race, and you all better be out there, because otherwise decisions will be made in May, not in November.

Yanin Cortes 0:37:57

Yes.

Rico Figliolini 0:37:58

So the final election day, actual election day, is May 21. So cool. Thank you for being with us. Appreciate you sharing your opinions, Yanin. Thank you.

Yanin Cortes 0:38:07

All right. Thank you for having me.

Rico Figliolini 0:38:10

Sure. Hang in there for a minute. Thank you, everyone, for being with us.

In Shakespeare’s day, London theaters like the Globe accommodated up to 3,000 people watching popular plays. In open-air theatres, the cheapest price of admission was only 1 penny, which bought you a place amongst the ‘groundlings’ standing in the ‘yard’ around the stage.

Shakespeare in the Park in Peachtree Corners will be free, and much like then we’ll be out in nature, but listening to a contemporary version of “Much Ado About Nothing.” I spoke with Susanna Wilson and Charlie T. Thomas from Contemporary Classic Theatre ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠about bringing Shakespeare to our city, what it takes, where they’re presenting, and all the things that must happen for this year’s presentation. Podcast hosted by Rico Figliolini.

Much Ado About Nothing – Saturdays and Sundays, May 11-26, 2024 at Simpsonwood Park, Christ Church Episcopal, and Autrey Mill Nature Preserve. One of Shakespeare’s most beloved romantic comedies, director Susanna Wilson’s version of Much Ado is set in Italy during a 21st century film festival. Love at first sight, jealousy and confusion, an illegitimate sibling, mixed-up lovers, three weddings and a funeral – Much Ado About Nothing is an amusing look at timeless truths about love, betrayal, and acceptance. All performances will be outside, for a “Shakespeare in the Park” experience. Bring your own blankets and lawn chairs; no seating will be provided. The show will run for approximately 100 minutes with no intermission.

Free Admission to Simpsonwood Park performances on Saturday, May 11, at 2 pm and 5 pm and Sunday, May 12, at 3 pm.

Brooke Massey, Director of Leasing for North American Properties, handles four locations in metro Atlanta – including The Forum Peachtree Corners. She shares the behind-the-scenes stories of bringing new and exciting tenants to this retail destination. Learn about the community input that shaped the vision for The Forum, the diverse culinary offerings coming to the center, and the plans for creating a vibrant hub for community events and entertainment. She shares with host Rico Figliolini her insights into the curated retail mix and plans for future additions.

The Forum Website: https://theforumpeachtree.com/

Timestamp:

00:00:00 – Revitalizing Peachtree Corners: Brooke Massey’s Insights
00:01:36 – Revitalizing the Community Through Tenant Curation
00:03:51 – Suburban Shift: Peachtree Corners’ Evolving Demographic
00:06:25 – Nando’s Expansion into North America
00:07:47 – Outdoor Dining and Food Hall Plans
00:09:26 – Communal Kitchens and Upcoming Developments at The Forum
00:10:51 – Utilizing LED Screens and Stages for Community Gatherings
00:13:08 – Premiere Pastries and Bakery Opening
00:14:30 – Curating the Retail Mix: Welcoming New Offerings
00:16:07 – Transforming Vacant Storefronts into Vibrant Spaces
00:17:50 – Exploring the Charm of Peachtree Corners

Podcast Transcript:

Transcript:

Rico Figliolini 0:00:01

Hey, everyone. This is Rico Figliolini, host of Peachtree Corners Life. We are in the wow room with a great wow person here at the Forum at Peachtree Parkway. This is Brooke Massey, and she’s going to be discussing a little bit about what’s going on at the Forum here in Peachtree Corners. Why don’t you introduce yourself, Brooke?

Brooke Massey 0:00:19

As you just said, my name is Brooke Massey, and I’ve been with North American Properties for almost eight years now, and I work on our four reals Atlanta assets that includes Avalon in Alpharetta, Colony Square in midtown Avenue, East Cobb in Marietta, and the Forum here in Peachtree Corners.

Rico Figliolini 0:00:37

You’re going all around.

Brooke Massey 0:00:39

I am, I am. It’s fun. They’re all four different assets with different personalities, and it’s exciting to kind of be able to put my touch on all of them.

