Known for casseroles & baked goods, Acres & Oak Kitchen to open a Warner Robins store
Justin and Afton Collins are opening a new Acres & Oak Kitchen in Warner Robins.
The couple became the first franchise owners of the Acres & Oak Kitchen brand when they took over the Perry store at 1030 Ball St. earlier this year on Jan. 1.
The popular business that got its start in Macon specializes in ready-for-the-oven, home-style casseroles and side dishes, salads, appetizers and desserts.
The Warner Robins store is going into a new building at the corner of South Houston Lake and Leverette roads that’s expected to include four other businesses.
“The foundation of our business is to bring the family back to the table,” Afton Collins said. “In our busy, hectic lives, we barely have time to make a meal and let alone sit down together and connect again.
“So, a lot of times we’re doing fast food or we’re eating out. This allows the family to come home to a home cooked style meal, and very quickly, easily, with no mess and no fuss, they’re able to serve their family and have the time to reconnect,” she said.
They expect to open the Warner Robins location before the year’s end.
First-time business owners
Their business experience comes from working for CarMax, a national used vehicle retailer. They met at a Chattanooga location in January 2012 and married in March 2014.
He moved up in management, and she became a stay at home mom. She also had an online clothing business for about a year.
They moved to Warner Robins about six and a half years ago for the opening of a CarMax on South Houston Lake Road where he served as the general manager.
After leaving the auto business in 2023, Justin Collins said he was looking for the next step. He believes God opened doors for them to become Acre & Oak Kitchen franchisees — something that wasn’t on his radar at all.
“I think the thing that drew us so much to Acres & Oak is the opportunity to not only have this business but also to serve the community because we have so many customers in purchasing a meal for someone who is either celebrating or they’re going through a hard time and we have the opportunity to be that bridge for them so they can serve their friends,” Justin Collins said.
Peggy Davis, who lives in the Bonaire community of Warner Robins, stopped in the Perry store recently to pick up some cheese straws to surprise her daughter-in-law.
She recalled once stocking up on Acres & Oak’s casseroles to help husband Curtis Davis take care of her after her knee surgery.
“I bought a bunch — so I wouldn’t have to suffer my husband’s cooking,” she joked.
The menu
Acres & Oak Kitchen offers more than 20 casseroles, including two breakfast options. Among the entree options are beef stroganoff, chicken spaghetti, both a meat and vegetable lasagna, and shepherd’s pie.
The poppy seed chicken casserole is the Perry store’s most popular entree.
“Nothing else even comes close,” Justin Collins said.
The menu describes the poppy seed chicken as “brined chicken upon a bed of white rice, layered with a savory and hearty cream sauce, topped with crushed buttery crackers and a garnish of flavorful poppy seeds.”
For the Collins family, family favorites include the Tuscan chicken, the Italian beef and cheese and the taco bowl casseroles.
Side options offered at Acres & Oak Kitchen include classics such as broccoli and cheese, cornbread stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and squash casserole.
Caesar, garden and summer salads are also offered.
Appetizers include dips, chicken salad, pimento cheese, pasta salad, cheese straws and cheese wafers.
The popular bacon tomato dip is described on the menu as “peppery diced bacon and tomatoes mixed with sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise and topped with green onions.”
The Charleston dip is described as “spicy pork sausage in a rich mixture of cream cheese, diced tomatoes, and green chilies topped with shredded cheddar and fresh green onions.”
Among the dessert options are pound cakes with frosting, cobblers, lemon bars, brownies and cookies. A top seller is the caramel pound cake.
How it works
The casseroles and other goods are made at the Acres & Oak Kitchen flagship store at 4420 Forsyth Road in Macon.
The Collins family picks up the casseroles and all their products from the Macon store and transport them back to the Perry store in a temperature-controlled box that’s similar to what caterers use. The box is designed to keep products for about four hours.
The casseroles are kept in the refrigerator for sale for seven days from when made and then moved to the freezer. The frozen casseroles in the stores are good for up to six months from when made, Collins said.
Casseroles ordered online from the Acres & Oak Kitchen website come from the Macon store. These casseroles are immediately frozen after being made and are guaranteed to have at least two months of freezer life, he said.
Casseroles ordered via the Perry store’s Google page online ordering option come from what’s at the Perry location and can be picked up at the store or delivered within Houston County, Collins said.
The couple added the delivery option in July for their Perry store and now their soon-to-be Warner Robins location.
“We do have a delivery fee and a service fee, similar to what you do with DoorDash or Uber Eats, but we’ll deliver anything to you,” Justin Collins said. “If we carry it in the store and we have that in stock, we will bring that right to you.”
New Warner Robins store
The new Acres & Oak Kitchen in Warner Robins at 608 S. Houston Lake Road, Suite 300, will have a 1,300-square-foot space in a building made for five tenants.
Other known tenants in the 7,475-square-foot building include a pharmacy, doctor’s office and smoke shop, according to a flyer about the small shopping center.
“We originally planned, when we bought the franchise, that two or three years down the road we would try to open in Warner Robins,” Collins said. “But we very quickly realized that sooner rather than later is best … with how rapidly Warner Robins is growing.”
The layout of the Warner Robins store is expected to be the same as the Perry store.
At the Perry store, refrigerators and freezers along one side of the store showcase a variety of casseroles, sides, desserts and appetizers.
A few baked goods are displayed on a large table in the center, while some baked goods and bags of chips for the refrigerated dips are displayed in shelving along the opposite wall.
The cash register rests on a long table in the back of the space.
The Warner Robins location also will have the same hours as the Perry store of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“We’re just really excited to get to Warner Robins and be able to serve the community,” Collins said.
Beginnings
Acres & Oak Kitchen has evolved over the years under different owners, having started as a catering business out of a Macon garage in 1993.
Allison and Chris Carol next opened their first storefront in Macon called The Casserole Shop in 1997. The business came under new ownership at its current space at 4420 Forsyth Road, Suite 180, location in 2010. Tony Sadler added desserts and cheese straws by incorporating what was then Caroletta’s Cakes into the business.
In 2019, Sadler’s son, Evan Acres purchased the business. He opened a second location in Perry in 2020.
In 2021, Acres changed the name to Acres & Oak Kitchen to best reflect the nature of the business. “Acres” comes from his and his wife Erika’s last name, while “Oak” is a nod to the dinner table where family members gather around. The food comes from their “Kitchen” to your home.
Acres & Oak Kitchen was named a 2022 Small Business Rock Star by the Georgia Department of Economic Development. At the time of the award, Acres & Oak Kitchen also had a Tifton location, which later closed.
A Dublin store, which is now also a franchise location, opened in 2022.
Today, Acres & Oak Kitchen is working to become a no-waste food company by donating products not sold before their “sell by” date to local organizations that help the needy,
The franchise locations also do the same, according to Collins.
Telegraph archives were used in this report.