The Proprietor
Richie Jones is the proprietor of the downtown grill. He purchased the restaurant in April of 2008 from the founder of the restaurant, Tom Noelke. Richie is a Macon native who is a graduate of First Presbyterian Day School. After leaving Macon, Richie attended the University of Georgia in Athens and obtained two Bachelor degrees from the Terry College of Business. Athens is where Richie became interested in the restaurant industry. He worked his way up in different restaurants and taverns. After college he continued his dream as he moved to Breckenridge, CO where he skied and worked at the resort in two of their food and beverage establishments. After a year in the mountains, he decided to move to the beach and obtained a job as a bartender at the Sea Island Beach Club. When the summer ended, Richie was ready for bigger and better things and was hired as a manager for a restaurant just across the causeway, called Spanky's. Richie continued to manage this restaurant for the next 5 and a half years, before moving back to Macon. Currently Richie is involved with 7 other restaurants in Macon, Forsyth, and Griffin.