Rico Figliolini 0:00:51

Well, especially this one. I mean, this one is. We’re a suburb of Gwinnett county. The others are not even in Gwinnett county.

Brooke Massey 0:00:58

Right, right.

Rico Figliolini 0:00:59

So a little different than demographic wise and even in shopping, consumerism, I guess, to a degree. So when you’re looking at a place like this and essentially you’re revamping this place.

Brooke Massey 0:01:11

Correct.

Rico Figliolini 0:01:12

So it’s a whole. So what’s the thought? What goes behind the thinking of what needs to come here? How do you arrive at those things?

Brooke Massey 0:01:19

I mean, for us, this is a true redevelopment, where we are adding additional GLA and true redevelopment. And from the retail perspective, at the very beginning, with due diligence, we really dive into demographics that you just refer to. What is the existing community. We also reach out through social channels and ask and inquire what did people want to see coming. And we also dig into existing retail sales as well as surrounding retailers in those sales, because that can also tell you what businesses people are supporting. And then from there, really looking at what are the relevant tenants. Today, we are very focused on brand design, beautiful design, from tenants that really want to showcase their brand on our property. And really just making sure we provide a good mix of kind of at national and local level. There’s a lot that goes into merchandising a redevelopment like the Forum, I would think.

Rico Figliolini 0:02:24

I think at the beginning, when north american properties actually bought the place, there was a lot of community meetings. Of course, people are funny in a way. They want to stay what’s comfortable. What’s comfortable is not always the best thing, because things, you know, you could end up with a goodwill in a place if you just let it keep going. So when you guys took over there were literally, I think there were 16 closed stores here. That’s changed quite a bit. Even in the short time that you guys have been here, you’ve brought in a lot of different types of retail, a little bit more niche, a little bit more boutique brand stuff. And then other businesses have left, like recently, the CPK, which you could argue that that’s been around for a long time. They went through bankruptcy two years ago.

Brooke Massey 0:03:16

2020 was bankruptcy. And that’s an example of a brand who really never invested in their stores. You know, they really didn’t update menu items. They just, I think, relied on, you know, what their brand was 15 years ago. And I think people want and expect a different dining experience today. And I think they just, you know, never reinvented themselves. And here was an example of just one of three. Atlanta. I guess that would be four closings throughout Atlanta.

Rico Figliolini 0:03:46

Yes, I think it was four in Atlanta. So, you know, the part that I think people are, there’s more people that have moved into Peachtree Corners over the last probably five years, or I should say because of COVID moved back to Peachtree Corners. Right. You have a younger demographic that have moved back with their parents. Maybe they can’t afford to buy a house, so they’re just living wherever you can or renting. There’s certainly a lot more apartment complexes being developed, finally coming to fruition, if you will. Does that drive a little bit because of the demographics?

Brooke Massey 0:04:18

It does. I think that pre COVID, you already had an influx of people moving out to the suburban markets, but then COVID hit, and that accelerated it. And so what has happened is you’ve had people that have lived in town, and they know what’s in town. Dining and shopping and the experience that you get in downtown, I’m sorry, in town. And so they come back out here to Peachtree Corners, and, you know, you still, there’s lots of things that are great about the suburbs, and they want to be in the suburbs, but your tastes have changed. Right. You know, what you’ve had before. And so I think that that shift in the community here has definitely happened. And that’s where, from a leasing perspective, we really do try to balance that of bringing some in town brands and kind of that feel of in town. But it’s also the challenge of convincing retailers that are in town that the suburbs are also, you know, somewhere that they could thrive as well. So it’s kind of a two lane street.

Rico Figliolini 0:05:16

Yeah, yeah, I get that. Because in town, it’s more dense. Right. And coming out here is not as dense so restaurants I like down there, Ponds City Market or on the belt line. Some of the shops would probably be great here, but would take a little time because there’s not enough density for those types of.

