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took a leap into entrepreneurship was
Darrin Ford, owner of A Brooke Haven
Lounge.
Originally from Tallahassee and
working for a tobacco company, Ford
visited Macon for work and decided
downtown was the place he wanted to
break free from the corporate life.
"At the end of 2018, I decided to
do something different businesswise,"
he said. "This is a concept I've had for
years, but I never had time to focus on
it while I was in the corporate world."
A Brooke Haven Lounge opened in
early 2020, just before the pandemic.
"We had some challenging times
trying to manage through all that
ambiguity, but those challenges will
have rewards. I'm starting to see the
light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
The concept for A Brooke Haven,
which is named after his daughter Alicia
Brooke Ford, is a relaxed atmosphere
where business professionals can have
cocktails and enjoy tapas and live music.
"Downtown Macon needed a place
solely geared to business professionals,
what I call 'grown people.' There
are amazing bars and restaurants
downtown but we wanted something
different and unique," he said. "When
we were designing it, people kept
asking about a dance floor, but we didn't
want to go that route. We didn't want a
club type feel, it's more of a lounge."
Ford credits the increase in black-
owned businesses downtown to
entrepreneurs who either got laid off
PATRONS AT A BROOKE HAVEN
LOUNGE ENJOY THE MUSIC OF
VINSON MUHAMMAD.
