This music venue and bar opens in its new digs in downtown Macon. Moscow mule, anyone?

Crammed into a small space at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Poplar Street in downtown Macon, a music venue and bar carved out a name for itself since opening nearly four years ago.

JBA is known for its eclectic live music, cocktails, rotating craft beers and whiskey selection.

Wednesday, the last Moscow mule cocktail was served at the 499 Martin Luther King Jr. location that owner Brandon Lawler called his little dive bar that was “very rough around the edges” but full of heart because of his customers, staff and top-notch offerings.

Friday, JBA opened in its new digs at 425 Cherry St. with lots of room to expand, host bands and offer more amenities from pool tables to multiple restrooms.

Soft opening

But JBA will be in soft opening mode for at least a month and it may be up to a year before Lawler has everything the way he wants it.

Lawler said hopes everyone will be patient with them as they make the transition. A PA system will need to be installed, for example. But he’ll be serving some prime whiskey he’s been saving back for 1-½ years for opening in the new spot.

“We definitely made a name for ourselves for hosting a lot of local acts and music in general on a regular basis throughout the week,” Lawler said. “So, before we closed we were doing music on Tuesday, Mondays, karaoke on Thursdays, and then both music and/or DJs Friday and Saturday. So music almost every day of the week.

“And we really cater to a lot of local acts and hosting them … Over here at the new place, I hope to expand on that while still doing the same thing — attracting more regional bands and larger bands from across the state and even the Southeast.”

At the end of the day, Lawler said he just wants to host music.

“We love the local acts. Those are all good people. I know a lot of them. They’re all very talented. But the stage in here is much larger, too. So we want to try to dive into a larger … more regional booking to bring to Macon and kind of be a name-recognized venue and as far as music goes.”

At the former location, there wasn’t a cover charge. Going forward, weekend shows likely will have a cover charge, Lawler said.

“For me, it’s when there’s entertainment, and if there’s no entertainment on the stage, there’s no reason to charge a cover,” Lawler said. “If we’re paying for music or a DJ or something like that, we’ll charge a nominal $5 or whatever the common is and then if we get to the point where we’re booking larger acts and bigger shows then we’ll sometimes transition to a ticket, you know, an advanced buy.”

He also expects to introduce a wine program in the new location, while retaining his cocktail program.

“The one thing that we have always been proud of is our cocktail program and we’ve done really well with that,” Lawler said. “We like making a lot of stuff in-house … ginger syrup and grenadine and we do a lot of infusions.

“If it can be made in-house, we make it in-house. We try not to buy something because not only is that sometimes cost effective but it just tastes better.”

Three bar areas

The large space is split essentially into three different bar areas: the front lounge, the middle bar which is like the main stage room and the back bar which offers pool and darts.

Initially, only the front and back bars will be open, though customers will be able to stroll through and get a look at the middle bar.

“If we’re throwing a show and we’re about to put a couple-hundred people in there, the middle bar will be for that,” Lawler said. “It is mainly for if you’re there for the music, you can turn around and walk 20 feet and get a drink instead of having to walk to another room.

“And then what I’m hoping for is on bad weather days … the middle room, it will kind of act as overflow because we have plenty of square footage in there.”

Within such a small space at the former location, the overflow spilled out onto the street. But rain “killed us,” Lawler said.

“Being that we were a dive bar before, we get to kind of expand on that with a more of a lounge over here,” he said. “We have a whole sort of bar area that’ll be kind of inclusive and a little separate from everything else that’ll be more of a lounge feel.”

Lawler expects to offer much more higher-end liquors, including a great whiskey selection.

“What we’re going to be opening up with I’ve been saving for the past year and a half; a lot of good bottles,” he said. “Our whiskey selection will be one of the top in downtown.

“Our cocktail program, we will be continually expanding on that, and we’re gonna do some good wines and we intend to expand on that. So essentially what we were doing over there, we’re just gonna expand on that and have a room where you’re not bothered by music or darts or stuff like that.”

‘We’re still JBA’

Lawler added, “Yes, things will change a little bit. But the thing is, like we’re still gonna be the same thing. We’re still JBA. We still have our same core staff.

“I just hope everyone is patient with us. We’ve got a lot of cool plans coming and a lot of things that I’m excited about. It’s just a slow process. A year down the road, this will be a different place. So it’s, it’s gonna be fun. “

JBA is keeping its regular hours of 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday.

Its new spot previously was the location of The Thirsty Turtle, which surrendered its alcohol license and closed after pressure from Macon-Bibb leaders in the aftermath of a deadly shooting outside around the nearby intersection at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in July 2021. The Cherry Street location also has been home to multiple restaurants, bars and clubs over the years.

This story was originally published March 27, 2023 at 5:00 AM.