Brooke Massey 0:05:35

That’s where, you know, what we’re doing. With the redevelopment here, the foot traffic that we see today will only continue to increase. And so my job is to be able to sell the vision of what this will be in 12, 18, 24 months and five years from now. And, you know, the programming, the eventing, just the additional restaurants we’re adding, all of that is where it’ll, you know, raise all sales and productivity of tenants. And so sharing that with those kind of in town brands and having them believe what we’re doing.

Rico Figliolini 0:06:07

Yes, it’s convincing. Yeah, you got to be convincing. And the brands are coming here. So we have a new mexican restaurant coming in.

Brooke Massey 0:06:17

Not Mexican. Nando’s.

Rico Figliolini 0:06:19

I’m sorry?

Brooke Massey 0:06:19

Nando’s. It’s south african.

Rico Figliolini 0:06:22

I was going to say. Right.

Brooke Massey 0:06:22

Yeah. Peri Peri chicken. That’s a really exciting brand because it’s a global brand. So to have a brand like Nando’s recognize Peachtree Cornerss and north american and what we’re doing, I think, is really special. And we chose that restaurant specifically. I went after them because I thought that they were a great fit for this market with that family focus. You know, they have reasonably priced food, great cocktails, $9.99 lunch right now on their website where you can get a lunch for $10 with high quality food. I mean, chick fil a, you can’t even.

Rico Figliolini 0:06:59

No, not for that price. No.

Brooke Massey 0:07:00

So that’s kind of where their target market is, that consumer with family focus. But then, you know, they have great cocktails. They’re going to do a fantastic large patio that we’re working on. And they. And that’s one of the things going back to the property of when we acquired it, of wanting to engage that public realm with outdoor dining that doesn’t really exist today.

Rico Figliolini 0:07:23

No, it doesn’t. I mean, there are some outdoor places, but it’s not the same thing as I see at Avalon or some of the other places.

Brooke Massey 0:07:30

We’re working on that.

Rico Figliolini 0:07:31

Yes. One of the things my 27 year old daughter would love, because she ends up at the Avalon, eating with her friends and stuff. Then she says it’s crowded there and everything, but she still loves going there. And it’s not quite there yet here.

Brooke Massey 0:07:44

No, we still have a ways to go, but that’s where our vision is definitely taken from. The success of Avalon and we know it works. Right. And people do like outdoor dining, and you do like to be around people. You know, the buzz of having that vibe that you get at Avalon. And to do that, you have to create a mix of restaurants. And what we’re doing here, you know, with all the.

Rico Figliolini 0:08:10

With all the work that’s going on here, we’re at the wow room, which is between. Which ones are they? The retail stores we have.

Brooke Massey 0:08:19

So it’s like sugar. Sugar coat.

Rico Figliolini 0:08:23

Yeah, sugar coat on the other and next door to that, I think, will be the Pauletin row, which tell us a little bit about that and give us an idea when you think that might be coming.

Brooke Massey 0:08:33

So we have a great relationship with Pauleton Rowe and have them at our development down in midtown. And we are very excited that they were interested and, you know, are big supporters of the suburban market and believers in what we’re doing out here. And so we are currently in the midst of design with them still. It’s been a long process. It’s going to have around seven stalls. I can’t share the details of what’s coming in there yet, but it’ll be the mix that you see in most food halls. Right. Everything from kind of like your pizzas to ethnic cuisine. It’s smaller on the seven stalls they’re getting ready to submit for permits, and it will probably be more of an early spring 25 opening.

Rico Figliolini 0:09:18

Okay, so these are scratch kitchens, essentially, or.

Brooke Massey 0:09:22

Yeah, they share a communal kitchen. So it’s. Yeah, it’s a little bit of a different setup. Pauleton Row is the one that actually handles the leasing of all those stalls. I don’t do that directly, but, yeah, they do. They do a great job, sort of.

Rico Figliolini 0:09:35

So that’s one end of. Then we have the other end. That’s actually the under construction. The team here at the forum did a great video about showing the direction of the cars. You know, which way they should go where they shouldn’t.

Brooke Massey 0:09:48

The flight attendant video.

Rico Figliolini 0:09:49

Yes. That was beautiful. So there’s a lot of construction going on on that part. And that’s the part that’s going to have the concierge set up, I think a two story building on that side.

