You've heard me talk about Brightside before — the Buford coffee shop that employs adults with special abilities. But sitting across from the people who actually built it, hearing the why behind it, watching them light up when they talked about their team? That's a different thing entirely. I can't wait for you to see it.

The episode drops Friday on the This Is Gwinnett Show YouTube channel. Set a reminder. Watch it with someone you love. And then go grab a coffee from them on Saturday.

This week is a good one — Mother's Day Sunday, the Lilburn Farmers Market is into its second Friday, the Suwanee Farmers Market opens for the season, Third Day brings 30 years of music to Gas South, and I've got two coffee shops I've been holding onto for the right moment.

Let's get into it. 👇

— Gus

Thursday, May 7 | 6:00–10:00 PM | Downtown Lawrenceville Square | FREE

Last Thursday's opener pulled the kind of crowd that reminds you why downtown Lawrenceville is one of the best small downtowns in metro Atlanta. Tomorrow night is week 2 — fresh DJ, full patio dancing, restaurant specials at every corner of the square. If you missed the kickoff, this is your second chance. Easy date night. Bring the spouse. Stay later than you meant to.

🔗 Beats on the Streets info

🏷️ Great for: Date Night | Live Music | Free / Under $20

Friday, May 8 | 4:00–7:00 PM | 1400 Killian Hill Rd, Lilburn | FREE

This is the one I want every Lilburn family at this Friday. I told you about opening day last week. Now we're into week 2 — the rhythm starts to set in, the regulars start showing up, and the 40+ vendors settle into their corners. Live music, fresh sourdough, local honey, dog treats, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and they double EBT on fresh produce. Bring a tote, bring the kids, walk the row. Make it part of your Friday afternoon ritual through the summer. (See Hidden Gem below 👇 for more.)

🔗 lilburnfarmersmarket.org

🏷️ Great for: Families | Free / Under $20 | Pet-Friendly

Saturday, May 9 | 8:00 AM–12:00 PM | Town Center Park, Suwanee | FREE

The Saturday morning ritual is officially back. Suwanee's Summer Farmers Market opens this Saturday and runs every Saturday from May through October. Coffee, fresh produce, local makers, a stroll around Town Center Park, and the whole town out walking with their dogs and their kids. If you've never made the Saturday morning trip, this is the year to start.

🔗 Suwanee Farmers Market info

🏷️ Great for: Families | Free / Under $20 | Pet-Friendly

Saturday, May 9 | 12:00–5:00 PM | Downtown Norcross | FREE

Historic Norcross is rolling out a full afternoon for Mom — a flower wall installation at 9 S. Peachtree (where each card holds a real flower so you can write a note and hand it to her), an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea moment for kids and moms with antique tea sets and photo ops, plus participating downtown shops with sweet treats, deals, and quiet little surprises. The kind of low-pressure, high-feel afternoon you'll be glad you made room for.

🔗 Norcross Mother's Day Pop-Up info

🏷️ Great for: Date Night | Families | Free / Under $20

Saturday, May 9 | 7:00 PM (headliner ~8:15 PM) | The Town Green, Peachtree Corners | FREE

The Peachtree Corners Summer Concert Series kicks off Saturday with Departure — one of the best Journey tribute bands in the country — playing a free open-air show on the Town Green. Bring a blanket, grab dinner from one of The Forum's restaurants, sing every word to "Don't Stop Believin'" with strangers who will feel like family by 9 PM. Easy date night. Easy family night. Just go.

🏷️ Great for: Date Night | Families | Free / Under $20

Saturday, May 9 | 9:30 AM–9:00 PM | The Forum Peachtree Corners | FREE

If you've procrastinated on the Mother's Day gift (no judgment), The Forum is staying open until 9 PM Saturday with extended Mother's Day shopping hours. Make a date of it — dinner, gift hunting, then the Departure show on the Town Green right next door. Built-in date night, built-in checked box. You're welcome.

🔗 theforumpeachtree.com

🏷️ Great for: Date Night | Families

Sunday, May 10 (Mother's Day) | 7:00 PM | Gas South Arena, Duluth

Listen — if Mom is a Third Day fan, this is THE Mother's Day gift. Mac Powell, the original lineup, 30 years of songs, and Zach Williams as the special guest. Faith, family, and a crowd singing every word together right here in Duluth. There's something about taking your mom (or your wife as the mom of your kids) to a worship-rooted concert on Mother's Day night that hits different. Tickets going fast.

🔗 Gas South Arena

🏷️ Great for: Date Night | Families | Seniors

Saturday, May 9 | 9:00 AM–1:00 PM | 5250 Triangle Pkwy NW, Norcross | FREE

A car show celebrating female car culture in metro Atlanta — and it's right here in Gwinnett. Cool rides, women builders front and center, family-friendly, free to walk. The kind of underrated Saturday morning that's both fun and quietly meaningful.

🔗 Driven Divas & Dudes info

🏷️ Great for: Families | Free / Under $20

Saturday, May 9 | 10:00 AM–12:00 PM | Buford / Snellville / Suwanee Michaels | FREE

Dads — this is your move. Free flower-stamped card and thumbprint necklace craft for the kids to make for Mom. Buford (Market Place at Mill Creek), Snellville (Scenic Square), and the Johns Creek-adjacent Suwanee location all participating. The kind of homemade gift moms actually keep forever.

