On the go: A guide to Atlanta with Drip-Thru Coffee 🇺🇸

AtlantaGeorgiaUnited StatesNorth America

Apr 12

There might be no object more American than the automobile, which is a thing created at scale to cover the immense distances of the continent and to do in privacy, fast. It was only a matter of time, then, that a guide to one of America’s leading cities would feature a drive-thru coffee shop.

Founded in 2015, Christy Deen’s Drip-Thru Coffee operates 2 locations in Atlanta, giving people on the go access to quality coffee. Christy, originally from the greater Atlanta area, gives a local’s look at her favorite theaters, restaurants, & more.

*Christy Deen founded Drip-Thru Coffee in Atlanta in 2015. Photos courtesy of Drip-Thru Coffee*

Filter: What do you do for fun around Atlanta?

Live shows! We lost a few years of theatre due to the Covid pandemic and I’m doing my best to make up for lost time. Some venues top of mind to me are The EARL, The Fox, Variety Playhouse, Horizon Theatre, The Alliance, Dad’s Garage, and Lakewood and Chastain amphitheaters.

Filter: If a good friend came to visit, where would you be sure to take them?

The Atlanta Beltline—a walking/biking loop around the city with the largest temporary public art display in the South, dining, shopping, Piedmont Park, and more. Atlanta has often been referred to as a “city in a forest” due to its abundance of trees. You can really get a feel for that, exploring along the Beltline.

For dining, let’s be honest… I like to eat & drink, period. Atlanta was recently visited by the Michelin guide for the first time ever in late 2023. A total of 45 restaurants were awarded stars, bib status, or other distinctions during the October ‘23 ceremony and I’m on a mission to experience all the ones I haven’t already.

Here are a few of my current dining “go-to” spots for out-of-town friends:

Home grown—comfy breakfast & lunch spot, recommended by the Michelin Guide.

The Highland Tap—best dirty martini in Atlanta! I like to say I go for the martinis and stay for the steak ;)

The EARL—serving since 1999 in the heart of East Atlanta Village. Great food, drinks, and you can even catch a live show in the back from local bands like Chick Wallace to the likes of Modern English.

Sotto Sotto—opened also in 1999, it is the most celebrated and critically-acclaimed Italian Restaurant situated in the Inman Park neighborhood of Atlanta.

Mary Mac’s Tea Room—an Atlanta institution since 1945, serving up traditional Southern cuisine and hospitality.

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

Hiking. There are a number of trails just a quick drive from Atlanta. Bring water and wear sturdy shoes. A couple of my favorites: Arabia Mountain (often referred to as Little Stone Mountain) and Amicalola Falls, where you can hike 5 miles up to the Len Foote Hike Inn, stay overnight, and hike back down the next day after breakfast (reservation is required).

Filter: What touristy things in Atlanta are worth the hype?

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park—encompassing the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr, Ebenezer Baptist Church and the King Center.

The Atlanta Zoo—one of the 10 oldest operating zoos in the country, located in the Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta. Zoo Atlanta is home to some adorable pandas that happen to be my favorite animal of all time.

Plaza Theatre—open since 1939, it is Atlanta’s oldest operating cinema. One can catch independent, foreign, art house films, hard-to-find documentaries, and quirky programming.

Others I would include are the Center for Puppetry Arts, World of Coca-Cola (Atlanta is where it all began), Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, and the David J. Sencer CDC Museum.

Filter: Where are your favorite quiet corners, green spaces, charming walks, or hidden gems there?

Tiny Doors ATL can embrace all of these. Tiny Doors ATL is an Atlanta-based art project bringing big wonder to tiny spaces in Atlanta and beyond. The 7-inch doors are sculptures created by artist Karen Anderson Singer at the invitation of the neighborhood or institution. They are designed to reflect the spirit, architecture, and other unique elements of the surrounding community. With the installation of a door, what was once a wall or the column of a bridge becomes an entrance to collective creativity and an invitation to wonder. The numbered doors around Atlanta are always free to visit and accessible to people of all ages. At Drip-Thru Coffee we commissioned a Tiny Door which is actually made out of a coffee cup!

Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire, and why?

Banjo Coffee Co. located in Avondale Estates. Family-owned and they got their start about the same time we did at Drip-Thru Coffee. They also partner with the same local roaster we do at Drip-Thru Coffee—Cafe Campesino, Georgia’s oldest fair trade, organic, and shade-grown coffee roaster.

Filter: What makes Atlanta feel most like home to you?

Truly, it’s friends and family. While I did spend a substantial amount of time working at Walt Disney World and living in Orlando, Florida, Atlanta was and will always be home. I met and married my husband, Martin Deen, in Atlanta and we have raised our daughter, Grace, who now attends Emory University as a nursing student. Plus, Drip-Thru Coffee was also born here in 2015 ;)

Filter: How did you end up in Atlanta’s coffee scene?

I was born and raised in Jonesboro, Georgia just south of Atlanta, also known as “OTP.” To locals, that’s “outside the perimeter,” whereas Atlanta is considered “ITP”—inside the perimeter. The perimeter being Interstate 285 that circles the city.

I began my food and beverage career in high school scooping ice cream, and would continue my F&B career over the next couple decades with high-volume venues like Walt Disney World and Altanta-Hartsfield Jackson Airport, the world's busiest airport! Fast-forward to 2013, I was piggy-backing on one of my husband’s business trips to the Pacific Northwest. I found this concept of these tiny double-sided coffee drive-thrus and thought that’s what I could do! I mean, I love coffee and wanted to be my own boss, although terrified about getting started. Finally, after much research and development, Drip-Thru Coffee was established in 2015, opening our first location December 2016, located in Stockbridge, Georgia. Our second location, College Park (located next to the airport), opened in 2018. Ironically it just seems that everything came full circle. My first job ever as a 14-year-old was in Stockbridge and my last big corporate job was at the airport.

Filter: Can you share about your role at Drip-Thru?

I am the majority owner (woman-owned) and operator of Drip-Thru Coffee. I get to be my own boss and I feel like all the years I spent working for others/corporate makes me appreciate the most challenging days of being a small business owner. I love the coffee world—from attending specialty coffee expos, visiting coffee origins/small farmers like Guatemala in 2019, networking with vendors and other small coffee shops, and rubbing elbows with US Barista Champions like Morgan Eckroth & Andrea Allen. I enjoy leading the team at Drip-Thru Coffee in excellence, doing my best to showcase the best of the coffee world to our baristas and provide a safe and fun space to be gainfully employed.

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and what shop would be the biggest reason?

Fernando’s Kaffee in Antigua, Guatemala. Guatemala will always hold a special place in my heart from visiting in 2019. We kicked off our 2019 origin trip at Fernando’s. Known for their coffee and cacao, they offer a substantial breakfast and lunch. It’s a quaint place in the city with ample seating for travelers and locals alike. You just get a good sense of community, while in another country.

Filter: Anything you’d like to add about Atlanta?

Atlanta has been considered the “Hollywood of the South” within the past decade for all the filming we’ve welcomed. My husband, daughter, and myself have all moonlighted as background actors in some of that filming including The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, The Boss, The Founder, American Made, Almost Christmas, The Detour, Halt & Catch Fire, and others.

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Drip-Thru Coffee operates 2 drive-thru locations around Atlanta, Georgia.

Drip-Thru - Stockbridge

Drip-Thru - College Park

Food & Beverage

Theater