Brooke Massey 0:09:59

We do so anchored on this end of the north. We have the north plaza, which is open with the green space and will be the food hall and the two jewel boxes up here. And then on the south plaza, we’ll have a valet concierge, a large green space, and we will be constructing a jewel box with a rooftop that’ll be cool. So that’ll be one of the restaurants that I can’t announce yet, but we do have something in the works for that space. And all of that should be delivered by July. As far as delivered of the green space, the concierge and ballet and of.

Rico Figliolini 0:10:34

Course the, the retail.

Brooke Massey 0:10:36

The restaurant will still have to do their build out.

Rico Figliolini 0:10:38

Will the beast stage on that side too?

Brooke Massey 0:10:41

Yes, I left that out. Yes. That is now kind of one of our would say calling cards for all of our north american properties. Now these led screens and stages where we can do, whether it’s comedy night or live music, we really are utilizing them across our portfolio as much as we can.

Rico Figliolini 0:10:59

The whole idea is to be communal in a way, right. So that people don’t leave, that people come here, kids, family, that they can enjoy the, the aspects of eating and maybe going out to outside and just hanging out.

Brooke Massey 0:11:12

Yeah, I mean, I live in town and find, I mean, we came all the way up here for Bunny hop for Easter and, you know, I don’t have a place directly close to me, you know, that’s like this to where I can take my toddler and husband and we can dine and eat and like run around. And so that’s really what that plaza will be the anchor of the property for. Not only just events, but just the daily, you know, someone who wants to read a book in the green space or, you know, bring their lunch out there.

Rico Figliolini 0:11:40

So across the street we have town center, which is Petri Corners town center. A little different. I mean, they do concerts out there. Five, 6000 people may show up for a cover band. So it’s only been cover bands. Actually. They’re going to start with Taylor Swift as their first sometime in May and that’s going to blow it out. But, but those people definitely will be here, I’m sure to. Do you want to check out the restaurants and eat here? I know that you all do. I think it’s Thursday night. It’s music night. Yes. Tell us how that works.

Brooke Massey 0:12:13

So our marketing team and events, they do a phenomenal job with our senior supporting our events here. Coming up, we have ladies night out next week, which is the 25th, and that’s fine. They do a pop up market. You’ve got flower carts. Retailers do promotions, champagne. It’s always good an excuse to get your friends together to come out and not only just shop, but spend time together. And then we start our signature events in May and those run from May to October. And those are weekly events like the little peaches for the small kids. As well as forum fit. We’ll be doing it on the north Plaza for now, but once the large South Plaza opens, it’ll give us an opportunity to host the larger events and really use it.

Rico Figliolini 0:12:56

Interestingly enough, too, there’s the bakery, Julia’s bakery, premier pastries and bakers.

Brooke Massey 0:13:03

Yes, they are a true italian bakery. They will be starting baking from scratch at 04:00 a.m.?

Rico Figliolini 0:13:08

Really?

Brooke Massey 0:13:08

Yeah.

Rico Figliolini 0:13:09

Okay. So I’m an italian heritage. I’m going to be checking it out because I want to. It’s premiere, so we’ll see. Hopefully it’ll be good. Genuine stuff at four in the morning.

Brooke Massey 0:13:19

Yeah, they start baking at 04:00 a.m.

Rico Figliolini 0:13:21

They’re beating out Dunkin donuts.

Brooke Massey 0:13:23

I can’t wait. I was just picking in earlier today. It’s a beautiful build, all that they’ve done.

Rico Figliolini 0:13:28

Yeah, they keep sharing it on instagram and I keep tagging, sharing it on ours as well. But that’s one place. Then you have Pesci restaurant. You have the Nando’s that’s coming in. You also have a couple of empty spots like Mambo’s, what used to be Mambo’s restaurant a long time ago.

Brooke Massey 0:13:46

Anything without being able. I wish I could give you more, but we do have active leases going on that space, the mambo space, and then the California pizza kitchen space as well.

Rico Figliolini 0:14:01

Wow.

Brooke Massey 0:14:01

And then I only really have one small space left. That would really be what we call kind of for a fast casual, somewhere in the health kind of category, which is over kind of on that. Chopped pilates, healthy, wealthy. Yeah, we call it wellness way on this way.

