03.02.08
Adieu, Little Gardens
Today, after over 30 years as one of Gwinnett’s premiere fine-dining restaurants, Little Gardens closed its doors as a restaurant. For as long as I can remember, trips down US 29 from Lawrenceville to Lilburn were marked by the unassuming Little Gardens sign poking out from the forest (and later, as development encroached, by sights of the lawn’s magnolias and the columned mansion itself).
For all those years of passing by, however, it was not until “relatively” recently that I had ever dined there. I first dined at the restaurant the night of my senior prom, and the last was for my grandparents’ 65 wedding anniversary last April. In between those days, I experienced this fading tradition for retirement celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. Like many from this area, Little Gardens has written itself on my life….
So as an era draws to a close, with a tinge of sadness I say thanks for the memories of a lost time, and adieu….