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(04/14/20 3:15am)
On March 14, JAG’s Pizzeria and Pub was celebrating its grand opening. Live music echoed through the venue while servers paced back and forth delivering sizzling pizzas to tables.
Just three days later, the restaurant closed its doors due to the COVID-19 outbreak and transitioned to takeout orders only. Many Macon restaurants have either shut down completely or are only able to offer takeout orders.
To general manager Lisa Williams, it felt like a punch in the gut.
“You’re so excited about opening and all the hard work you put into it. You have a great opening weekend and then have to close your doors. It’s unfortunate. When you have to let go of your staff who worked so hard to prepare and learn, and build up so much excitement, with a drop of a penny it’s just gone,” Williams said.
While a sizable portion of the JAG’s staff is comprised of Mercer students, a large number of the staff work in the service industry full time. Williams said that the staff is remaining optimistic, but is not immune to the effects the outbreak has brought.
“They’re definitely struggling. It’s impacted pretty much every single one of our employees … they understand what’s going on and are trying to remain positive, but all in all it’s affecting them. That’s their paychecks and bills,” Williams said.
Williams said the outbreak has given the kitchen staff an opportunity to perfect the way the kitchen operates.
“We’ve taken this time to use to our advantage and practice in the kitchen,” Williams said.
Williams also has taken the opportunity to give back to the community. She has delivered meals to Coliseum Medical Center, fire stations and Mercer Police.
“I walked in (to Coliseum Medical Center) and handed them to the CEO for him to pass them out accordingly. I mean, we needed the practice so why not show appreciation and say ‘thanks for what you’re doing for our community,’” Williams said.
According to a Facebook post by JAG’s Pizzeria and Pub, JAG’s is offering curbside pickup and to-go orders to limit person-to-person contact. The dining room remains closed until further notice.
(01/30/20 5:00am)
Sauced, a local pizzeria located in Mercer Village, closed its doors in December 2019.
In its place, JAG’s Pizzeria & Pub, named after the last names of co-owners Richie Jones, Brian Adams and Ryan Griffin, is slated to open in early spring. General Manager Lisa Williams said that they plan to be open by the end of February or the beginning of March.
Williams said that they hope to be open by the start of March Madness, the yearly NCAA basketball tournament.
JAG’s will offer a full bar, arcade games, multiple televisions for watching sports and both indoor and outdoor seating. Williams said she also expects to have trivia nights and live music.
“We’re adding in about eight more TVs in here, we’re bringing in new equipment and we’re building an arcade room,” Williams said.
Williams wants to offer an atmosphere that is centered around entertainment in a more modern venue.
“It’s definitely going to be more lively. A fun atmosphere… I think the entertainment is what needs to happen over here (in Mercer Village) so students don’t have to go downtown to have fun,” Williams said.
JAG’s Pizzeria & Pub will have bartop charging stations, outdoor eating areas that are pet and smoker friendly and will also accept Bear Bucks.
The restaurant hopes to attract business from Mercer students by offering drink specials.
“There will definitely be some kind of happy hour specials, we just don’t know what that will be yet,” Williams said.
The new restaurant will also serve all of Sauced’s pizza recipes, but will likely have a more simplified menu.
Williams wants to be able to provide an entertaining spot that customers can watch a wide array of sports events as well as Mercer games.
“It’s going to be pretty much a pizza sports bar,” she said. “I wish I had one of those in college.”
(11/07/19 5:00am)
Football has been the center of Tucker Cannon’s life since he first stepped onto the field to play his first game in first grade.
“If you would have asked me what I wanted to be when I was eight years old, it was to play in the NFL,” Cannon said. “It was always my dream to play in college and then after.”
Cannon came to Mercer after not being heavily recruited in his senior year. Mercer coach Mitch Doolittle contacted him in February of his senior year and gave him the opportunity to walk on.
