New eats, a home goods store. Here’s what’s new, coming to the Houston County Galleria
A new spot in the Houston County Galleria serves coffee from around the world and freshly-blended smoothies, with two new walk-up restaurants on the way.
Also, a Conn’s HomePlus is moving into the former Sears Auto Center location.
Here’s a quick look:
International Coffee & Smoothie Bar
Jessica Moore, a native of Brazil, said she was inspired by her mom’s tiny tiki hut when she opened this new spot in the food court of the mall. Her coffees come from Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria and other parts of the world.
The fruit for her smoothies is sliced fresh every morning. Shawn Lane of Warner Robins was enjoying a small mango smoothie on a recent visit.
“It has a little cinnamon flavor,” he said. Smoothie flavors offered that day included a banana strawberry, a mango strawberry and cookies & cream.
La Bonita Mexican Food & Snacks
Nancy and Alondra Gutierrez, a mother and daughter team, are expanding their popular food truck to include a walk-up restaurant in the mall.
In addition to the Mexican snacks they offer on the food truck, they’ll be serving street tacos, tortas, enchiladas, quesadillas and tamales at the mall.
“She feels very happy and moved that she’s opening up a place,” Alondra said of her mom. “We’re just really blessed in our community and for their support.”
They expect to open Sept. 1.
Conn’s HomePlus
Based in The Woodlands, Texas, this home goods store offers appliances, furniture, mattresses, consumer electronics and home office products from national brands such as LG, Samsung, GE and more.
A city-issued permit for the remodel for Conn’s HomePlus is taped to a door on the former Sears Auto Center space. Conn’s HomePlus has more than 170 stores across 15 states. Crunch Fitness opened next door in December of last year.
“We’re looking to see a forward progression to the mall,” said Christel McCrory, general manager for the Houston County Galleria.
Just Lobes Family Ear Piercing also is new to the mall, and another walk-up restaurant is expected to open in the food court in the near future, McCrory said.
On the downside
With new eats coming to the food court, that also means others have left.
A space in the food court that’s now for lease is the former home of The Georgia Dog, which served up gourmet hot dogs. Leonard “LC” Ashford, and his wife, Rebecca, also owned Cluck N Waffles, which Ashford had hoped to reopen in Macon after closing the Warner Robins location at the Publix at Gunn Battle shopping center. He could not be reached for comment.
A similar casualty was the Tacos El Jefe spot in the mall, with Antonio and Melissa Estrada also closing their fledgling restaurant by the same name in Fort Valley after being open less than year. The Estradas could not be reached for comment.
The Big Bird Shack, which also opened in May of last year in the mall, also is no more. Marlena Blecher, who opened the spot with her husband, Ruchardo, said they are weighing their options after closing in March and are considering operating a food truck.
The other walk-up food spots inside the mall include longtime tenants Chen’s Wok, Teriyaki Japan and Bonnie’s Cookies. For more about a host of shops and businesses offered at the mall, visit the Houston County Galleria website and Facebook page.
