Medical Facility Near Panola; New Birth's Christian Academy to Close; Thai Restaurant's New Name

Here are some business and economy-related items in the Stone Mountain and Lithonia areas:

• A medical facility will occupy the new building just about complete on Hillandale Park Ct. in Lithonia, behind the Waffle House that's at 2842 Panola Road, sources tell Patch.

The business will be right at home, as the location is next to the Emory Heart and Vascular Center at Hillandale; across from Premier Women's Healthcare; a stone's throw from Kaiser Permanente at Hillandale; and just down the street from DeKalb Medical Center at Hillandale, just to name a few of the many medical/health care establishments nearby. Check back for more details.

• New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia told Channel 2 Monday that due to the economic downturn and low enrollment numbers, it will close its Christian Academy at the end of the school year. It closed once before in early 2012, according to the report, also due to the lackluster economy, but was able to reopen with help from a private group.

• Exotic Thai is under a new owner and new name as of Mar. 1: Rice Thai at 8075 Mall Parkway, Suite 110. It's open for business.

• There's an upcoming opportunity to support small businesses and the arts on the same night: the next Art Stroll and Merchant Open House in Stone Mountain Village is April 13, 6-9:30 p.m.

• Reminder: there will be a meeting of the community organization Pride Rings in Stone Mountain (PRISM) this coming Thursday, March 14, 7 p.m., called The location is St. Timothy United Methodist Church at 5335 Memorial Dr. All DeKalb residents are invited. Click on the link for details.

• ..and finally, the senior vice president/chief real estate officer with L.A. Fitness'  tells Patch the opening date for its new gym at Panola and Covington hopefully will be sometime between the middle and end of March as the final "i"s are being totted and "t"s crossed.
  It's looking so nice and finished over there, we're thinking it will be sooner rather than later (see attached photo).