At 5 a.m., the Dunkin' at 1818 Houston Lake Road has its lights on. At 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday, the circular bar at El Metate Cantina Mexicana, about a tenth of a mile up the road, is still serving. Between those two hours sits a brunch counter, a fast-casual Tex-Mex line, a pizzeria and a barbershop, all built within roughly the last 13 months on the stretch of South Houston Lake Road just south of Kathleen, where it meets Perry Parkway.
Most of these businesses are in Perry by address. Their timing fits together closely, though, and the newest piece has a Kathleen mailing address and Kathleen owners. Taken together, they have turned the corner into the closest place to Kathleen where one short drive covers breakfast, lunch, dinner and now the groceries for a holiday table.
How the Corner Filled In
The Telegraph's drone-view roundup in May described "an explosion of growth along the Perry Parkway near its intersection with South Houston Lake Road," including new restaurants, retail and housing. The core of it is the two-center Perry Parkway Project at 1818 Houston Lake Road, from developer the Dhan Group. Directly up Houston Lake Road from the Perry Parkway intersection is The Encore at the Perry Parkway shopping center, at 1904 Houston Lake Road.
Holy Pie! Pizzeria came first, opening October 1, 2025, in Suite B1300 at 1818. Meridian Brunch & Bar followed on March 7, 2026, in Suite A300. El Metate Cantina Mexicana opened at The Encore in late May. Surcheros Fresh Mex kicked off its grand opening on June 23. The Upper Tier Barbershop, a Warner Robins shop, opened its second location in Suite 110 at 1904 over the summer.
That's five openings in about nine months, and three of the four restaurants serve food with Mexican roots.
The Day, Hour by Hour
Laid out by posted hours, the corner opens at 5 a.m. and serves until 10:30 p.m. on weekends, and each stop is built for a different kind of visit.
| Business | Address | Posted hours | What it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkin' | 1818 Houston Lake Road | 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily | Coffee before an early commute |
| Meridian Brunch & Bar | 1818 Houston Lake Road, Suite A300 | Tue to Sat, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m., as reported in March | Sit-down brunch, smaller dinner menu |
| Surcheros Fresh Mex | 1818 Houston Lake Road, Suite B900 | Mon to Sat, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Sunday | Quick assembly-line Tex-Mex |
| Holy Pie! Pizzeria | 1818 Houston Lake Road, Suite B1300 | Mon to Sat, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sun, noon to 9 p.m. | Pizza, calzones, wings, family takeout |
| El Metate Cantina Mexicana | 1904 Houston Lake Road, Suites 106 and 107 | Mon to Thu, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri and Sat, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sun, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. | Full-service dinner and the full bar |
| The Upper Tier Barbershop | 1904 Houston Lake Road, Suite 110 | Mon to Sat, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Fades, hot-towel shaves, beard work |
Sunday is where the schedule matters most. Meridian's reported schedule runs Tuesday through Saturday, and Surcheros closes on Sunday, so the Sunday options here are Dunkin', Holy Pie from noon, and El Metate from 11 a.m. Meridian also closes for about three hours in the middle of the afternoon before its evening menu starts, so a late lunch there needs to be finished by 2 p.m.
Three Mexican Kitchens, Three Different Jobs
On paper, the corner has three restaurants with Mexican roots within a few hundred feet of each other. The owners planned around that. When The Telegraph asked whether the area had too many, Yuliana and Fernando Barradas of El Metate described how the three split the work.
"I don't see it like competition," Fernando Barradas told The Telegraph. "I see it like everybody have an opportunity to do a business and there's many, many people for all the restaurants."
Each restaurant was designed for a different occasion. Surcheros is the fast-casual stop where you order down the line. Meridian, as The Telegraph reported, grew out of co-owner Diego Gonzalez's search for the kind of brunch place with fresh juices he knew from Guadalajara and Los Cabos. Gonzalez worked as an architect in Mexico, and he owns the restaurant with his wife, Diana Aguilar, her sister, Gissele Aguilar, and his best friend, Jesus Antonio. The menu runs from chilaquiles in salsa roja or verde to a vegetable croque on brioche with béchamel, and in March most dishes were under $15. The chilaquiles were $12.99 and the brioche French toast was $11.99.
