Fine dining, theater, upscale bar & more: Check out what’s new, coming to Middle GA

From a sold-out dinner theater at a new events venue to a new spot where you can make your own poke bowl, Middle Georgia now has several new dining options that recently opened their doors.

A plethora of new restaurants and businesses are also coming such as new fine dining establishments in downtown Perry, a new LGBTQ coffee shop and lounge in downtown Macon and a family-owned dessert shop that serves up “extreme milkshakes” in west Macon.

Additionally, national restaurant chains are planning new locations in Middle Georgia from a second Zaxby’s in Perry to a McAlister’s Deli in Warner Robins to a Captain D’s in Macon.

Meanwhile, others restaurants like Fatty’s Pizza in downtown Macon and Chick-fil-A in Perry are expanding by moving to new locations with more space.

Also, there’s all sorts of projects in the works from an esports arena to an 11-story, 94-room hotel in downtown Macon to a new upscale bar in Perry and more.

We’ve rounded them up for you here, starting with new dining options that opened their doors in October:

• Sakura Poke & Hibachi — Create your own poke bowl and enjoy hibachi and teriyaki dishes at this Japanese restaurant in Suite A300 at Tobesofkee Crossing at 5581 Thomaston Road.
• The Muse Theatre — Complete with Old Hollywood glam, dinner and a sold-out murder mystery for its first public event, this renovated former 1950s movie house at 806 Commerce St. in Perry is now an upscale performance and event venue.
• Macon Wings —This restaurant serves up wings, burgers and Philly cheesesteaks at 4010 Northside Drive in Macon in the former Chen’s Wok location.
• Starbucks — Coffee is brewing at the city of Forsyth’s first location of this popular coffee shop chain at 318 Russell Parkway.
• Dua Vietnamese Noodle Soup & The Fish Tank Poke Co. — This double-branded restaurant at 781 Spring St., Suite 105, below the Lofts at Navicent, in Macon offers authentic, freshly made Vietnamese cuisine along with Hawaiian inspired poke.
• Gigi’s Comfort Food — This popular lunch spot at 103 Manor Court near city hall in Warner Robins known for its Southern comfort food reopened after closing for more than a year-and-a-half due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

HERE ARE NEW RESTAURANTS AND BUSINESSES COMING:

• Oliver Perry’s — This new fine dining restaurant and bar at 905 Carroll St. in downtown Perry is getting close to opening, possibly within a month or so, according to owner Eddie Bryant.
• McAlister’s Deli — This fast casual chain of restaurants known for its sandwiches, soups, salads and spuds expects to open a new store at 760 Ga. 96 next to Fazoli’s in Warner Robins in the Bonaire community in early to mid 2022, a company spokeswoman said.
  
  

• Fatty’s Pizza — This popular pizza spot that’s still open at its original location at 344 Second St. in downtown Macon is expected to open soon at its new location a block away at 587 Cherry St.
• Chick-fil-A — The always-busy Chick-fil-A at 1363 Sam Nunn Blvd. in Perry is moving to a new location and closing its current store when it’s new larger store opens down the street on the west side of Interstate 75 in late February, the restaurant posted on Facebook.
• Cake ‘n Shake — Vincent and Lakeisha Clayton of McDonough plan to open a second Middle Georgia location of their family-owned dessert shop that serves up “extreme milkshakes” in Tobesofkee Crossing at 5581 Thomaston Road in December.

• Flavorz2 — Daaiyah Sultan is bringing a LGBTQ coffee shop and lounge to downtown Macon at 368 Second St. in the former Bodega grocery and convenience store location.
• Woodward Hotel/Clovis & Quill — A nearby building at 350 Second St. is being transformed into a nine-room boutique hotel with a separate public entrance for a rooftop lounge and underground bar.
• Hotel Forty-Five — Another historic downtown Macon building under transformation at 401 Cotton Ave. is slated to open in early 2022 as a 94-room hotel with a signature restaurant, a rooftop bar, and a coffee and wine bar.
• Cafe Vignette — A veteran owned and operated drive-thru coffee shop offering top quality coffee and freshly made beignets is going up at 107 Assembly Lane near the intersection of Ga. 247 and Sandy Run Road in Warner Robins.

