Popular Macon restaurant is moving downtown. Its neighbors will be newcomers, too.

When Mike “Big Dog” Seekins moves his poplar restaurant in east Macon to Poplar Street in downtown Macon, it will include biscuits, burgers and a lot more.

Seekins has owned Biscuits, Burgers & More at 3497 Millerfield Road in C&J Supermarket for about eight years, but he’s ready to be “part of the movement” downtown, he said.

Seekins is joining three other restaurants moving to the 500 block of Poplar Street.

He plans to open with much more space, a new name, a business partner, an expanded menu and new hours.

Seekins and Richard Leal plan to open Famous Mike’s of Macon in the former Kennedy Drugs spot at 524 Poplar with about 1,900 square feet with a target opening date of July 1.

“I needed someone to take care of the front end of the business and that’s what he’s going to do, and I’m going to be in the back end.”

Seekins serves breakfast and lunch now and is open for breakfast only on Saturdays. His current space seats 18 and the new place will seat nearly 50. Famous Mike’s will be open 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 5-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.

“I’m a Maconite,” Seekins said. “I’m 56 and been here all of my life, and love to see what’s happening. People like to say, ‘Macon’s making a comeback.’ But I say, ‘no, it’s finally becoming.’ It’s never been as cool as it is now. I just see the progress and know that Macon kind-of needs my cooking. ... I’m just a regular cook. I’m not fancy. I’m not a chef. People just love my food.”

In late 2016, Seekins had a lease “in hand I hadn’t signed” to move into the Lawrence Mayer building, but architect and developer Gene Dunwody Jr. “made me a better offer” for the Poplar Street site.

Dunwody and general partner Terry Henderson, a retired accountant, are developing the properties at 512-536 Poplar St. Also, they plan to build 11 lofts above the businesses. Five of the lofts have already been spoken for, and, in fact, Seekins and Leal plan to move into two separate units above their restaurant.

Your Pie, a fast casual pizza eatery is going in 536 Poplar St. This will be a second location for franchise owner Tyler Gibson and Michael Ellis, who own the Your Pie business in Warner Robins.

Also, Kudzu Seafood restaurant, which has been at 470 Third St. since January 2015, is moving a half a block over to Poplar Street, so it can have more space. It will be in about 5,500 square feet of space, and plans are for it to have a rooftop bar, Dunwody said.

“It will be much larger than now,” he said. “Business is so good, they want to expand.”

Attempts to get a comment from the owners of Kudzu this week were unsuccessful.

Also new to Macon, a franchise of Decadent, a Coffee and Dessert Bar based in Overland Park, Kansas, is planning to move into about 1,900 square feet on Poplar. The business was started by the same owner that created the Smallcakes Cupcakery and Creamery chain in 2015.

“Decadent ... offers scratch-made, beautifully plated desserts like you’d order at an upscale restaurant.” according to a review in The Kansas City Star. "Decadent is dessert-centric, but during the day, it has a coffee shop vibe.”

Several attempts to reach someone at Decadent this week also were unsuccessful.

Dunwody said the restaurants would compliment each other.

"They are going to feed off each other," he said. "Poplar is a great street."

This story was originally published March 16, 2018 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Popular Macon restaurant is moving downtown. Its neighbors will be newcomers, too.."