‘He would be proud.’ Macon restaurant owner carries on dad’s legacy with ‘mom and pop’ menu

In 1968, Johnny Vastakis, a Greek immigrant who worked for the Coca-Cola Bottling company for a bit, decided to open a new restaurant on Riverside Drive in Macon. 51 years later, his son George runs Johnny V’s on Columbus Road. Not much has changed about the way they do things other than the building that they operate out of.

“We keep our prices down, service good and that is what we depend on. The quality of the food and service, people come back,” George said. “We have been out here 18 years.”

The move out to Columbus Road requires customers to drive a little further which prompted George to use the slogan, “I would go even further for a Johnny V’s.” He said it isn’t a knock against the famous Nu-Way slogan “I’d go a long way for a Nu-Way.” But simply a truth that people must go a bitter further for their food, and he has a lot of loyal customers willing to do it.

“People who eat here, they’re driving to get here. They aren’t riding down this road,” George said. “Every day it is probably 80 to 85 percent of our customers are local regular customers.”

George has a nursing degree but chose to stay in the restaurant business out of love for his dad and his family. Before Johnny passed away, he referred to his son as the “educated fool” of the family, George said. He wanted to carry on the legacy and the name that his father built.

“Every day I wake up I know he would be proud of me,” George said. “This is a real mom-and-pop place. I take a lot of pride in this place, too.”

George comes from a large family of six siblings, but 2019 saw two of his brothers and a sister pass with cancer. The restaurant helps keep the memory of his father and siblings alive as each grew up working inside the restaurant at some point.

“This is my life right here. Six days a week and we don’t work on Sunday,” George said. “I knew I had to carry it on.”

Breakfast

The breakfast here turned out to be one of the best in town. They have lots of options with different types of meat, homemade biscuits, eggs, grits and hashbrowns.

I opted for a breakfast plate with cheese eggs, cheese grits and fried steak patties with two biscuits. The homemade biscuits nearly stick to the roof of your mouth and have an authentic taste that really stands out. This reminds me of eating breakfast at my granny’s house.

The cheese eggs were absolutely loaded with cheese. I am a cheese person and am often disappointed with how little some places give you, but not here. The grits were seasoned well (I didn’t even have to add salt and pepper) and mixed well with the eggs. The fried steak patties offered a nice complement and substance to the meal.

Jenna went with a sausage biscuit and a pair of pancakes — and they were huge. It looked like a giant, thick pancake frisbee. You can tell they are homemade just looking at them. Jenna said they were very fluffy and had a down-home feel. The sausage was good and complemented the biscuit well.

Lunch

Let me start by saying that lunch items here are available starting at 5 a.m. Anyone in the mood for a chili dog for breakfast can finally fulfill a dream.

I decided on the chili dog and a cheeseburger as the lunch items to try. The first thing that caught my eye was the red wieners that they use. It reminds me a lot of a Nu-Way hot dog but the chili is much heartier. It would be easy to grab two or three of these with some fries for a good, affordable lunch.

The cheeseburger also comes with chili on it. It’s a simple take on a cheeseburger but Johnny V’s really wins is in its simplistic feel. They don’t try to reinvent the wheel — they simply produce quality food.

Cost

Breakfast platter with steak: $6.30

Hot dog: $1.70

Cheeseburger: $1.85

Sausage biscuit: $1.50

Pancakes: $3.50

Johnny V’s

Location: 5854 Columbus Rd

Hours: Monday-Saturday: 5 a.m. — 5 p.m. (Breakfast stops at noon)

Price range: $1-$7