Hey.
Welcome to ATL Grind.
I’m Andrew (your host) who’ll be showing you the best events, news, jobs, and more in Atlanta’s business world. Let’s get started.
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ATL Grind Coffee
We're hosting ATL Grind's first in-person meetup. Saturday morning, April 18, with all the other ATL Grind readers. We’ve been talking about this for a while now, and I’ve finally set a dater. If you’re looking to meet fellow professionals, founders, operators, executives, investors, Claude Code users, this is for you.
No agenda, no presentations, no pitch. Just show up, grab a coffee, and meet the people you've been reading about.
9:00 AM. Free. 30 spots, must RSVP. 21 spots already gone. See you there.
Approach Automation
John Stikes spent 20 years in industrial automation before he noticed something broken about the industry he was working in. The companies building robots and autonomous systems were selling them like enterprise IT projects: massive upfront commitments, 18-month timelines, rigid implementations. Meanwhile, the factories and warehouses that actually needed this technology were stuck printing paper, driving forklifts by hand, and running operations the same way they did in 2005.
So five years ago, Stikes co-founded Approach Automation out of Griffin, Georgia with a simple thesis: automation should be a product, not a project.
The company operates as what Stikes calls a "flexible automation dealer." They don't manufacture robots. They combine available technologies (autonomous mobile robots, wrapper software, workflow tools) into tailored solutions for individual clients, most of whom are mid-market manufacturers and distributors that Fortune 500 headlines never reach.
One example: a client running legacy ERP systems so deeply embedded that changing them would require upstream compliance overhauls. Workers were physically printing paper orders and driving them through the building. Approach didn't rip out the ERP. They wrapped software around it, digitized the paper flow, and smoothed out product tracking so workers stopped chasing down one-off mistakes across the floor.
"People make value for the business when they make decisions, not when they drive a forklift," Stikes says. "Let automation do the dumb stuff."
In 2026, the question for most operations teams isn't whether they can automate. It's whether they should, and in what order. Stikes says he spends more time talking clients out of things than into them.
His longer-term vision: become the company that democratizes automation for the businesses that don't have a Fortune 10 budget. The headlines go to Amazon and Tesla. Approach wants to be the firm that brings the same benefits to a 200-person distribution center in Spalding County.
Worth noting: MODEX 2026 (April 13-16 at the Georgia World Congress Center) is the premier event for exactly this space. Stikes recommended it as a must-attend for anyone who wants to see industrial robots and material handling tech up close. Tons of Atlanta companies exhibiting. Free admission.
​The Bank BarÂ
New coastal Italian from Joey Romano and Justin Lynch, who also run Industry Tavern right next door in the same building. Chef Daniele Arturo leads the kitchen. The menu is scratch-made pasta and daily-flown seafood, inspired by Arturo's and the owners' Italian family kitchens.
It's on the ground floor of the Terminus building, which puts it in the middle of the Buckhead office corridor. If you work at or around Piedmont Road and Peachtree, this is a strong lunch or after-work option that didn't exist six months ago. The room is small, mostly large tables, with a solid bar. Works for a client dinner or a weeknight with your partner.
What to order: The veal parmesan ($52) is getting called the best in Atlanta. Tagliatelle Bolognese ($24) and rigatoni vodka ($25) are both house-made. Start with the gnocchi ($17, hand-rolled, beef ragu, imported burrata) or arancini ($12). The prime filet ($60, 8oz CAB center cut) if you're skipping pasta. Bourbon list is deep, cocktail program is legitimate.
Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, dinner only Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Wanted to take a break to shoutout a good friend also in the space!
Networking Only Atlanta addresses the challenge of finding relevant networking opportunities by hand-selecting business and creative professional events in one centralized platform. It also reduces missed opportunities by sharing events early, allowing professionals to plan ahead rather than discovering them after registration has closed. Overall, the platform helps professionals be more intentional with their time by connecting them to events that are more likely to lead to meaningful relationships and outcomes.
