Get To Know Macon, Georgia

A culinary gem in the heart of Georgia

Smack dab in the middle of Georgia is Macon, a growing city that’s having an exciting moment in the food scene. Known for breeding music legends Otis Redding and The Allman Brothers Band, this community has undergone a downtown revival in the last 25 years, welcoming dozens of new businesses and transforming into a culinary hub for born-and-raised Maconites, newcomers, and visitors. Recently, bars and restaurants have popped up to fill niches in the market, including Macon Bagels, opened by a couple who wanted a place to get fresh bagels in town, and Black Cat Liquor & Libations, the city’s first underground speakeasy that’s serving cocktails like it’s 1922. Local staples are going strong, too, like soul food spot H&H and burger joint The Rookery.

Meanwhile, Macon’s Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park is poised to become Georgia’s first national park, and the city is anticipating a rise in visitors along with the change. While they’re in town, travelers can see rising-star music acts at venues like Grant’s Lounge, try bacon in everything along the Macon Bacon Trail, and attend annual festivities like Macon Burger Week and the Just Tap’d Craft Beer Festival to get a taste of the city “where soul lives.”

Best Places to Eat and Drink

Best Fried Chicken Biscuit: H&H Soul Food
This iconic restaurant opened in 1959 and serves “stick-to-ya-ribs” soul food and meat-and-three plates. The Midnight Rider biscuit with fried chicken, bacon jam, and pimento cheese is the most memorable bite.

Best Rooftop Patio: Quill at The Woodward
Guests can sip literary drinks on the rooftop patio at this bar inside The Woodward Hotel. Cocktails like The Bell Jar with bourbon-fig cordial and smoked chile bitters pair with snacks like the rosemary and olive oil kettle chips.

Best Bagel Sandwich: Macon Bagels
Macon Bagels serves classics and twists. Specials include stunners like the poppyseed bagel with salami, mozzarella, and sun-dried tomato cream cheese and the pork sausage biscuit with kimchi and tangy mayo.

Best Brisket: Satterfield’s BBQ
A slow-smoked barbecue restaurant, Satterfield’s serves brisket, pulled pork, and half-chicken plates with sides like collards with turkey and Mom’s potato salad. Brisket sandwiches are up for grabs at Satterfield’s BBQ on Wheels, the food truck.

Best Ramen: Kinjo Kitchen + Cocktails
This upscale, Asian-inspired restaurant with a good view serves ramen bowls like the tonkotsu with shaved pork belly, zucchini, soy-and-ginger-braised crimini mushrooms, and an egg, plus craft cocktails like the Bee’s Knees with gin and fresh lemon.

Best Hidden Spot: Black Cat Liquor & Libations
Hidden below Kinjo Kitchen & Cocktails is downtown Macon’s first underground speakeasy. Punch in the secret passcode and walk downstairs to a dimly lit lounge with a rotating theme and cocktails like The Great Gatsby. @blackcatliquor

Best Sweet and Savory Bite: The Rookery
The Hot Pig & Fig at The Rookery is stuffed with ham and swiss, creole mustard, and fig preserves for a perfect balance of flavor. The restaurant is known for its burgers piled high with unusual toppings like peanut butter and Coca-Cola ketchup.

Best Reason to Get Dressed Up: Dovetail
Set above The Rookery is Dovetail, an upscale establishment serving seasonal Southern plates like peaches and burrata, grilled quail with okra, and the market vegetable plate with cornbread and salted honey butter.

Claim to Fame

International Cherry Blossom Festival
Known as the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World, Macon holds the International Cherry Blossom Festival each spring to celebrate the flowering trees that paint the town pink. It all started in 1949, when real estate mogul William A. Fickling Sr. discovered a Yoshino cherry blossom tree in his backyard in Macon. He began to spread the trees around the city. In 1973, the community planted hundreds more to keep the population growing, and in 1982, the festival was born. The annual event is a week of good food, local music, and charming festivities like wiener dog races. Next year’s festival is set for March 21 through 30, 2025.

Where to Shop

Rabbit Hole
After lunch at H&H, diners can fall down the Rabbit Hole, where they’ll find plants, fine art, and goods like books and candles. The shop is co-owned by renowned local artist Cedric Smith. @rabbitholemacon @cedricsmithstudio

Poplar Street Farmers Market
This producer-only market offers seasonal fruits, vegetables, and flowers, plus local meats, fresh breads, and handmade goods. The market runs every Wednesday, in all weather, year-round.

Golden Bough Bookstore
The bookstore around the corner from Hotel Forty Five is stocked with secondhand books, which, according to a sign on the door, have just as many words as new books at half the price. Readers will spot a cat or two slinking around while they browse. @that_bookstore_downtown

Where to Stay

Hotel Forty Five
Hotel Forty Five, part of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio, is right in the thick of things in downtown Macon. Perfect for travelers in town for the weekend, the 94-room hotel is a short walk from restaurants, concert venues, shops, and parks. Guests can dine and sip at the on-site restaurant, Loom, Hightales Rooftop Bar, and Reckon Coffee and Wine Bar. @hotelfortyfive