• The Butcher Shop — Amy and David Dean plan to open a second location of their popular Warner Robins market offering quality meats and other specialty goods at 4420 Forsyth Road, Suite 125, in Macon before the end of year.
• Church Hill on Cherry – Father-and-son team Bruce and Nicholas Riggins are bringing an upscale luxury cigar bar and lounge to 557 Cherry St. in downtown Macon.
• Total Chiropractic & Wellness Center and Pink Chief Boutique — This two-in-one-location business now on Poplar Street is relocating to downtown Macon at 415 Cherry St.
• Captain D’s — A Nashville-based, fast casual restaurant chain that serves up seafood is planning to open a store with a drive-thru at 4635 Hartley Bridge Road in Macon.
• Zaxby’s — Known for its chicken wings, chicken fingers, sandwiches, salads and sides of cheddar bites, fried pickles and fried mushrooms, this national fast food restaurant chain is bringing a second store to Perry, having recently closed on property off Perry Parkway in front of Skweeky Clean Car Wash beside a Wendy’s restaurant, according to Ashley Hardin, Perry’s economic development administrator.
• Taco Bell — This new store complete with a planned covered outside patio is expected to open soon at Tobesofkee Crossing at 5581 Thomaston Road in Macon.
• Popeye’s — A new store of this national fast food chain that serves up Louisiana-style fried chicken is under construction at 5590 Thomaston Road across from Tobesofkee Crossing.
• Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux — A Cajun restaurant with ties to NFL legend Drew Brees is coming to the Rigby’s Entertainment Complex in Warner Robins in the summer of 2022.
• Camp Bow Wow — A new doggy day care, boarding and grooming business is expected to open soon at 925 Lake Joy Road in Warner Robins.
• The Commodore Building —A first-floor restaurant and three short-term loft apartments are envisioned for this building under construction at 904 Commerce St., with the two-story building expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
• Esports arena — Atlanta-based Artisan Interests recently purchased the former Al Sihah Shrine Temple at 745 Poplar St. for about $1.5 million with plans of leading its transformation into an esports arena complimented by a 125-plus key limited-service hotel and 400-space parking deck.

• Main St. Bar — This family-owned, upscale bar at 740 Main St. in downtown Perry delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to open no later than Dec. 1 if all goes well, according to owner Shannon Stricklen.
• A family-owned pizzeria — An old-school, dine-in pizzeria is coming next door at 742 Main St. in the first quarter of 2022 after the building undergoes renovation with its owners and restaurateurs Matthew Howard and Eric Schultz now reviewing design plans, Schultz said.
• ‘Orleans on Carroll St. — This new restaurant with plans to bring a taste of the Big Easy to downtown Perry with its southern food with a Cajun twist is targeted to open at 807 Carroll St. in early 2022.
• Fresco Italiano — Christian Torres hopes to open the second location of his popular Tifton-based, family-owned Italian restaurant known for its steaks in late December or early January at 1208 Russell Parkway in Warner Robins.
• The Batter Babes — Cake bakers Arwen Gingerich and Amanda Beam, who specialize in custom, sculpted and special occasion cakes, now hope to open their store front at The Village Shops in Perry in the next few weeks.
• QuikTrip — This Oklahoma-based chain of convenience stores and gas stations is opening multiple locations in Macon-Bibb, Warner Robins and Forsyth, with the first in Warner Robins at Watson Boulevard and Peavy Road near Interstate 75 expected to open by the year’s end.
• Brittle and Co.— Under a new name and owner, this high-end consignment shop also offers a selection of new children’s boutique clothing at 903 Carroll St. in downtown Perry.

This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 7:00 AM.