By Larry Felton Johnson

A large crowd filled the restaurant space at the Cobb County Senior Wellness Center to celebrate the grand opening and ribbon-cutting for the Cafe Social House location at the center.

Cafe Social House has been a fixture in Mableton, at the Legacy mixed-use complex on Veterans Memorial Highway, since 2018.

Cobb Senior Services Director Ioana Bovo Nicolescu introduced the event, with Cafe Social owner Gloria Smith, and Cobb Commissioners Keli Gambrill, Monique Sheffield, JoAnn Birrell, and Erick Allen onstage.

“It is my absolute pleasure to welcome all of you here today for the grand opening of Cafe Social House,” Nicolescu said. “I am really beyond excited, and I know that all of the staff here in Senior Services know this day has been a long time coming.”

“It has been a personal dream and goal of mine to be able to bring a cafe again at this location and at this capacity, and so to be able to do it and to finally have it here, it is just an amazing feeling,” she said.

“I feel so strongly that this partnership with Cafe Social House is going to help us do just that,” said Nicolescu, “And they’re going to be bringing to us fresh restaurant-quality meals into a welcoming space where you patrons and the broader community can gather, socialize, connect, and yes, have some great food.”

The commissioners spoke in turn, starting with District 1 Commissioner Keli Gambrill, whose district includes the Cobb County Senior Wellness Center.

“Thank you for having us here today,” Gambrill said. “It is great to see everybody in this room.

“Partnering with Cobb Senior Services to provide lunch, and hopefully plans in the future to do breakfast, is going to be a great opportunity for the seniors and the community,” she said. “Each day we begin with fresh fruits and vegetables.”

“The cafe is not only a resource for our seniors,” said Gambrill, “but it’s open to the public.”

“Employees from Code Enforcement zone and any part of Community Development can stop by and enjoy a meal or grab a cup of coffee to start the day,” she said. “And I hear they absolutely offer carry out, so I might have to change my route going home.”

After brief speeches from all four district commissioners, Gloria Smith, the owner, addressed the attendees.

After the speeches, attendees gathered at the entrance to the cafe serving area for the cutting of the ribbon, then formed a very long line to eat lunch.

The owner, Gloria Smith, worked the cafeteria-style line with her staff, pausing to talk to patrons.

In between working the line and chatting with patrons, she told the Courier, “I am so honored to be able to serve our community and to serve the seniors.”

“This most definitely has been an amazing experience, and I just want to thank the community for opening their arms for us,” Smith said.

Commissioner Monique Sheffield, who represents the location of the original Cafe Social House in Mableton, told the Courier, “I just want to congratulate Gloria and her team at Cafe Social House for the grand opening at Senior Services in Marietta.”

“This is truly a partnership, and we look forward to having great food come to an area where it is much needed,” she said. “Our seniors won’t have to travel too far.”

“I’ve spoken with seniors in the past, and they would bring their own lunch, so this is really exciting,” said Sheffield.

“The menu changes, so it’s not the same menu all the time, and it’s healthy,” she said. “It’s healthy eating, so it’s all the things that we look for as we service our senior population.”

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