Atlantans were thirsty for international coffee chains this year, if our web traffic statistics are any indication. 

Two of the 10 top stories of the year focused on getting your caffeine fix here in Atlanta with the help of foreign-owned chains like Tim Hortons, which entered Georgia from Canada, as well as Costa Coffee, the British chain purchased by Coca-Cola and now operating locations in the big red beverage giant’s home city.

Immigration was on readers’ minds as well, with commentaries on EB-5 visas and the green card backlog generating enough eyeballs to crack the top-10. 

Other stories had to do with sectors that are driving Georgia’s future-focused growth, from electric vehicles and batteries to charging stations and even elevators. 

Peruse the stories below to see what you missed this year: 

  1. Canadian Coffee Chain Tim Hortons Plans 15 Stores in Georgia

  2. The Dutch Connections Behind a $120M Vertical Farm Poised to Feed Metro Atlanta

  3. Commentary: Clearing the Green Card Backlog Crucial for Atlanta’s Future Workforce

  4. Charging Toward a Revolution: Quebec’s Role in Electrifying the World’s Fleets

  5. EB-5 Investor Green Card Program Is Back and Better Than Ever

  6. At Gwinnett R&D Hub, Siemens Unveils EV Charging Platform as ‘Gas Station of the Future’

  7. Costa Opens First U.S. Coffee Shop in Midtown

  8. CIA Chief Addresses Dual Threat of China, Russia in Georgia Tech Speech

  9. How Atlanta’s ’STEM Community’ Helped Woo TK Elevator’s Headquarters and Test Tower

  10. Norway’s Freyr to Build $2.6B Battery Plant in Newnan

Honorable mention (not quite in the top-10): 

  • Belgium Economic Mission to Atlanta: How to Engage With Princess Astrid and 500+ Participants – This story outlined how to connect and engage with the largest economic mission to Atlanta since the Olympics, an event already paying dividends for the city in the form of interest from Belgian firms and new agreements.

  • Two Former Ambassadors Join Atlanta’s Pendleton Group – Our partners at the Pendleton group added Louise Blais, Canada’s former consul general in the Southeast and ambassador to the United Nations, and Charle Shapiro, the former head of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta and U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, to their already extensive roster this year. Later, they also snagged former Swiss Consul General Peter Zimmerli, who is the consultancy’s first representative on European soil.

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