Axios Atlanta

March 30, 2026
Welcome back to Monday!
🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high of 77 and a low of 57.
Today's newsletter is 1,045 words — a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: Decatur shop keeps rare accordions alive
In the downstairs workshop of a Decatur bungalow, Jack Brantley and Kyle Turner keep accordions from across the country bellowing and droning.
Why it matters: Brantley and Turner run Accordionology, a two-person, appointment-only business with decades of combined experience repairing and restoring the niche instruments.
- "We are the only full-service accordion shop in the entire Southeast," Brantley, who lives upstairs with his wife and dogs, told Axios.
- "There are a couple of folks who do repairs in their woodshed. But in terms of having new Italian instruments and a full selection — this is it."
Catch up quick: 25 years ago, a friend gifted an accordion to Brantley, who co-founded two start-up technology businesses and fixed and built guitars on the side.
- He promptly disassembled and reassembled the instrument and was fascinated by its complexity and quirkiness.
The business grew by word of mouth. In 2023, a friend introduced him to Turner, a trained pianist who loved an accordion's vibrating sound and surprising accessibility.
Zoom in: Tuning an accordion requires Brantley and Turner to make tiny scratches on each reed to raise and lower the pitch. Done correctly, the instrument can stay in tune for decades.
In the weeds: Repairing the bellows, the expandable chamber that sends sends air passing over the reeds, is kind of like performing surgery on paper lungs.
- The duo uses bright lights in dark rooms to find microscopic holes where air escapes and source specialized accordion parts from from Castelfidardo, Italy, considered the "international capital of accordion builders."
The big picture: Their work trays are full of handmade tools, actual dental scrapers and a stethoscope to find leaks and tears. It's not the kind of work that AI could quickly render obsolete.
- People from across the region come to drop off the fragile instruments, many of which are family heirlooms dating back to the 1950s. Others ship them.
- Repair prices depend on the accordion's condition, and restorations can run from $300 to $3,000.
Zoom out: Atlanta is home to one of the Southeast's few accordion clubs and players like Atlanta Braves organist Matthew Kaminski and George Voorhees, a teenage rising talent.
What's next: Brantley, Turner and others will celebrate World Accordion Day on May 2 — around the same date that the instrument was patented in 1829 — at Waller's Coffee near Decatur.
2. Mapped: Who's paying $4 for gas

The national average gas price is hovering just under $4 per gallon, at $3.978. But almost a third of the country — 110.8 million people — lives in states that have crossed that psychologically significant threshold, Axios' Erin Davis writes.
Driving the news: High prices are hitting Americans west of the Rockies hardest. The average gallon of regular gas is $5.84 in California, $5.37 in Hawai'i and $5.30 in Washington, according to AAA.
- As of Friday, the average in Georgia is $3.60. Atlanta's average was slightly higher at $3.67.
Context: Before the war began, three states — California, Washington and Hawai'i — had gas prices above $4. As of Friday afternoon, there were 13.
3. Small bites: Easter brunch time crunch
Everyone has to eat. Here are some options.
🥦 Springtime is the best time for Fresh MARTA Market, the transit agency's program bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to rail stops. Here's a handy guide. (Rough Draft)
🐣 No Easter brunch plans? Plenty of metro Atlanta restaurants have openings. (AJC)
🍗 Lewis Barbecue, a Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognized Charleston restaurant, is serving brisket and cowboy pinto beans on the Atlanta Beltline's Eastside Trail. (Atlanta)
4. Pic du jour: Welcome to the Braves, Dominic
The Atlanta Braves first baseman Dominic Smith made the most of his team debut on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals with a thunderous walk-off grand slam to win the game 6-2.
- Smith, who is grieving from the March 15 death of his mother to cancer, said after the game that he felt her presence on the field.
- "I got choked up a bunch of times and I'm trying to hold back tears right now. It's just so special. I feel her every day. I miss her dearly. There's not a moment where I don't think about her."
5. Ad blitz targets tariffs
A new month-long ad campaign is hitting Atlanta and other cities Monday to try to bring attention to small businesses who have been affected by tariffs.
Why it matters: According to surveys by the Council on Foreign Relations, two-in-five Americans mistakenly believe a tariff is paid by a foreign country.
- Research from the New York Fed and Columbia University shows nearly 90% of the tariffs President Trump enacted in 2025 were paid by U.S. firms and consumers.
Zoom in: The nonpartisan business group behind the six-figure campaign, Small Businesses Against Tariffs is targeting Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Nashville and Newark because they are located in states hit hardest by tariffs.
- Georgia paid $7.1 billion in tariffs, according to economic research firm Trade Partnership Worldwide, based on trade from February to December 2025.
- The cities can expect to see posters and decals plastered around town through April.
State of play: Last month the Supreme Court struck down Trump's tariff agenda, declaring most of it illegal.
Yes, but: Companies and consumers have already paid hundreds of millions to cover the fees, and Trump has predicted refunds will be litigated in court for two years.
- In the meantime, Trump has launched temporary 10% global tariffs on all countries using an avenue not subject to the Supreme Court decision.
What we're watching: Earlier this month, a top trade court judge ordered the Trump administration to jumpstart the refunding process to U.S. companies.
- U.S. Customs says it's finalizing a four-step process to allow companies to apply.
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6. Five-ish Points: Remembering David Rose
😬 Crews are removing a one-of-its-kind bridge on the Atlanta Beltline's Northwest Trail because of construction issues. (Urbanize)
📕 Barnes & Noble is opening a 14,000 square-foot location in Toco Hills' old Westside Market space. (Decaturish)
The CDC plans to rename a road after David Rose, the DeKalb County Police Department officer who was shot and killed while responding to a mass shooting. (11 Alive)
🪧 Thousands of people turned out to roughly a dozen No Kings protests across metro Atlanta to challenge the President Trump administration. (AJC)
📚 Kristal loves perusing local, independent bookstores.
💪 Thomas found an exercise he loves: the weighted crawl.
This newsletter was edited by Crystal Hill.
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