Meet the entrepreneur behind new restaurants, hotels coming to Macon & Middle GA

With decades in the hospitality industry, Mangesh Patel brings a wealth of expertise to the table.

His experience ranges across restaurants, hotels, construction and multi-unit developments. His portfolio includes prior ownership of multiple restaurant concepts and large-scale development projects throughout the Southeast.

Now, he is bringing Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and Huey Magoo’s restaurants as well as hotels to Macon and other Middle Georgia cities.

“I’m excited to get this opportunity,” Patel said. “The timing is right. Right now, the economy is down. That’s the time you start developing things. So when the economy is booming, you are ready to go and start serving.”

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise chain, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in August, is known for burgers, wings and daily meal deals like “Taco Twos-Day.”

Huey Magoo’s is known for its hand breaded chicken tenders, with Patel’s first location in Macon the 83rd Huey Magoo’s to open nationwide.

First Middle Georgia Beef ‘O’ Brady’s going up in Macon

Patel’s first Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is now under construction at 4671 Hartley Bridge Road across the street from Zaxby’s. The new building will also house his third Huey Magoo’s. A fall opening is anticipated.

His first Huey Magoo’s, also in Macon at 6237 Zebulon Road, celebrated its grand opening Nov. 12. His second Huey Magoo’s at 1512 Bass Road in Macon is expected to open soon.

Patel said he’s currently negotiating for land near the Bass Road Huey Magoo’s to build his second Beef ‘O’ Brady’s with expectations of developing a new Hyatt Studios on property he already owns behind it. Hyatt Studios are upper-midscale, extended-stay hotels with apartment-style rooms with kitchens, complimentary grab-and-go breakfast and 24-hour markets for food prep in rooms, according to a Hyatt news release .

If all goes to plan, he expects to start construction on the second Beef ‘O’ Brady’s off Bass Road in late summer, with hopes of opening by the year’s end. He also hopes to open three more locations next year.

Moving forward, Patel’s vision is to develop Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, Huey Magoo’s and new hotels in proximity as he expands into Forsyth, Milledgeville, Dublin and Thomson.

“The rest of the locations I have, we’re hopefully going to have a hotel, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and Huey Magoo’s all together,” Patel said.

Why Beef ‘O’ Brady’s out of all the franchises out there?

Patel got interested in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s when his construction company landed a contract to build one in Valley, Alabama. Construction is expected to start next month.

“While I was studying up on it, I saw that I like the concept … I’ve been in the restaurant business since 1978, so I have a lot of experience in the restaurant food business, and I’ve operated full-service restaurants, also fast-food restaurants, multiple multi-unit — all of that,” Patel said. “And based on my experience, I liked the way the concept is.”

What appealed to Patel was that Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a family sports pub, with a children’s playroom included in the new prototypes for the restaurants.

“Also, they do a good menu,” Patel said. “They have a variety of items available in the restaurant, and also, they have a large bar. They serve 30 to 35 tap beers. You really don’t find that in small restaurants.”

All six of Patel’s planned Beef ‘O’ Brady’s will be at least 6,000-square-feet and include a children’s playroom as well as private dining room.

While Patel expects to pair Huey Magoo’s with his future Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, Patel also is planning additional Huey Magoo’s — including one in Gray. Dublin is expected to get two.

“Right now, I have agreements signed for seven (Huey Magoo’s) restaurants,” he said. “But hopefully I’m going to find a couple more locations, so we’ll probably end up doing 10 restaurants by maybe the next two years.”

Of the planned hotel developments, Patel said he could also confirm a Holiday Inn Express planned for Thomson in addition to the Hyatt Studios coming to Macon.

Well-seasoned in restaurants

Patel got his start in the restaurant business in Queens, New York, in 1978. He moved to North Carolina in 1980 and started buying up hotels and restaurants together. He later sold all of them and moved to Atlanta in 2003.

Patel then opened four Indian restaurants in the Atlanta area, which he sold in 2018. He next built and started a Dairy Queen in 2019 in Grayson and sold it in 2021. He then opened a McAlister’s Deli in Athens and Rome in 2020 and sold them in 2022. Patel signed up with Huey Magoo’s in 2022 and then Beef ‘O’ Brady’s in 2025.

Based in metro-Atlanta, Patel owns his own construction company, Karma Developers LLC.

Patel and his wife of 49 years, Shobhna, live in Lawrenceville. They have a son and a daughter and three grandchildren.