Macon Magazine

February/March 2025| maconmagazine.com 33 Looking for a way to take Justin's advice and meet others in an alcohol-free environment? JBA has just started Sober Socials on Wednesdays, with craft mocktails and trivia at 7 p.m. Head to 425 Cherry Street, and let us know about the vibe @maconmagazine H I S TA K E We fi rst met when she was hired at The Rookery, when I was the beverage director for Moonhanger Group. And I remember them saying, "Oh, she came from World of Beer," which is down near Savannah. And I made a point to walk over to her and to ask her – really, just grilling her with questions about beer, seeing if she actually knew anything. She did. We didn't talk for six months after. We were coworkers, but not friends or anything. She left Moonhanger Group, shortly after I did. She was bouncing between the two jobs for awhile, and she moved over here full time. I had gone through a breakup with a long-term relationship, and she had done something similar. And we ended up just saying, "Hey, do you want to hang out?" I think our fi rst night just going out, we went out to BJ's with a bunch of other coworkers, and then hit each other up the next day, hung out at Reboot. I invited her to dinner at my house. She thought I was trolling her. I asked, "What do you like to eat?" And I misread her text message. I thought she said, "I really like potatoes." And what she actually said was, "I really like everything except for potatoes." So, I made her scalloped potatoes, roasted potatoes, and mashed potatoes all in the same dinner. She said she really liked [expletive] potatoes! She didn't even tell me until after we were done eating. She was like, "Was this a joke?" And I guess somehow that suckered her into liking me, even though I can't read her text messages properly. I assumed that was just going to be it. Justin and Kayla embrace on the stairs leading down to the Piedmont Brewery arcade. Your restaurant romance tip: Don't make alcohol a focus. Restaurant workers are known for going out after work or drinking heavily. Her and I made a point of going to do things outside of bars. Kayaking or just fl oating on the river, traveling a lot. Make an eff ort just to go out and do day hikes and stuff like that. Just stay out of our industry together as a whole, because it's just not benefi cial. I wouldn't necessarily recommend working together at the same restaurant, but it happens. H E R TA K E The good thing about our story is that, unlike a lot of dating stories in restaurants, ours did not start with us cheating on somebody! We were working at The Rookery. He introduced himself, and I think someone at the bar had ordered a beer. I had already explained it to them, and they still wanted to try it. And then he mansplained the type of beer to me, and I was just like, "I know what I'm talking about. Thank you." He kept going. I didn't like him at fi rst. But he's just an acquired taste. At fi rst, when we worked here together, I think we just had confl icting management styles. I wasn't a manager then, but I would actively avoid being on shifts with him. Just get someone else to cover it. Then we sort of became friends and started hanging out, more and more. I think we both really needed that then. Sure enough, we do get along. He became my best friend, and we had the same core values. Not in the little things, like I listen to Taylor Swift; he's a metalhead. Things like that may not go together. But everything at our core is the same. Religion, what you want out of life, how you spend your time. That's a rarity. Your restaurant romance tip: Just make sure you're committed to the idea, because it can be drama. For us, it wasn't. Justin called me his girlfriend right away. There were zero questions about the matter. But what I see among other restaurant romances is a lot of mess. So just be very sure that's something you want to pursue.

• Cover