Macon Magazine

December 2024/January 2025 | maconmagazine.com 75 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 83% storefront occupancy, 89% loft occupancy, and 1M+ annual event attendance. Autumn: We're a destination. Cedric: It's more people just getting out of their car, say getting something to eat or just so happening to look over this way. They don't know it's here. What's going to make them look over this way? Autumn: So people aren't looking, but they're smelling. Our incense is really one of the things to bring people in. We keep that burning. People just come in and think, "What am I smelling?" WHAT OTHER PARTS ABOUT DOWNTOWN MACON INSPIRE YOU? Autumn: Sweet Eleanor's. I think Scott [Mitchell], from every avenue, is so inspiring and that's such a safe space. It's always welcoming, which we strive to do here. On any given day, you can find people sitting here having conversations. We usually keep wine chilled in the back, and we like to draw people in. I feel like Scott is really good at that. I love the Rose Room. I think Heather [Owens] and John [Sandlin] have really killed making a small bar feel like home. You go in there and they know what you like. Cedric: I think Bear's Books and MD Exchange. I think this full block is really trying to raise the bar and stretch the expansion of downtown. Autumn: Dovetail is super consistent. I've never had a bad meal there. I like Downtown Grill for a nice steak and wine, but Dovetail would be my – Cedric: Number one. AS CREATIVES AND BUSINESS OWNERS, WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN MACON? Cedric: I know people don't like hearing this, but more tourists. I think that's what's going to generate the business here. I feel like it's tourists who come here the most. Even some of the locals who do come in here, a lot of them are from other places in Georgia. Autumn: We are pulling people in off the highway and we are getting a few orders a week online from New York City to Portland to California. One of my best friends in Savannah has three children and was at school pickup. She walked in and somebody was talking about Macon. She didn't know these people, but they said, "If you go to Macon, you have to stop at the store called Rabbit Hole." She told me, "I don't know who these people are, but they're talking about your store!" The tourism is able to pull people here, whether it's more restaurants or more quality retail. Cedric: A lot of people don't want change. I get that, but at the same time, I don't think those people understand the impact of how this tourism helps Macon. Autumn: When we opened this door, this will always stick with me. We didn't announce that we were opening. We just went and unlocked the door. I remember looking at Cedric and I said, "We're about to see if Macon ready for this." We were only open for two weeks last December. As of January 1, I was confident Macon was 100% ready. People are very appreciative of the work that we put in and the sourcing we do. We try to work with small makers, women, people of color. The candles over there, are out of Atlanta. They provide jobs for women transitioning out of crisis. We seek out brands trying to do impactful work in the world.The people that know about us really support us. It blows my mind how often we have customers come in and we feel all the support and love they throw our way. Check out our gift guide for more goodies from Rabbit Hole and look for a special story on Cedric Smith's work as an artist in the February/March issue of Macon Magazine.

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