🔗 Michaels Kids Club info

🏷️ Great for: Families | Kids | Free / Under $20

Friday, May 8 | Dusk | The Forum Peachtree Corners | FREE

Every single Friday, The Forum's plaza becomes an outdoor stage. Grab dinner, find a patch of grass, and let the night happen. No reservations, no plan, no pressure. The most reliable free date night in Gwinnett.

🔗 theforumpeachtree.com

🏷️ Great for: Date Night | Families | Free / Under $20

Friday, May 8 + Saturday, May 9 | 6:00–9:00 PM | Downtown Duluth | FREE

Duluth LIVE returns to downtown with live performers from 6 to 9 PM Friday and Saturday all season long. Walk the boutiques, grab dinner outside, let the music do the rest. One of the most charming Friday nights in Gwinnett if you haven't done it yet.

🔗 Downtown Duluth events

🏷️ Great for: Date Night | Families | Seniors

Every week I find one place in Gwinnett that deserves more love. This week it's…

Fridays, 4:00–7:00 PM | May through August | FREE

This Friday I'm taking two of my boys with me to the Lilburn Farmers Market — camera in hand, recording a new episode of the This Is Gwinnett Show. I'm sitting down with Mandy, the woman who organizes the whole thing, and a local certified beekeeper who sells his creamed honey exclusively here. (No grocery shelves. No farmers market circuit. Just Lilburn.) That alone is worth showing up for.

But here's the line Mandy dropped on me that I haven't been able to stop thinking about:

In the 17 years this market has existed — rain or shine — they have never once shut down.

Seventeen years. Every single Friday from May through August. Through storms. Through heat. Through whatever life threw at them. Forty-plus vendors, a community that keeps showing up, and a market that just doesn't quit on Lilburn.

That's more than a farmers market. That's a community of neighbors who love their city.

Fresh produce from farms 30 minutes away, eggs you can almost taste the difference on, sourdough still warm in the bag, that beekeeper's honey, smoked trout, handcrafted dog treats, fresh-squeezed lemonade, pastries that make you reconsider what a croissant should taste like. Live music. Kids running around. Dogs everywhere. And they double EBT on fresh fruits and vegetables — meaning a family on assistance walks out with double the produce they paid for. Quiet, generous, on-mission.

If you see me there Friday with two of my boys and a camera — come say hi. I'd love to meet you.

Best move: Get there at 4:30 PM before the after-work rush. Bring a tote (the bread vendor sells out fast). Walk every aisle once before you buy. Then circle back to whatever stopped you.

Pro tip: Bring the dog, bring the kids, bring cash AND a card. Most vendors take both, but a couple are cash-only.

🏷️ Free / Under $20 | Family | Pet-Friendly | EBT Doubled on Produce

Two more picks worth a real reservation this week.

144 W Crogan St, Lawrenceville, GA 30046

The most underrated outdoor patio in the county sits one block off the Lawrenceville square. Universal Joint is a relaxed, neighborhood-feel gastropub with a giant covered patio, craft beer, smash burgers, and shareable plates that keep a date night moving. Pair it with Beats on the Streets Thursday night and the whole evening builds itself — patio dinner, walk to the square, dance to a DJ set, walk back for one more drink. That's the Lawrenceville move.

🏷️ Date Night | Easy on the Wallet | Outdoor Patio

3097 Main St, Duluth, GA 30096

Right on Main Street in downtown Duluth — handmade tortillas, real margaritas, a beautiful indoor-outdoor patio, and the kind of energy that makes a Saturday night feel like a tiny vacation. Pair this with a stroll through downtown Duluth before or after the Duluth LIVE concert and you've built a date night that feels like you drove an hour into Atlanta when you actually drove ten minutes.

🏷️ Date Night | Walkable Downtown | Mexican

Two shops that have been quietly on my list for a while — both real, both excellent, neither has been featured here before. Time to give them their week.

2780 W Village Dr, Ste B, Suwanee, GA 30024 | (770) 288-5533

cipscoffeeroasters.com | @cipscoffeeroasters

If you've driven past Suwanee Town Center toward West Village without stopping at Cips, you've been doing it wrong. This is a community coffee shop and a working roastery — beans roasted in-house, espresso pulled with intention, and a menu that quietly punches above its weight class.

The lineup is tight: specialty espresso drinks, organic teas, acai bowls, mini Belgian waffles (don't sleep on these), and a rotating shelf of local pastries. The vibe is calm, clean, and the kind of room you can either work in for two hours or sit in with a friend without feeling like you're being rushed. It's also one of the few Suwanee shops that actually feels equally good on a Sunday morning as on a Tuesday afternoon.

Hours: Mon–Sat 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM | Sun 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

5885 Cumming Hwy NE, Sugar Hill, GA 30518 | (470) 589-1512

reveillecafe.com

Here's a corner of Gwinnett I haven't talked about enough yet: Sugar Hill. And Reveille is the perfect place to start.

Reveille is a breakfast-and-brunch coffeehouse that takes its coffee seriously — cold brew on the menu, espresso done right — but is just as much about the food. Strawberry waffles, French toast, omelets, breakfast burritos, crepes, gluten-friendly options, vegetarian options, and the kind of plates that make a Saturday morning feel like a small celebration. The room is bright and warm, the staff is kind, and the whole experience feels like you stumbled into a town's favorite secret — which, for a lot of Gwinnett folks who live south of 985, you actually have.

Best move: The strawberry waffles + a cold brew for a Sunday brunch. Trust me.

Hours: Daily 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM