Amici restaurant & brewery readies to open in Perry. Peek inside this new gathering spot
Ready for a slice of gourmet pizza, some craft beer and a game of cornhole? Then check out the new Amici restaurant and brewery opening Monday in Perry.
The new spot at 396 Perry Parkway is the culmination of years of planning, research and hard work for Dena Barrows, who’s dreamed of opening her own restaurant.
Doors open at 11 a.m.
“I’m just excited it’s finally come to fruition,” said Barrows, who served as the nutritional director for Dodge County schools for 15 years. “The Perry community has been so welcoming to us.”
She and her husband, Bryant, both natives of Rhine, are the franchise owners. He’s providing financial backing, but the restaurant is her baby.
She’ll be hands-on — sharing responsibilities with general manager Cam Rogers, also a Rhine native. His management experience includes Longhorn Steakhouse in Tifton for just over nine years as well as overseeing a Cracker Barrel.
“Cam brings a wealth of experience and we’re glad to have him,” Barrows said.
The new gathering spot brings the first in-house brewery to Perry.
A look inside
The main door into the 5,500-square-foot restaurant and brewery opens into a large open dining area with huge windows. Up to 140 people can be seated in the dining area.
The space was designed to create a rustic industrial vibe with brick walls and reclaimed wood.
A mural over one of the large windows features Amici, Perry, GA and the longitude and latitude of the restaurant’s location. Angelina May, a Houston County High School senior, created the mural as part of a school work-based program with graphic artist Aaron Munn.
A side dining area is a nod to Barrows’ daughter, Lane Barrows, who’s a commercial airline pilot, to aviation in general and to all military personnel with Robins Air Force Base in nearby Warner Robins.
The restaurant and brewery features two patios capable of seating another 60 people combined.
A small patio on the side of the restaurant near the main entrance features games like cornhole and a life-sized connect four from Eastman-based SoPoly Outdoor Furniture.
A large covered patio at the front of the restaurant features ceiling fans to keep cool in the summer and a fire pit to keep warm during the winter.
On perfect weather days, two glass garage doors connecting the covered patio to the dining room are expected to be raised.
The patios are pet friendly.
“We want to be the living room of Perry, Georgia,” Dena Barrows said. “We want to be a place for friends and families to come and have a good time and make memories.”
She expects to offer a trivia night and karaoke, plus live music on the weekends.
The space features 12 large-screen TVs.
“Whatever sport is on, we’ll air it,” Barrows said.
Four brew tanks rest against a wall behind the bar. The wall separates the dining area from the large kitchen.
The large kitchen features a Hot Rocks brick oven imported from Canada that can cook a pizza in about seven minutes.
Barrows nicknamed the oven “the Volkswagen — because it’s so big.”
The menu
The restaurant and brewery serves over a dozen specialty pizzas, including two new additions: the McDowell and Rites of Spring, according to the menu.
The McDowell is a cheeseburger pizza that includes Amici’s special sauce, ground beef, bacon, red onion, American cheese and then is topped with chopped pickles.
The Rites of Spring pizza is descried on the menu as olive-oil based with garlic, spinach, crushed tomatoes, red onions, feta cheese and topped with a pesto swirl.
A go-to pizza for Barrows is the Woodsman pizza, which includes pepperoni, prosciutto ham and mushrooms.
Customers may also create their own pizza. Also, pizza may be ordered by the slice. A small gluten-free crust is available for an extra charge.
Jumbo and boneless wings come in half-dozen or a dozen in flavors of X hot, XX hot, BBQ, Korean BBQ, lemon pepper and sweet chili with choice of blue cheese or ranch dressing.
The menu also features appetizers, salads, pasta dishes, sandwiches, a soup of the day and desserts. Daily combos are available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.
The menu is the same at all Amici locations, but Barrows expects to offer weekend specials that aren’t on the regular menu.
“We have the autonomy to shake it up,” she said.
Craft beer & more
The new spot is opening with four brews, but will have eight at capacity.
Barrows’ son, Dennis Barrows, is an apprentice in training to be the brewmaster for the restaurant and brewery. He’s training under Alex O’Kelley, the corporate brewmaster for Amici based in Madison.
“I’m excited,” Dena Barrows said of her youngest son working alongside of her. “He’s very interested. He’s really taken ownership.”
Now, she’s got to figure out how to incorporate the eldest of her three children, Austin Barrows, into the new venture or “he’ll get mad at me,” she joked.
Here’s a description of the four brews:
- Lobo Solo — A Mexican lager brewed with a blend of pilsner and Vienna malts with a page golden color.
- Lazy Daze — A West Coast IPA (India Pale Ale) with bold hop flavors from chinook, cascade and centennial with a golden amber color and aromas of pine and citrus.
- Blondie — An American-style blonde ale with a subtle malt sweetness and mild hop bitterness. This is the brew that even a non-beer-drinker might enjoy, Barrows said.
- Haybale — A Hefeweizen Bavarian-style wheat beer with a cloudy appearance with fruity and spicy notes with hints of banana, clove and citrus that’s golden in color with a white head and served with orange slices.
Customers may purchase a flight board with smaller glasses for tasting all four brews.
Also, the restaurant and brewery offers other local craft beers, including Fall Line from Macon, Creature Comforts from Athens and Fox City from Forsyth. Barrows hopes to add Piedmont from Macon.
Additionally, the restaurant and brewery offers 64 ounce growlers of craft beer to take home, and a large selection of canned and bottled beers are available.
In addition to an in-house brewery, a full bar includes an extensive selection of liquors, seven hand-crafted cocktails and a few select wines.
“We have a bar but this is a family friendly place where people can bring their children,” Barrows noted.
Odds & ends
Another wall of the restaurant showcases Amici merchandise, including T-shirts, baseball caps, foam koozies and tumblers.
Steps outside on the side of the building opposite of the main entrance lead to a second-floor private office that overlooks the dining area.
Barrows said she settled on the Amici franchise because the company is Georgia grown and family owned, having started in Madison a little over 30 years ago.
And Perry proved to be the perfect fit for her vision of a gathering place for family and friends, she said.
Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Additionally, Barrows expects to extend operating hours for special events such as the World Series and for live music offerings. The number is 478-224-0145.
The new spot is just 2 miles from Interstate 75 off Exit 138.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 11:47 AM.