Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1515764
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024 | maconmagazine.com 35 Sweet Eleanor's This stylish café opened in November 2023. Owner Scott Mitchell told MM, "The shop is named after my grandmother, Eleanor Sanders, and we proudly serve PERC coffee, delectable desserts, gelato, and shakes." See local artist Kevin Scene Lewis' mural of Eleanor while crunching on cannoli, sipping a specialty latte, eyeing the gourmet home and kitchen goodies, and enjoying the colorful, friendly atmosphere. Downtown Macon | 538 Poplar St. | sweeteleanors.com Hick man's Home cooking hits Zebulon Rd. as a local legend of a bartender leaves Downtown Macon's late-night scene to launch his own restaurant uptown. Matt Hickman and fellow co-owner Melissa Pettinato serve comfort food with global flavors like Hawaiian pork sandwiches, braised short ribs, and Mississippi mud roast poutine, plus Sunday brunch items like chorizo-egg burritos. As unpretentious and friendly a place as its namesake, Hickman said, "Our goal is to provide great food and great service with delicious, prepared- in-house, homemade meals, which are often overlooked on our side of town." North Macon | 6351 Zebulon Rd. | Follow on Facebook Long leaf Dist illing Co. With an elegant tasting room, craft cocktails (made with spirits distilled onsite), and savory bites like tender-crisp focaccia with trout dip, hummus, or charcuterie, plus sunny outdoor seating, you could almost forget there's a working distillery behind the back bar. Central Georgia's first legal distillery, Longleaf was opened by co-owners Will Robinson and David Thompson in April 2023. They use centuries-old European recipes, Southern know-how, and modern techniques as they create their products: Longleaf Vodka, Southland American Gin, Alba Thistle Liqueur, Heirloom American Whiskey, and more. Robinson wants it to be a place for the whole community. "Longleaf Distillery welcomes the community into our rediscovery of distilling and to our tasting room where people are united at the table as we all enjoy and work toward the revitalization of Macon," he said. Part of that revitalization is restoring surrounding ecosystems. Named after the longleaf pine, once the cornerstone of this region's most biodiverse ecosystem, the distillery is working with the Longleaf Alliance and Georgia Forestry Commission to plant one of these endangered trees for each bottle sold. Downtown Macon | 664 2nd St. | longleafdistillingco.com Scott Mitchell of Downtown Macon's The Bohemian Den opened Sweet Eleanor's. Photo by Jessica Whitley.