New eatery rolls into Macon's downtown

By Delawese Fulton, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
17 February 2005
The Macon Telegraph (KRTBN)
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Feb. 17--Roly Poly sandwiches are as unique as their name. The meats, cheeses, lettuce and tomatoes aren't piled high. Roly Poly sandwiches are rolled. "I like that it has a good menu without anything fried or fattening," said Michael Hopkins, who was having lunch with his family at the new downtown Macon eatery Wednesday. "It's definitely a good alternative." Roly Poly came to Macon after G.O. and Haley Heath decided they wanted to start a unique business together. The Heaths' franchise is one of more than 250 Roly Poly franchises that have opened nationwide after company founders Linda Wolf and Julie Reid started the business in Atlanta in 1996, according to the Roly Poly Web site. The Heaths, both in their mid-20s, grew up in Macon as the children of entrepreneurial parents. Their families were owners and operators of Olympia Skate Center and Heath Ice & Coal Co. While in college at the University of Georgia, G.O. Heath discovered Roly Poly and began to frequent one of the eateries in Athens. He and his wife studied the sandwich shop concept and decided it was just the thing for them. The Heaths opened their Roly Poly Sandwiches shop last month at 624 New St. in Macon. Located a short walk from The Medical Center of Central Georgia and physicians' offices, Macon's Roly Poly is mostly frequented by medical employees and people who live and work downtown. The Roly Poly menu offers a variety of low-carbohydrate, low-fat and mainstream rolled sandwiches, including vegetables and cheese, steak and roast beef, ham, seafood and turkey combinations. The eatery features upstairs and downstairs seating, and art work lines its blue and yellow walls. "(I like) its variety," said Patricia Plummer, an administrator for Radiology Associates of Macon, who dined on a Texas tuna melt at lunch Wednesday. Klein Hopkins, 4, who was having lunch with her parents, Kristy and Michael Hopkins, said she likes the turkey and cheese sandwich. She also likes the shop itself. "I like it because they have an upstairs," Klein said. Haley Heath said things are going well so far. "It's great," she said. "Everybody's been really supportive, bearing with us as we're learning." Roly Poly is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.