Rico Figliolini 0:14:20

There you go.

Brooke Massey 0:14:21

And so, yeah, I don’t have a whole lot of restaurants remaining. And as far as, you know, what’s to come? I will say we very carefully merchandise our retail mix and we always want to make sure that we are providing an offering that’s not already in the market. And so, you know, I kind of mentioned some sushi earlier, maybe some Persian. I think it’s some. All of the items would be something that I think the community would welcome.

Rico Figliolini 0:14:49

You know what I like, too? I think the forum has quite a few pop up stores that come in and out testing the products. How do you arrive at, like, doing that?

Brooke Massey 0:15:00

And that’s one of the ways kind of going back to, like, what works here. Right. And so when we, we have a combination of when tenants, you know, reach out to us, I tend to unfortunately say no more than yes because we again kind of very carefully curate the mix. But if I come across a tenant that I think, like, you know what I would like to see, like, how would the market support this? And it’s kind of brand aligned with us. We have a specialty leasing department and team, and so they handle all of our pop up tenants. And, you know, they also are out looking and searching for tenants that they think would be a good fit here. And it’s a way for kind of a win win. You know, you’re able to and see how a tenant does here, and they can also test the market, and it’s.

Rico Figliolini 0:15:45

Low capital, and you get to vary the mix on a quick time basis so it’s not stale.

Brooke Massey 0:15:54

You don’t want vacancy. To your point, we had tons of vacancy right when we first acquired the property. And it feels very different when you walk property and you have open storefronts, whether it’s really something you want to shop at or not, it still feels better to have that energy.

Rico Figliolini 0:16:09

I mean, when you have energy, I was going to say, when you have that energy, it’s a whole different field to replace. And so once the. The buildout’s done, to a degree, I mean, the next step would be, I think it’s the multifamily. Yes. And any idea when that. Because that’ll change some of that mix of retail.

Brooke Massey 0:16:26

It will. And so part of that is, you know, we have some plans in place that would kind of relocate some of the larger tenants on our boulevard here for positive impact. And multifamily will kind of run along Peachtree Parkway and wrap kind of down towards the current barns. It’s 381 units that we’ve been approved is, you know, for. I’m not sure what we’ll actually end up with, but we don’t have a start date yet. It will be. Right now it’s looking more of like a 2025 start, but they’re underway, withdrawings and all of the stuff that the team works on.

Rico Figliolini 0:17:06

Right, right. And I think the other side of that was a boutique hotel. That probably would be about the same time it would be. Yes.

Brooke Massey 0:17:12

So we’ve been approved for zoning of a hotel across the pad, and we would be looking to start that at the same time. Right. You don’t want construction being drug on for, you know, endless amount of time. So we would like to try to condense that and do the hotel and the multifamily at the same time.

Rico Figliolini 0:17:29

So you’re enjoying the things you do. Do you see yourself moving out here at some point? Are you good in town?

Brooke Massey 0:17:35

You know, my husband and I have had these conversations even when we came out here for the bunny hop. There’s lots of things I love about living in town, but I do love the feel of Peachtree Corners specifically. So, yeah, who knows? It would be fun to be able to have this in my backyard. We’ll see.

Rico Figliolini 0:17:53

All right, well, we’ve been talking to Brooke Massey, leasing director, or director of leasing. I appreciate you working through, we had technical difficulties at one point, but I appreciate you working through that. Yeah, no, I appreciate you doing this. I mean, we get to know a lot of what’s going on, so we.

Brooke Massey 0:18:10

Have a lot going on.

Rico Figliolini 0:18:11

Yeah. We’re going to try this again at another point to talk further down the line of new stores coming in. But check the website out, living in peacetrickworners.com dot. Also go to the forums website, which.

Brooke Massey 0:18:23

Is the, I’m embarrassed to say, I don’t know my address.

Rico Figliolini 0:18:28

The forumatpeachtreecorners.com there you go. So google it and you’ll be fine, too. But thank you all for being with us. Thank you, Brooke.

Brooke Massey 0:18:36

Thank you.