FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 22, 2015 Media Contact: Jessica Walden, 478.621.4420 or jessica@collegehillmacon.com New Business Announced for Lofts at College Hill Longtime Milledgeville Restaurant Expands to Macon MACON – The Brick is coming to the Lofts at College Hill (Lofts Phase IV), the mixed-use retail and loft development currently under construction behind the College Street post office. The independently owned restaurant and bar has been a fixture in downtown Milledgeville since 1993. Its new Macon restaurant will mark its second location – and a first-time expansion of its pizza, wings, sandwiches, pastas and salad menu offerings. Owner Frank Pendergast said it’s a business decision that’s arrived full-circle. He and late business partner Mitch Brooks conceived the idea for The Brick in Macon. “We actually sketched it out on the back of a beverage napkin in a sports bar on Riverside Drive,” said Pendergast. “We wanted our restaurant to have an appeal that catered to the college crowd and the locals. And here we are, 21 years later, returning back to our roots in Macon to do the same thing.” It was the student appeal and demand from the College Hill Corridor that attracted Pendergast to the Lofts at College Hill retail space. Sierra Development President Jim Daws, developer of all of the loft projects in the College Hill Corridor – which now stretch from Mercer Village to College Street to the just announced fifth phase across from Mercer University’s campus on Mercer University Drive – said there was heavy demand for The Brick before they ever broke ground on the latest property. “We went after The Brick from the beginning,” said Daws. “I’ve enjoyed their restaurant in Milledgeville for years, and when you surveyed the students on businesses they wanted in College Hill, The Brick continued to come up. It will be great for Macon, and I know I’ll be dining there often.” The Brick’s Macon location will be 5,200-square-feet plus an outdoor patio. It will be one of the largest independently owned restaurants in Macon, with the capacity to seat over 200 patrons. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, The Brick will feature a full bar, offer live music and will be open until 2 a.m. on weekends and until midnight during the week. Mercer University Junior Austin Harris launched a social media campaign called “Bring The Brick to Macon” on Facebook. “The students were incredibly responsive to the idea of The Brick coming to Macon. In a few days the page had reached 100 likes, and that was with little to no fanfare,” said Harris. “The idea gained traction, and The Brick noticed. I have no doubt that the entire community will welcome this storied restaurant with open arms.” Mercer President William D. Underwood echoed the students’ sentiments. “We continue to hear from the student body about how more late-night dining options are desired near the campus,” he said. “It’s important for the continued success of the College Hill Corridor that private businesses contribute to the college-town vibe and fill those market gaps.” Construction continues at a full force on the Lofts at College Hill, with students slated to move in by late summer. The Brick will open in July. This is the second restaurant to occupy the first-floor
retail space. Boba Mocha, a specialty coffee, tea and snack shop, announced its plans to join the development at its groundbreaking last July. So far, the loft developments have leveraged nearly $30 million in private investment in the College Hill Corridor since 2009 and have created 111 jobs, with more underway as the new businesses hire. Macon Mayor Robert Reichert said, “The continued investment by developers and businesses in the College Hill Corridor is proof that people do want to live in an area whey they can walk or bike to work, shopping, restaurants, and events. We are continuing to attract new businesses, as well as those – like The Brick – that recognize Macon-Bibb’s potential for expansion and growth.” Alex Morrison, Executive Director of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), worked directly with Pendergast on the business decision. “The UDA is excited to be a part of the project that will bring the second ‘The Brick’ to Macon, and we are very excited for Frank Pendergast to do his first project here,” he said. “One of the goals of the Macon Action Plan is to find ways to being new investment into the Urban Core and to have someone of Frank's caliber be a part of that is really exciting to us. We could not think of a better partner for our first loan from our business revolving loan fund.” The Brick isn’t Pendergast’s only business venture. An active property developer and entrepreneur, he was recently awarded for his commitment to downtown development and preservation by the Georgia Cities Foundation and the Georgia Trust. Initially established with a grant to Mercer University from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2009, the College Hill Alliance assists the community in creating positive change to the physical, social and economic fabric of the College Hill Corridor, a two-square mile area between Mercer’s campus and Macon, Georgia’s downtown business district. Today, the internationally recognized economic development project has leveraged over $100 million in urban renewal, entrepreneurship, arts, neighborhood growth and entertainment, with another $100 million in projects to get underway within the next year. For more information, contact Jessica Walden at the College Hill Alliance: 478.621.4420 / jessica@collegehillmacon.com. Visit collegehillmacon.com. ###