Call him Mr. McCord

Food Pro: John McCord
by Alexander Bender

John McCord’s office reminds me of a big tree house. I’m not sure if it’s the way it sits back behind Satterfield’s, perched up in the air with a view of downtown out the window, or if it’s the pig figurines and other knick-knacks covering the walls. Regardless, after talking to John for a few minutes, it’s as obvious that only a few of his incredible stories are fit for all audiences as it is that he has a lot more of those little piggy statues.

Raised in Macon, after a stint in a Barnesville military school, John spent his teenage years working at an underground club called “The Cave” off of Mulberry Street. It was literally underground. The way John tells it, he learned a lot during his time there—not the easy way and not the hard way, but the fun way. See, on Friday afternoons it was John’s responsibility to head to the Macon airport and pick up a few things for the club. Like, lobsters and women. The women were from Miami and danced at The Cave, which John says was upscale… but with scantily-clad dancers.

After working countless bars, including The Cottage, Grey Goose and a brief stint at The Rookery when it was still a new bar, John graduated from Mercer with a degree in history. John didn’t feel much like settling down and managed the operations of Porky’s, a BBQ restaurant off Gray Highway. The business aspect of the restaurant was more than he cared for at the time, and partying is always easier, so John left not too long after. As a road manager for Chuck Leavell, John lost $20,000 of the band’s money, only to find it at the last minute in a guitar case where he had hidden it earlier. He dabbled in other ventures for several years, but his propensity for bar-b-que and partying kept bringing him back.

The urge still flowing in his veins as it was, John and a friend came across a place on New Street, formerly called The Beaver Hut. They decided to combine their knack for a good time and good BBQ—along with a strong business sense—to create a restaurant that would be fun to run and fun for the customers. The result, of course, was Satterfield’s (John’s middle name), which celebrates its 25^th anniversary on October 29^th.

Between the restaurant and the catering, John hasn’t slowed down a bit either. As he puts it: “I’ve been grinning ever since, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon”. In fact, he’s just packed more in. Consider his partnership with Skipper, owner of Jim Shaw’s. It’s a concept as brilliant as it is simple: joining the menus from two of Macon’s most popular restaurants and putting it on the waters of Lake Tobesofkee. You know it as The Fish n’ Pig. Plus, they put together the Fish n’ Pig Boat Crawl, which is now in its second year. (That explains the long train of decorated boats filled with happy, shiny people, all floating out on Tobesofkee to the sounds of live music on the deck of the Fish n’ Pig.)

Of course, this is a labor of love. John’s boat, a 1952 Chris-Craft Racing Runabout that he restored, is a regular fixture on the lake. When he’s not between the lake and his business, John settles in at home, “Pig Manor”. It’s a space he shares with over 7,000 different pig figures, a collection amassed over the years. Like John’s office, I can only begin to tell a fraction of the stories that he has, but one thing is certain, if being around people and showing them a good time is John’s fuel, he has a full tank and isn’t slowing down anytime soon.