‘I’m looking at options.’ This longtime Macon restaurant is closed, possibly for good

The man behind the legendary Mercer Gold wing sauce is exploring his options from operating in a new way to closing permanently.

Carl Fambro, and his wife, Sharon, have operated Francar’s Buffalo Wings for nearly 30 years — first on Log Cabin Drive and then in Mercer Village.

But a sign in the window of this well-known Macon restaurant at 1365 Linden Avenue says, “Closed,” and it hasn’t been open for days.

“I’m looking at options,” said Fambro, 67. “I don’t want to close. I would like to stay open. But we can’t continue to do something that doesn’t make sense.”

The restaurant has been struggling from a shortage of employees and not enough sales, he said.

A week ago Wednesday, with only he, his wife, and one other employee working, Fambro decided enough was enough.

He closed the doors at 7:30 p.m. and he hasn’t reopened them.

Options

But Fambro said he’s looking into a food truck — buying a new trailer that has everything he needs on board unlike his current food truck.

He’s thinking a new food truck might generate enough revenue from festivals and other events and catering to keep him open.

He could use the restaurant as a base of operations for the food truck while also keeping the restaurant open maybe four days a week possibly from 11 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m.

However, Fambro said he’s also preparing a proposal for the operational sale of the restaurant and he’s had his niece create a “closed permanently sign.”

“The only thing missing is the date,” Fambro said of the sign.

He expects to make the hard decision soon.

“This wasn’t a surprise,” Fambro said. “I was hoping it wouldn’t turn out like this … I would really like to stay open. We’ll see. It’s pretty hard.”

Through the years

This coming Monday would have marked 30 years in operation for the restaurant, of which the last 14 years would have been at Mercer Village. The restaurant opened in Mercer Village in 2009, also in March.

Known for its wings, the restaurant expanded its menu through the years to include seafood, chicken strips, sandwiches and burgers and even a Sunday buffet for a time.

Over the years, Fambro also created more than 40 signature sauces, including the honey-mustard-based Mercer Gold at the suggestion of a Mercer student after relocating to Mercer Village.

Fambro is a 1978 Mercer University graduate himself. He also is a graduate of Central High School in Macon. He served in the U.S. Army before opening the restaurant with a former business partner.

“I just wanted to work for myself,” he said.

The walls of the restaurant are lined with memorabilia from his customers through the years. He’s especially fond of the college crowd.

“Every year we get a fresh crop of students,” Fambro said. “Students keep you current. It’s either keep up or get run over.”

Fambro has thought about bottling and selling a few of his sauces like Mercer Gold before but that would require mass production at 500 gallons at time, he said.

For now, those recipes are locked up in a secret, secure place, he said.

At one time, there was talk of creating a movie space next to the restaurant but that didn’t pan out and Vertigo Vinyl, a Mercer student owned-and-operated vinyl record store has since expanded into that space.

But Fambro and a few partners are now looking at a pop-up movie venture that would include traditional concession sales of soft drinks and popcorn as well as possibly setting up his food truck nearby.

When asked, Fambro said he didn’t shed any tears when he closed the restaurant last week.

“This has been a long process,” he said. “I haven’t lost any sleep over it. “

He added, “I’m kind of bored. I gotta do something.”