When he walked on the field for his first practice, it was different than he expected it to be. He was called to come to practice in July because the other receiver got injured. He didn’t know any players or coaches and was in the third slot. However, at football camp, everybody gets a chance to show their talent.
“They threw me in and I am looking around with no idea what I am doing,” Cannon said. “I have come a long way from absolutely having no idea to where I am now, it’s funny to look back on.”
Cannon had his season-best of 144 receiving yards against Presbyterian this year. The biggest play, however, was a touchdown pass against Campbell that landed him the number two spot on Sports Center top ten plays.
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“Every morning (growing up) I would watch sports center and loved watching top ten,” Cannon said. “Seeing it on Sports Center and on TV was beyond surreal.”
During the game, it’s constant plays since Mercer runs a no-huddle. The players remember and get the plays by signs from those on the sidelines.
“I see the play call and I am just like, 'let’s go,'” Cannon said. “Once you are in the route, it’s all just muscle memory ... once you catch it and you are running, it’s the best feeling."
However, practices to get to those plays can be grueling. Practices start at 6:30 a.m. and work out more than just the muscles of the players.
“You just have to be there ready to go,” Cannon said. “Once you are there, you better be there with a 100% effort.”
Toughness Tuesday and Wednesday are the hardest practices of the week. There are 22 periods lasting five minutes each where the teams are split up to do drills to hone in on the plays for the next game.
On top of being a student athlete, maintaining a healthy lifestyle along with a busy social life is not easy. Cannon said that he has to make sure he gets plenty of sleep along with a healthy diet.
The athletics department provides a team dinner on Friday nights. Eating well prevents cramping and makes sure players have plenty of energy to play well. Cannon works towards this all season to perform at his best.
“If you give your 100 percent and know what you are doing, you may not win, and that goes with any sport,” Cannon said. “I am going to run the right route on every assignment with no MAs.”
The Bears will face off in their last home game of the season against Wofford and currently hold a 4-5 record.
(09/27/19 9:00pm)
Mercer University’s athletics department launched an exciting plan to increase their football game attendance numbers for the 2019 season.
Partnering with the Ford Motor Company, Mercer Athletics announced that the university would hold a concert on Black Field before every home game. The series will feature well-known local talents.
The concert series kicked off Sept. 14 with a concert dubbed “478 Day,” representing the Central Georgia area code.
Molly Stevens, who headlined the show, was a former contestant on "The Voice" and a Mercer graduate. Floco Torres, who continually performs at Macon music festival Bragg Jam, performed as well, in addition to Ethan Payne, a former contestant on American Idol’s most recent season.
Associate athletic director Daniel Tate said the athletic department hopes to improve fan attendance with the new initiative.
“We wanted to create a game day experience that would be inclusive to both the community and fans,” Tate said. “We hope that we will attract those who may not have a strong interest in football to come out and enjoy the atmosphere that Mercer has to offer.”
According to a tweet from Mercer Athletics, nearly 12,000 fans attended the game, and Tate said well over 1,000 attended the concert.
“It was really good. I enjoyed the performance. I like what they’re trying to do in order to get people out to the games,” senior Gabby Sims said.
Tate said the athletics department hopes that the concerts will recruit athletes, community members and prospective students to come to Mercer.
“Athletics is a big part of the university. Our win over Duke in 2014 played a big part in recruiting students and athletes alike to Mercer University,” Tate said.
Tate credits the university administration with allowing departments to have free range with creative ideas to come up with unique ways to increase student engagement.
Freshman Hannah Bonney said the new concert series is a great way to get more people out to the games.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Bonney said. “I’m not super into football, but I’ll definitely go to the games now that they added the concerts.”
To further increase fan engagement, the university plans to use the new jumbotron to allow fans to tweet in, ask questions and choose songs. Tate said Mercer football head coach Bobby Lamb even jokingly floated the idea of letting fans call a play.
The concert series will take place on Black Field located behind the endzone before the games. The athletics department will post any changes revolving concert details to the Mercer Athletics social media accounts.