Senior Director, Marketing Data, Digital and AI at The Coca-Cola Company (Hybrid, Atlanta). Lead the marketing data and AI strategy for one of the world's largest consumer brands. If you've been building data infrastructure and want to apply it at global scale, this is the seat. Apply here
Director, CX Sales at OneTrust (Hybrid, Atlanta). Professional services sales for the privacy and data governance platform. Apply here
Vice President, Technology Product Management at BlackRock (Hybrid, Atlanta). Lead product strategy for Aladdin's technology platform. Apply here
Director, Executive Compensation at Inspire Brands (Onsite, Atlanta). Own exec comp strategy for the parent company of Arby's, Dunkin', Buffalo Wild Wings, and more. Apply here
Sr. Director of Global Email and Marketing Automation at Global Payments (Hybrid, Atlanta). Build and scale the email marketing engine for a $30B+ fintech. Apply here
Director, Learning Strategy at The Home Depot (Onsite, Atlanta). Design and execute learning programs across the org. Apply here
Browse all roles at atlgrind.com/jobs
Barre3 Buckhead
barre3 Buckhead has been open for 12 years at 1745 Peachtree St NE in one of the most expensive retail corridors in Atlanta. For a boutique fitness studio, that's a genuinely unusual run.
The company behind it is worth understanding. barre3 was founded in Portland in 2008 by Sadie Lincoln and her husband Chris. Today there are over 200 studios, $60 million in system sales (up 18% year over year), and the entire franchise network is women-owned and operated. No private equity. No institutional capital. Growth funded by cash flow.
The number that matters most: 60% of new client sign-ups across the network come from referrals. Not paid ads, not influencer partnerships. People telling other people. That's an acquisition cost structure most founders would kill for, and it's a direct result of how the classes are designed. Every barre3 class lets people modify or amplify movements in real time, so a complete beginner and a five-year regular take the same class simultaneously. That means you can drag a friend to your first class and neither of you feels out of place. The friend converts. The cycle repeats.
In 2023, barre3 acquired competitor The Barre Code specifically to convert those studios into barre3 locations in markets they hadn't entered yet. Buy the lease, convert the build-out, import the playbook. Cheaper than starting from scratch.
Community Manager Jean Strickland says the Buckhead studio runs on the same principle at a local level: partnerships with nearby businesses, community events, and a culture where regulars know each other by name.
Right now: barre3 Buckhead is celebrating its 12-year anniversary and offering first class free for new clients.
812 Myrtle St NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
One of Midtown's best streets. This is a single-family home in the coveted Garden District with a detached 2-car garage, a backyard with Midtown skyline views, and a modern eat-in kitchen with professional grade appliances. The layout flows from the kitchen and family room straight out to a covered patio and landscaped yard, which is rare for Midtown proper. At $1.25M for a true single-family home with a garage and outdoor space this close to Piedmont Park, this is the kind of listing that doesn't sit long.
4 other headlines to snack on:
Norfolk Southern just signed a nearly $500 million, five-year lease renewal at its Midtown HQ, even as its merger with Union Pacific awaits federal approval. Both CEOs say the Midtown building stays regardless of the outcome. Read more here
Yamaha Motor Co. is moving its U.S. headquarters from California to Kennesaw, Georgia, where it already employs 2,300+ workers. The move starts late 2026 and wraps by 2028. Another California exit to the Peach State. Read more here
Papa John's (headquartered in Atlanta) is reviewing a $1.5 billion take-private bid from Qatari-backed Irth Capital Management at $47 per share, a 50% premium. Brookfield Asset Management is backing the deal. Read more here
Live Nation settled its DOJ antitrust case, avoiding a Ticketmaster breakup but creating a $280 million settlement fund. Service fees at amphitheaters capped at 15%. Over 26 states (not including Georgia) are still pursuing their own lawsuits. Read more here
A Message from Sharpe Systems:
Atlanta Businesses: Get a Website, Reviews, and Missed Call Text Back for $297/mo
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If you're running a local business in Atlanta and you're still missing calls, have less than 20 Google reviews, or your website hasn't been updated since it was built, this is worth a look.
Sharpe Systems builds marketing systems for local businesses at $297/mo. That’s it.
Here's what you get:
A professional website that's optimized for Google and actually converts visitors into calls and texts
A 5-star review funnel that automatically asks your customers for Google reviews and follows up until they do it
Missed call text back so every unanswered call gets an instant text reply from your business
One-click marketing campaigns to bring back past customers with discounts and referral requests
On-site SEO so you show up when people Google what you do in Atlanta
Most agencies charge $2,000-5,000/mo and lock you into a contract. This is $297, month to month, and everything gets built for you in under 10 days.
Book a free 15-minute demo and see the whole system live.
That’s it.
What’d you think? Reply and share some thoughts.
See you next week.
Andrew