El Metate is the corner's dinner-out choice, and the Barradas family made that distinction on purpose. It's their fourth restaurant, after Tifton, Sylvester and the El Metate at 2624 Watson Blvd. in Warner Robins, and they built the Perry location to feel different from their others.
"If anybody wants to be loud and colorful and happy, you go to the Warner Robins location," Yuliana Barradas told The Telegraph. "But if you want something more luxurious, a little more top-notch, a little more anniversary situation or something more special, you come to the Perry location."
The room seats 186 and is built around a large circular bar, which Fernando had long wanted. The space had never had a tenant, so the couple could build it from scratch. One wall carries a mural of Yuliana's late grandparents and a city scene from Guadalajara, painted by Cordele artist Nancy Eubank. The menu leans further into steaks than their other locations, with a 20-ounce bone-in rib-eye and an Angus strip loin. It also has the location's namesake "Perry Burrito," made with tilapia and shrimp and topped with chipotle sauce. The family told The Telegraph they plan to move to Kathleen for a more central base between their restaurants.
Holy Pie fills the pizza slot. Its menu covers pizza, wings, calzones, stromboli, wraps, pastas and desserts, and it is owned by Jake and Penny Watson's PB&J Restaurant Group. In an October 15, 2026, inspection reported by 41NBC, the Perry location scored a perfect 100.
The Newest Piece Has a Kathleen Mailing Address
The restaurant cluster sits at Perry addresses. The newest addition is farther up Houston Lake Road, in the Houston Lake Shopping Center at 2380 Houston Lake Road. According to the Houston Home Journal, that center has a Kathleen mailing address but sits inside Perry city limits.
Flying B Meat Company, in Suite 700, is the corner's first butcher counter. It is run by Landon and Jennifer Bliss, who live in Kathleen. The market sells prime meats, fresh seafood and local produce, along with the couple's own private-label dressings, sauces and salsa. The business announced on Facebook that it would open November 11, and its Facebook page had more than 5,200 followers before opening day. That page is the place to check for hours and holiday orders.
The timing matters. Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, so a market announced to open November 11 has about two weeks of lead time before the biggest home-cooking day on the calendar. The restaurants around Perry Parkway cover breakfast, lunch and dinner out. Flying B is the first business in the area built for meals cooked at home, from a holiday roast to a plain Tuesday-night seafood dinner.
What Fills In Next
The rest of Perry Parkway is still filling in, and the biggest addition will reshape errands for anyone already driving down Houston Lake Road.
- Kroger Marketplace, 316 Perry Parkway. This $36 million store is targeted to open in spring 2027. Plans include a Murray's Cheese Shop, a sushi bar, a drive-thru pharmacy, a Kroger Fuel Center, online ordering with pickup, and an attached 10,800-square-foot shopping strip. It is expected to replace the Kroger at 1367 Sam Nunn Blvd., which stays open during construction.
- Jack in the Box, 262 Perry Parkway. The Houston Home Journal reported on November 3 that it was expected to open this month. It will be the chain's third Georgia location, after Milledgeville and Hinesville.
- HOTWORX, 276 Perry Parkway. This 24-hour infrared fitness studio was being built out in a new shopping center as of early November.
The Telegraph also reported a third shopping plaza under construction at The Encore, plus Five Star Credit Union, Valvoline and two more shopping centers going up along Perry Parkway. Once the Kroger Marketplace opens, the stretch from the Flying B counter at 2380 Houston Lake Road down to Perry Parkway will handle a full grocery run, a butcher stop, coffee and dinner in one short drive.
Growth along Houston Lake Road also tends to show up in local home values, and that's part of what William Walton-Dean follows for clients in Kathleen and across Houston County. If you're curious how new businesses like these show up in home values near you, schedule a consultation and we'll go through the numbers together.
