A new dueling piano bar is set to open Friday night in downtown Macon after three years in the making.
Todd Miles, founder of Macon's Dueling Piano Bar, says the idea came to him after visiting a similar dueling piano bar. He enjoyed the relaxing environment a lot and kept going back.
"October 2015 is when we first came out with the idea to do this. Ever since then it's kind of been an uphill climb," Miles said. "We finally got it to a point to where now it's ready to open. Everybody says it better be great because it's taken so long to open it."
Miles says despite the pressure, he's happy to get it up and started now.
"Feels great. It feels like an accomplishment. It's something I feel like by the end of this year, it takes a big burden off of me," Miles said. "It's going to be great. Downtown Macon is doing well... we're going to be better off doing it now versus three years ago because it's a much better place."
The bar features a stage where dueling pianists will sing and play your favorite songs.
"It's a crowd participation. So it's fun, it's very interactive, and it's a great atmosphere to be in," Miles said.
Macon Smiles will also have specialty cocktails to go along with their 64-foot bar.
"We actually have an alcohol-control system to where our drinks are always consistent, where every time you come in here, no matter who makes the drink, it always tastes the same," Miles.
They don't offer food, but Miles hopes to have menus available from other businesses.
"Everyone knows Downtown Grill is behind us, it's in an alley, but the other businesses in the alley haven't done so well at night," Miles said. "So what we're hoping to do is kind of bring them in to where they can do some serving in here themselves to where it increases their volume."
So far, Miles says they've gotten 195 people to RSVP for opening night, and he's excited to see downtown grow and attract people from all over Central Georgia.
In the future, Miles plans on having jazz nights and comedy nights a few times a month.
Macon's Dueling Piano Bar is located at 570 Mulberry Street in the old European Hotel building in downtown Macon. Their opening night is Friday, December 14 at 7 p.m.
They will be open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.