This popular Georgia wing & sports restaurant is opening soon in Macon. What’s on tap?

After servicing the Georgia community for 40 years, a popular sports restaurant of the Atlanta area is opening a location in Macon.

Taco Mac, known for their Buffalo-style wings, plans to open its Macon location at 5433 Bowman Road hopefully in the early winter season but definitely by the end of 2023, said Kelsey Bradford, the marketing director for Taco Mac.

“Our long term goal has always been to expand further into the Southeast and specifically into the southern part of Georgia,” Bradford said. “Macon really has just been the perfect spot to expand into the more southern markets.”

The location off of the Bass Road exit of Interstate 75 is a high traffic area, and Macon is also close enough to Atlanta in order for Taco Mac to give the location proper support from the established restaurants, Bradford said.

Todd Casale, local owner and operator of the Macon Taco Mac, said construction is progressing, and the new restaurant will probably be the most beautiful Taco Mac they have ever built.

“Our goal is to give this community something they can’t get anywhere else. We’re just really, really excited to serve this community,” he said.

To fit with the sports bar theme, the new Taco Mac locations are very open with a 165-inch television as well as more than 40 65 inch televisions throughout the restaurant, Bradford said.

“It’s not your home, but it can be your home away from home. And, no matter where you look, you can find your game or we can put it on. There’s not a bad seat in the house,” she said.

The hiring process for the Macon Taco Mac will start Thursday, and they hope to start hiring at the beginning of October, Casale said. They want to bring more than 150 jobs to Macon, and they are looking for a range of employees to join their team from managers to dishwashers to servers, he said. To apply, visit tacomac.com/career or text “MAC” to 97211 to find out more information.

“We’re looking for lots of friendly people who want to work in a fun, energetic environment with great folks and plenty of room to grow,” he said.

Since arriving in Macon, Casale said he has been trying to get out in the community and get to know the local area.

“I want to just get to know people. I want them to know what we’re about, give them a face of the business, so people know they can come to us with anything they ever need,” he said. “I want to position ourselves great to be able to serve this community. That’s the whole purpose, and I want them to know me. I want them to know us. I want them to know Taco Mac and be people, not just a business.”

As part of becoming ingrained in the local community, Bradford said they make an effort to include local breweries on their tap lists.

“We definitely take the extra step to ensure that those local breweries have a place on our wall, so we can ensure we’re supporting the community in the best way that we can,” she said.

When Casale worked at other Taco Mac restaurants, Bradford said he did a great job at making connections with the local communities and building relationships with local organizations. He’s already started making those connections in Macon, so when the time is right, they can successfully open the new restaurant, she said.

“I’ve been overwhelmed at how amazing and how welcoming the folks have been down here,” Casale said. “The level of excitement for us to join this community is incredible.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2023 at 7:00 AM.