Pendergast provides downtown hangouts

Perhaps you’ve wandered the streets of downtown Milledgeville and have eaten at The Brick, or grabbed a cappuccino at Blackbird Coffee before school one morning, or even seen some of the bands that played late-night at Buffington’s. If you have, you may be surprised when to learn that the same person owns all three of your favorite establishments.

Frank Pendergast, a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in marketing, started working at The Brick 12 years ago when his friend Mitch Brooks had the idea of naming pizzas after famous artists. Brooks grew up in Macon, so he knew the town of Milledgeville pretty well. He wanted to open up a pizza place called Picasso’s and serve ear shaped bread sticks that would be called “Van Gogh Sticks.” Luckily however, plans changed , and what was going to be Picasso’s became The Brick instead. Pendergast and Brooks own The Brick together and have been adding on to and improving it ever since.

“Mitch and I started The Brick 12 years ago with little knowledge and even less money, but with a very passionate desire to succeed. We just knew it would work despite what most people said. With hard work, reinvesting in the business and adjusting to our customers needs, we were able to succeed where many fail. A good customer told me once ‘you can’t change the wind, but you can adjust your sail.’ I like to think we do just that,” Pendergast said.

The Brick is not Pendergast’s only restaurant that has succeeded in downtown Milledgeville. He and his brother in-law Charles Cruey are the co-owners of Buffington’s and last December Pendergast and his wife Iona, a GC&SU alum, opened Blackbird Coffee with Jimmy & Heather Holder. Both of these restaurants have also become quite popular and are hangout spots for many college students.

There are many benefits to having businesses located in a small town, and a few of those, Pendergast said, are the people that you meet and the new faces you see each year, and the people who have been coming back since day one. He enjoys his job tremendously and loves working with everyone he meets, customers and employees.

Students like Nikki Baughman are very appreciative for the businesses Pendergast runs.

“If it wasn’t for him, then one-third of downtown Milledgeville would be wiped out and not even exist,” Baughman said.

Other students enjoy the food at Brick and the atmosphere in Blackbird Coffee as well.

Junior Nuvia Guzman said, “I enjoy studying at Blackbird when I need to get away. It’s a quaint little nook that serves really good coffee and provides peace and quiet.”

Over the past 12 years of being in downtown Milledgeville, Pendergast has certainly made a name for himself. He encourages others to get involved in the business at a young age and to pursue whatever they are most passionate about.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 9 2005. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry