‘It has been a process’: S&S Cafeteria reopens Riverside Drive location after nearly two years following fire

Popular Macon restaurant returns after nearly two-year closure and full rebuild

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – S&S Cafeteria on Riverside Drive in Macon is serving customers once again after being closed since September 2024 due to a fire.

Owner and CEO Richard Pogue says he’s happy to have the location back open after a long rebuilding process.

“It has been a process, you know it’s been I think a year and eight months,” Pogue said. “A lot goes into opening restaurants, people don’t understand that sometimes. But we’re just so excited to be open again for our guests and our coworkers as well.”

The fire caused damage to the kitchen and a complete loss to the dining room, leading to a full rebuild.

While the updated space may look different, Pogue says the core of the restaurant has stayed the same.

“It looks a little different but the main thing is the food quality, the service, we have all the same employees that were here before,” he said. “Many of our employees are thirty-plus year veterans, our pastry person, our chef, so we’re just looking forward to getting reopened and welcoming people back.”

Customers say they’ve been patiently waiting for the restaurant to return.

Dona Stanton says she and her husband stop at S&S every year on their way to Hilton Head and are glad to have their tradition back.

“This is our stopping off point, so we had been without it for awhile and so excited about it being reopen and it’s just a wonderful place,” Stanton said.

S&S Cafeteria is now open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.