Best Places​ in Atlanta to Get a Pint With Your Half Pint

This is not an article about tying your child to a tree while you relive your college champion flip cup days. Some of my favorite places serve coffee, kombucha, and smoothies. What you will find, are some of the best deals in Atlanta that won’t look twice as you walk in pushing a stroller. Some even have designated play areas for your child while you partake in a delicious libation.

Monday Night Brewing Garage is probably the most child-friendly brewery in America. Designated play areas have everything from a wooden train set to a play kitchen. It leaves no question that you are invited in with children. You must keep your kids close and keep an eye on them but isn’t that just part of your everyday parenting? Monday Night Brewing has fabulous fermented offerings for all beer palates.  “Dr. Robot” is a blackberry lemon sour, offered year-round. Its tart fruity flavor is perfect after a hot day of lifeguarding your children. All of Monday Night’s Imperial Stouts are sure to please. The dark beers come with the option of adding a shot of Nitro Cold Brew Coffee for $1. That should provide you with the energy needed to keep up with your children for a few more minutes. An outdoor fire pit gets going during the winter months to add danger and intrigue to any visit. Running parallel is a large completed stretch of the Westside Beltline. If your kids are older, they can go for a bike ride or run laps while you sit and sip. A rotation of local food trucks and caterers make every visit a culinary adventure. Keep an eye on Groupon for occasional deals here.

Whole Foods Midtown. I know this one sounds like I am slipping, but it is one of the best places to sit down and consume the beverages you just selected from their entire stock of liquids. This Whole Foods has a rooftop space, Canopy Court, complete with seating, corn hole, large connect four, Jenga, and tvs. To enjoy this space, you can either shop in the store and bring anything that is not in glass, or simply head upstairs and order off of their well-selected but pricier menu. To get there, take the elevator on the far right (if you are facing the elevators) to the top floor.  

Whole Foods Canopy Court, chairs big and small!

In the heart of Midtown, Cafe Lucia is a small but well-stocked cafe with a comfortable living room style sitting area perfect for you to break out the coloring book for the kids while you make your selection. Having a food menu with items like PB&J french toast means even the finickiest of little eaters will be able to find something to stuff in their belly. Located just a few minutes’ walk from Piedmont Park it is a great stop before or after. If you have a thirst for something stronger than a cafe au lait, grab a beer or glass of wine from their long list of offerings. If you find yourself there on a Friday you are in luck . . . $5 cocktails ALL DAY. 

While it may not have a children’s nook design to entertain your child, Eventide Brewing has many features that put this brewery on my child-friendly list. First, they are actually friendly here to kids and adults alike. I have never been the only one there rocking a bookbag full of wipes, crayons, and snacks. Having other fathers around helps ease the occasional pang of guilt of being in a brewery with my child. The wide-open spaces, low seating, and board games make this a great place to relax before heading out to dinner or bedtime for the kid. There is also an outdoor space generally occupied by patrons and their dogs.  

I am only one man, let me know your favorite places to go out and have a drink with your family. Coffee, beer, cocktail, and smoothie aficionados are all welcome.   

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Top 7 Free Things To Do in Atlanta with Your Kids

With all the cost involved in travel finding some free things to do in a new city is a definite win. In our  home city of Atlanta there is almost always something free going on for families to enjoy. Here are a few of the pocket friendly options that are available year round. Also some resources to find out what  may be going on unique to the time you are in town. 

Story time at the Peachtree library- Found in Midtown Atlanta- “Mr. Ken the Librarian”  puts on a stellar story time for different age groups every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10:30am-11am. This program is set up for kids of Pre school age and younger. While there is no child too young, 4-5 years old is probably the oldest child you want to bring. This is not just a story time, your child will be singing, playing with bells, and marching around the room before the half hour is over. 


The library also has a small kids area with puzzles, books, and coloring

Piedmont park– there is something here for everyone. My family’s classic walk through here starts off with a stop at the playground found in the center of the park. Adjacent, there is a small foot bridge that is the perfect perch to feed the ducks, fish, and turtles found in Lake Clara Meer. Be sure to bring some bread or crackers with you. 

Piedmont Park in the fall

On Saturdays from March 30th – November there is a free history walking tour that starts at the Green Market found near the 12th street entrance to piedmont Park. The meet up point is the Conservancy information table. The tour starts at 11am and generally goes for 60-90 min. 

If you are an early bird, pun intended,  there is a bird walk organized by the Atlanta Audubon Society. This starts at an eye rubbing 8am and goes on for 2-3 hrs. every first Saturday of the month. Check the Atlanta Audubon Society web page to ensure start times.

HIGH Museum Second Sunday – this event has art making, story time, and access to their 2 sensory rooms all included for the price of nothing. Free admission runs from 12pm-5pm with special programing from 1pm-4pm. As you can guess it gets very crowded. If you have a Bank of America card the HIGH is part of the “Museums On Us” granting free access for the card holder on the first full weekend of every month. Another hack, but not free, is Facebook parenting groups based in Atlanta. I have seen extremely discounted guest passes for sale by parents that thought they had more friends than they actually do when they purchased these passes. 

entrance to the HIGH

Walk the Eastside Beltline– Its always motivating for kids and adults alike to have an activity going while on walks. The activity on this walk?  Finding Tiny Doors…. The first one can be found on the left side wall of the overpass that you go under shortly after starting the Beltline from Monroe Drive NE. My favorite destination for this walk is the Historic Fourth Ward Park Playground. If its warm out bring some clothes that can get wet so the kids can enjoy the interactive water features at this, what may be the best in Atlanta, park. Food, Beer, and coffee can be found all around you on your walk. From the O4W playground you are only a few blocks away from Ponce City Market. 

Eastside Beltline

While the Martin Luther King Jr Historic Site should be a stop on you visit to Atlanta, free or not, this inspiring destination will cost you nothing. Consider taking MARTA or the above ground street car as parking is a pain. The street car can also take you from there to another great playground and the largest interactive fountain in the world, Centennial Olympic park.  

Have any fun free activities? E-mail me and I will post them on the blog, or post links in the comment section…