‘A vacation destination spot.’ European-style bistro opens in downtown Macon

Downtown Macon has a new casual fine dining spot, thanks to Ashley and Tony Doolin.

“Pearl Passionate Cuisine & Cocktails is a European-style bistro... We have flavors from all over,” Ashley Doolin said. “It’s not just a soup, salad and sandwich place. You’re going to find flavors from the Caribbean. You’ll find flavors from Italy, France. You’ll find flavors from Cuba, and then back here in the states — from just different states.”

After a private soft opening for family and friends last week, Pearl Passionate Cuisine & Cocktails at 470 First St. opened its doors to the public Tuesday.

Seaside vacation retreat

“Basically what I wanted this to be is a vacation,” Doolin said. “If you’ve ever gone somewhere and you’ve had something and you think to yourself as you’re eating it, ‘I’ll never have this again,’ that’s what Pearl is.

“I’ve actually had people come to me prior to opening and they said, ‘I went on vacation and I had this, I had such and such, can you recreate it?’ And I do. I want this to be a little bit of a vacation destination spot. I want you to kinda forget that you’re in Macon.”

From oyster shells in the flower bed and in hanging light fixtures to vintage posters from Florida, Southern California and Havana to collectible old-style cameras, the vibe of the restaurant is that of a seaside vacation retreat.

There’s a 1940s postcard that’s been blown up to serve as wall art. The postcard features what is now Hotel Forty Five across the street from Pearl Passionate Cuisine & Cocktails. The bistro’s building is also in the postcard.

The postcard came out when Macon was touted as a vacation destination to visit the skyscraper.

“So it really fit into our theme of travel and vacation,” she said.

From a candle that gives off a tropical beach scent from Travis Jean Emporium to table flowers from Lawrence Mayer Florist, the restaurant also gives nods to these and other downtown businesses.

Even the water glasses mimic the waves found in the tile of the bar.

“We put much thought and care down to the very last detail,” Doolin said.

The cuisine

The lunch menu offers appetizers from spicy boiled peanut hummus to adobo shrimp cocktail, handcrafted soups of the day and salads such as a classic Greek salad to a blackberry grilled chicken salad.

Sandwiches, which are served with one cold side, include a kimchi grilled cheese on sourdough, a meatball sub on an Amoroso’s Bakery hoagie roll and a guava with bacon & prosciutto on sourdough.

Among the dinner options are shrimp scampi with a Sicilian fennel and orange salad and a 13.5 ounce pork chop seasoned with fig powder served with a side of sauce of dried figs and pork.

For dessert, there’s Pearl’s bread pudding that varies from to day, such as French toast bread pudding with a banana caramel sauce, a maple bacon bread pudding with maple cream sauce and blackberry and cream bread pudding with a sweet cream sauce.

Pair dessert with the French press coffee service for two at your table with Pearl’s house blend of locally roasted Z Beans Coffee.

The menus are expected to be upgraded periodically.

“If there’s something that people love, I can always justify bringing something back,” Doolin said. “Ultimately, I’d like to see the menu change quarterly with the seasons so it’s just stays fresh and stays new.

“We’ll have staples that will stay on. We don’t know what those will be yet. But the best sellers will probably stay on, and then we’ll make room for new things.”

The bar

Tony Doolin is over the full-service bar, with seating at the bar by reservation only.

“The reason being is it’s an experience,” Ashley Doolin said. “We’re not just throwing out Titos and soda. This is a highly crafted cocktail program, which will also update and change with the menu.”

For many people, selecting a wine or cocktails in general can be intimidating, she said.

“People know what they like, but they also don’t know what they like because they haven’t experienced a lot of the different flavors, a lot of the different liquors,” she said. “So, it’s a great chance to sit up at the bar and tell the bartender, this is what I typically drink, this is the flavor that I like, this is what my palate is and for them to suggest, you know, this is the drink I would go with.”

The bar also features beer from downtown Macon’s own Fall Line Brewing Co.

Additionally, the bar offers an Absinthe fountain. Absinthe is a spirit that tastes like black licorice. The fountain slowly drips ice cold water onto a sugar cube on a perforated spoon so that the sugar gradually dissolves into the Absinthe in a glass below.

“When you sit up there, you get to see the absinthe in the glass with the sugar cube on top of a little silver spoon and the ice cold water dripping on it,” Doolin said. “You see the color change in the glass and it’s just dinner and a show.”

Six people at a time can sit at the bar, which also offers food service.

The restaurant can seat 78 people, including indoor seating, bar seating and patio seating.

“We’re super fortunate because the direction the building is positioned, we have such wonderful shade,” Doolin said. “So it’s perfect for outdoor dining.”

And when the sun does invade the space, the tables are equipped with umbrellas that offer shade.

About four to six weeks from now, Pearl Passionate Cuisine & Cocktails is expected to offer Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On one Sunday each month, Doolin expects to center the buffet on a travel theme such as offering only South American cuisine that day or Kentucky Derby favorites.

Natives of Kentucky, the Doolins moved to Macon about six years ago to help start The Creek radio station. Tony, who does the morning show Monday through Friday, is one of the owners. Ashley stepped away from sales, though you may hear her voice on the radio from time to time.

“Macon is home now,” she said. “We fell in love with it. I’m excited to see everything that’s happening; everything that’s coming. It’s an exciting time.”

The Doolins also own The Monkey’s Paw Tiki Lounge with Richie Jones. The popular spot is located above the Downtown Grill at 562 Mulberry St. Lane, also in downtown Macon.

“We had so much fun doing that, this was the next thing,” she said.

For Ashley Doolin, working in and owning a restaurant is something she’s wanted to do since she was a little girl.

She remembers watching her “Nana,” her late grandmother on her mother’s side, Melba Suiter, ice banana cakes. Her grandparents, Melba and Elroy Suiter, owned Suiter’s Cafe in Dresden, Tennessee, back before Doolin’s mother was born.

“She was an amazing cook,” Doolin said of her grandmother. “She could take the craziest little bits of ingredients and throw together the finest meal.

“She always believed in having a dessert at the end of a meal.”

Doolin also recalled watching a TV show that talked about how faux food displays, once common in nice restaurants to show what was available, were made.

“I can remember thinking how beautiful the food looked. That’s what I want to do. I want to cook and I want to make beautiful food,” she said.

But “the stars didn’t align” until recently, she said.

Doolin lauded her husband, their staff and NewTown Macon for its guidance and financing for helping to make Pearl Passionate Cuisine & Cocktails a reality.

Serving as chef, Doolin is a hands-on owner.

“I do everything. I’m on the grill,” she said. “This isn’t just me saying I have a restaurant and this is a place for me to bring my girlfriends. I’m here prepping on Mondays and I’m here getting it done, encouraging, teaching and training.”

For Doolin, cooking is a way of showing love and care for people. She not only wants customers to have a delicious meal but also an amazing experience.

“I definitely want to set the expectations not only for diners but for my staff,” she said. “I want to curate just an overall amazing experience from the time they are seated from the time they leave.”

Pearl is a nickname an uncle gave her. Pearl is also the name of the couple’s beloved dog.

The bistro is open from Tuesday through Saturday. The first seating for lunch is at 11 a.m. and the last seating at 2:15 p.m. The restaurant closes at 3 p.m. to prepare for the dinner service, with first seating for dinner at 5 p.m. and the last seating at 9:15 p.m. with closing at 10 p.m.

Reservations are only required for bar seating, but are highly recommended for dining.

This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 12:55 PM.