HEY NEIGHBOR,
Duluth is about to have a week.
Before we get into that, last week we had a great time at our webinar with Jim, Tyler and I. And 5 of you won a gift card to everbowls in Hamilton Mills. Watch the replay here if you are interested. And if you won, please email me to retrieve your gift.
Starting tomorrow, the city is running five straight nights of Multicultural Week — mariachi in Parsons Alley, art in the alley, international food trucks spread across downtown, workshops to close it out. It's the kind of thing I've been begging our cities to do for two years.
And here's what I keep thinking about.
I could go to every single one of those nights. Eat food from six countries. Hear a mariachi band echo off the brick. Have a genuinely great time.
And still drive home without having actually met anybody.
I've done it. You've probably done it too. You go to the thing. You stand near people. You have a nice night. And you leave with the exact same number of friends you showed up with.
That's the gap. That's the whole reason Dinner Club exists.
Let’s get into it…
In Today's Post
GWINNETTBEST DINNER CLUB — DULUTH
Wednesday, September 9 · 7:00 PM · Downtown Duluth
Here's what happened at the first one.
We ran it in Lawrenceville. Total strangers walked in — some solo, some dragging a friend (or a spouse), all of them a little nervous, me most of all. A few hours later one table had started referring to themselves as "our table." People were trading numbers before leaving the table. Somebody was already making plans for the following week.
And about one out of every three people who came booked the next one before they left the end of the next day.
How it works (it's on purpose that it's this simple)
1. Take the quiz.
2. We handle the logistics.
3. Show up hungry.
4. Stay for the after-party.
A few things worth knowing
Bring your plus one. Got a spouse, a sibling, a friend who's been saying they want to meet people? Bring them.
This one's for grown-ups. 21 and up. No upper limit — and honestly the best tables have the widest age range.
Solo is completely normal. A big chunk of the first group came alone. Within twenty minutes you couldn't tell who did.
Your seat supports GwinnettBest. This newsletter, the events, all of it. You're not just buying dinner.
Why I keep pushing this so hard
I moved here from California six years ago. I know exactly what it feels like to live somewhere for years and still not really know anybody — to recognize faces at Publix and have that be the whole extent of it.
Watching total strangers become "our table" in one night is the single most GwinnettBest thing that has ever happened. It's the reason I started all of this.
Duluth, this is your month. The city is throwing you a five-night party. Come meet the people you've been standing next to at it.
Seats go fast. Last one filled up.
First Time? Use code: BESTSUMMER to receive 20% OFF (only 12 redeemable codes left)
Can't make September 9? Get on the list at that same link and you'll be first to hear about the next one.
This Week in Gwinnett
WHILE YOU'RE WAITING: DULUTH MULTICULTURAL WEEK
Five nights, one downtown, all city-run. If you want a preview of the neighborhood we're eating in on September 9, this is it.
Mariachi México + Multicultural Story Time
Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 26 · 6:00–9:00 PM (story time at 7:00)
Live mariachi filling the alley, plus a family story hour at the Gigglebark Tree with stories from around the world.
Multicultural Art in the Alley
Thursday, August 27 · 6:00–9:00 PM
Hands-on crafts pulled from traditions all over the map. All ages, walk right up.
Multicultural Night — the big one
Friday, August 28 · 6:00–9:00 PM
Live cultural performances and international food trucks spread across the whole downtown. If you only make one night, make it this one.
Multicultural Creativity Workshops
Sunday, August 30 · 6:00–9:00 PM · Registration required
Closing day. Indoor, hands-on workshops inspired by traditions around the world.
❤️ ONE I'D CIRCLE IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE
Battle of the Badges BBQ — Saturday, August 29 · 11:00 AM–3:00 PM
Lawrenceville Police Department · 435 W. Pike Street, Lawrenceville, GA 30046
Lawrenceville PD is throwing a BBQ fundraiser for one of their own — Captain Josh Morris — and his family. Plates are $15. You vote for your favorite local agency for the 2026 Battle of the Badges trophy, and $20 gets you a raffle ticket for a RecTeq Backyard Boss 1200 grill bundle worth over $1,700. Winner announced at 3:00.
Fifteen dollars buys you lunch and puts money in the hands of a family that needs it. That's the easiest yes on this whole list.
⚡ QUICK HITS: THE REST OF YOUR WEEK
Short list this week, because the section above is the main event.
Wed, Aug 26 — 🌮 Mariachi México, Parsons Alley, Duluth, 6–9 PM
Thu, Aug 27 — Multicultural Art in the Alley, Duluth, 6–9 PM · CrossFit on the Green, Peachtree Corners Town Green, 8–9 AM, free, 18+ · Details
Fri, Aug 28 — 🌍 Multicultural Night, Downtown Duluth, 6–9 PM · 🍅 Last Lilburn Farmers Market of the season, 4–7 PM, Good Shepherd Presbyterian, 1400 Killian Hill Rd · Market details · 💦 Splash Night + outdoor movie, Sugar Hill, behind City Hall, 6–9 PM · Details · 🎈 Days of Play with Be Active Gwinnett, Lawrenceville Lawn, 5–6 PM, FREE · Info · 🎤 Dolly Parton tribute, Sylvia Beard Theatre, Buford, 8 PM, $35–$45 · Tickets · 🎱 Community Bingo, Grayson Senior Center, 1–3 PM, FREE · Info
Sat, Aug 29 — 🎤 Whitney Houston tribute, Peachtree Corners Town Green, 7–10 PM, FREE · Concert details · 🏃 Annandale Village Extra Mile 5K & 1 Mile, Suwanee Town Center Park, 8 AM–12 PM · Register · 🔥 Battle of the Badges BBQ for Capt. Josh Morris, Lawrenceville PD, 11 AM–3 PM, $15 plates · Details · 🚂 Trains + Trucks + Tractors, Southeastern Railway Museum, Duluth, 4–8 PM · Info
Sun, Aug 30 — Multicultural Creativity Workshops, Duluth Festival Center, 6–9 PM
Would you find it helpful if I moved the newsletter dates to Monday & Thursday?
BEFORE YOU GO!
Somebody asked me last week why I care so much about a dinner.
Fair question. It's six people and some food. It's not a business, it's not scalable, and it is by far the most work per person of anything I do.
Here's my honest answer.
Everything else I make — this email, the reels, the videos — happens on a screen. You read it alone. I make it alone. And I'm proud of it, but there's a ceiling on what a screen can do for somebody who's lonely in a county of a million people.
Dinner is different. Dinner is the oldest technology we have for turning a stranger into a person. You sit down across from somebody, you both order, and forty minutes in you know something about them that you'd never learn from a comment section.
I can't build that on my laptop.
So yeah — six people and some food. September 9. Downtown Duluth. 7:00 PM.
Come find your table.
See you at the table, Neighbor.
Your Neighbor and GwinnettBest Creator,
Gus Ruballo
