Macon Magazine

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024 | maconmagazine.com 93 NewTown Macon is an independent nonprofit making Downtown Macon safe, beautiful, fun, affordable, and locally led. Their comprehensive approach to downtown development has resulted in 80% storefront occupancy, 94% loft occupancy, and 1M+ annual event attendance. That's kind of the vibe at Churchills too. It's an upper-scale spot, but you can come here to get a nice dinner, relax, have cocktails, and meet some new friends. This place is something that anybody can come and enjoy, and I take pride in that. And you take pride in Macon. I am the biggest advocate for Downtown Macon; there's so much possibility here. I used to be set on living in Atlanta, but especially after COVID, I realized you couldn't beat the community here. Macon's big enough but small enough. I like that I can park in one spot, walk the entire downtown, and still get a choice of up to six to ten places I actually want to go to. What would you tell other young food and beverage entrepreneurs in our city? First, go out and experience the bars and restaurants that are already here. See if what you plan to offer is special and different. Next, listen to people. Ask people what works and what doesn't – and find out why. But mostly, reach out to NewTown Macon. They might tell you that you need to rethink your whole idea, but they'll also tell you why, and they can find ways to support you, like bridge-gap financing. I studied corporate finance in college, and I still got a lot out of their Developer's Academy. That program walks you through how to do a pro forma. They show you how to prove whether an imaginary business would be feasible, not feasible in the real world. NewTown can support you with tax credits and planning. So, for example, this is a historic building. NewTown helped us with the historic restoration tax credit process. I feel like most of the stuff happening downtown right now wouldn't have happened without NewTown. They help bring things to fruition. What new things have you been experiencing in Macon lately? Well, there are so many places I still want to try. Black Cat, for example. Axe throwing. And I'm really looking forward to when they open duck bowling between Bearfoot Tavern and Ocmulgee Brewpub. The Social Duck. It's incredible to see how much downtown has grown over the last decade or so. It really is. So many people have an old connotation of Macon. But everybody I bring here is always so shocked by how fun it is. I started bringing my college friends down here, and they want to come all the time now. We do little bar crawls, we eat good food, they get to know people. People in Atlanta think Macon is far away, but it's not too far. It's actually a nice getaway. You get to enjoy a slower pace than Atlanta, but there's still so much to do, especially now that you can stay in nice hotels downtown, like Hotel 45. So that's my one thing – I wish people would give it more of a chance, and I think they will soon. Riggins at Churchills on Cherry, Photo by MM staff.

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