Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1458429
O ftentimes, success is born of struggle and creativity comes from chaos. The restaurants and bars we're highlighting in the first of this three-part series know these statements to be true. They didn't necessarily plan to launch their companies during the worst pandemic since 1918. Circumstances more or less dealt them that hand, and they played it, finding it too late to back out of their investments. What they found was success. SUCCESS THROUGH STRUGGLE HOW VISION CONQUERED A GLOBAL CRISIS BY KRISTEN SOLES | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSICA WHITLEY A Brooke Haven Lounge A BROOKE HAVEN LOUNGE, on Cherry Street, is owned by the husband, wife and daughter trio of Darrin, Lessette and Alicia Ford. Darrin described the business' concept as "a social lounge that's geared toward business professionals to give them an outlet to come and hang out after work, have a cocktail and enjoy some tapas." The idea was conceived after living in places like New York and Miami during his corporate career. "In those cities, we had places to frequent that catered to an older, more sophisticated crowd," Lessette said. "There were a lot of stories of people traveling to Atlanta to enjoy things like that, so we said, 'Why don't we bring something like that locally and enjoy it here and not have to travel?'" A Brooke Haven Lounge opened in February 2020. The lockdown forced them to close after only three weeks. Fortunately, they were able to reopen a short time later. "I'm not going to lie; it's definitely been tough trying to maintain everything because whenever you have a business that's contingent upon people physically walking in your door, it makes it tough during these times of uncertainty dealing with everything with the pandemic," Darrin said. "We didn't plan to open during the pandemic, it was just inopportune timing." Their biggest challenge throughout the pandemic has been staffing. "It's been really tough, and it's not just in our industry. It's across the board with being able to find good quality staff and to keep that retention there," he said. Currently, the Fords believe business at A Brooke Haven Lounge is moving in the right direction. "A lot of our success is attributed to regulars who come and support us every week," Darrin said. "The community has definitely poured out support and love to help us sustain ourselves." In addition to the success offered by regulars, Darrin pointed out other opportunities for creativity that he doesn't believe they would've exercised had it not been for the pandemic. He said they've collaborated with neighbors Vibez, Kinjo and Lazy Susan on different projects to generate foot traffic and keep growing their businesses. "We're partnering now with Frankie's Boutique to do a brim painting; it's a spin-off of a sip and paint," Lessette said. "Here, they paint a custom brim that they can actually wear. We're just trying to be innovative and think of different ways to bring people to us, maybe have people visit us for the first time and say, 'Hey, I really like them!' and come back again." Darrin stressed the vibrancy of downtown Macon — despite the pandemic. "I want people to know that there are a lot of positive things happening in downtown Macon. NewTown Macon, Historic Macon and the business improvement district are all amazing, and they're doing great things for downtown Macon," he said. "I would encourage people to come down and eat at some of these great restaurants that we have downtown and patronize some of these bars and businesses because there's enough diversity here for everyone. Regardless of whatever cuisine you like to eat or how you like to socialize in your nightlife, there's enough for everybody here in downtown Macon." 58 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022