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From the Pig’n Whistle to MLK’s funeral, here’s a brief history of the iconic Krispy Kreme on Ponce
ATLANTA — It has been in place for more than 60 years and, this week, an Atlanta institution went up in flames.
Early Wednesday morning, the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop set on fire and is now considered to be a total loss.
Former Macon restaurant Pig 'n Whistle getting documentary
MACON, Ga. - A former Macon restaurant is getting the big screen treatment highlighting how it brought music and food together.
The Pig 'N Whistle documentary is currently being taped at the 1842 Inn Hotel.
Maconites like Gene Dunwoody and former Alman Brothers manager Willie Perkins sat down with current Pig 'N Whistle owner Mark Hooten to talk about the establishment's history, which included Otis Redding and Little Richard as employees.
For Mark and film partner Stanley Stewart, history is key in making this film.
"I started interviewing with different people throughout the years about some of the historical figures that worked there," Stewart said. "It's a burning impression in my mind that something needed to be done to resurrect the Pig 'N Whistle back for Macon. And for me personally, being a history buff, to be connected to something that is as historical as the Pig 'N Whistle in today's time was a big plus for me and my company."
Little Richard, Otis, and even Tennessee Williams worked there
Feb 14, 2018
Documentary film makers are gathering remembrances of barbecue drive in Pig'n Whistle where music greats worked and dined on Macon's Georgia Ave. from the 1920s to the 1970s.
Beau Cabell -The Telegraph
Documentary film makers are gathering remembrances of barbecue drive in Pig'n Whistle where music greats worked and dined on Macon's Georgia Ave. from the 1920s to the 1970s. Beau Cabell - The Telegraph
Legendary Macon restaurant will be reborn in upcoming documentary
BY STANLEY DUNLAP
February 15, 2018 06:46 PM
Updated February 21, 2018 11:26 AM
Many folks across Middle Georgia remember the Pig’n Whistle as a spot for great barbecue and a popular place to hang out. But the Macon restaurant had its own connections to music history.
Longtime residents have shared memories of “the Pig” for a documentary about the drive-in restaurant, which opened in Macon in 1928 and closed in 1978 just before Christmas.
Among those who once worked the curb there were “Little Richard” Penniman, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll,” and soul legend Otis Redding. It was a place that Capricorn Records executives and members of the Allman Brothers Band frequented. Also, playwright Tennessee Williams wrote a part of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” there.
Mark Hooten, whose father was a former operator of the restaurant, says the Pig made its mark on blues and rock ’n’ roll.
Hooten is helping put together the documentary, which will include interviews with Mayor Robert Reichert, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis and others. The documentary will also venture outside of Macon in order to tell the restaurant’s story.
“The Pig’n Whistle is the first landmark associated with the creation of rock ’n’ roll,” Hooten said.
“The first thing, you had Little Richard there in late ’40s and ’50s, (then) you had Otis Redding there. Those guys were instrumental in what became rock ‘n’ roll, soul music and what became R&B.,” Hooten said. They were already there practicing on the curb ... practicing their vocals.”
Little Richard’s cousin, Stanley Stewart, who is helping produce the documentary, said the number of people with ties to the restaurant who went on to fame — or who were already well-known — is remarkable.
‘Macon’s newest novelty’
Pig’n Whistle had locations throughout Georgia and Florida, including Augusta, Atlanta, Savannah and Jacksonville.
On June 28, 1928, there was a full-page advertisement in The Macon Telegraph celebrating the restaurant’s grand opening on Forsyth Road. Other locations included Riverside Drive and the site that many folks remember best: the corner of Georgia Avenue and Monroe Street.
When it opened 90 years ago, Pig’n Whistle was proclaimed “Macon’s Newest Novelty.” A barbecue sandwich with its famous barbecue sauce and a soft drink cost a mere 25 cents.
But for some people, the food wasn’t the only attraction. It was the people who came to hang out, including members of high school fraternities and sororities, many of them boys and girls from Lanier and Miller high schools, who couldn’t attend class together.
Media personality Del Ward’s experiences at the Pig date to the 1940s and ’50s when she, along with friends, would join other high school and college students.
“You would get in a car, ask for a date or just ride around,” she said. “You would see whose cars were there and who wasn’t, who was dating somebody and who wasn’t.”
Tunes from singers Rosemary Clooney and Patti Page were among those echoing from the car radios at the restaurant, Ward recalled.
“There was usually a radio going or the windows were down and people were having their conversations from one car to another.”
Hooten said folks could smell the “combination of flavors” of the restaurant’s specialty when they reached the neighborhood.
“We used to drive by there and people used to tell us they got hungry by just rolling down the window,” he said. “There was something magical about the aroma.”
About 16 years after the Macon location shut down — replaced by a Church’s Chicken — the Hooten brothers announced plans to try to reopen the curbside eatery after a large number of people came out for a reunion.
There’s now a Pig’n Whistle website that chronicles the history, has photos and is a place to order catering or some barbecue sauce.
Documentary filmmakers John Haskell and Mark Hooten, center, mike up Macon television personality Del Ward on Wednesday at the 1842 Inn, where longtime Maconites were interviewed about their recollections of the Pig’n Whistle. The drive-in barbecue restaurant on U.S. 41 closed in the 1970s, but there are still plenty of old-timers with memories of the place and particularly some of the notables who worked there, such as Little Richard and Otis Redding.
Beau Cabell bcabell@macon.com
From 1928 to News of Today
Below are various newspaper articles featuring the Pig'n Whistle in Macon Georgia. The dates for these articles range from June 28th 1928 through January 1979. They are provided for your enjoyment.
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About This Site
This website was developed as a forum for you to share your memories and pictures of the times you spent at the Pig'n Whistle.
We would love to hear from you and to see any pictures you would like to share. If they meet our approval we will gladly add them to our "Your Memories and Photographs" section of the website to share for all to enjoy.
