Tina Dickson’s tasty 10

Lifelong Maconite Tina Dickson has owned and operated Ingleside Village Pizza since 1992. She’s the dough-slinger and businesswoman responsible for creating and nurturing one of Macon’s most beloved (and delicious) destinations. Dickson emanates the same vibe as her restaurant – welcoming, eclectic, humorous, and iconic. Here are the 10 things she loves best about Macon.

1) Drinking water: Best thing to come out of that flood in ‘94 was our outstanding drinking water from the tap.

2) My upbringing: It was seriously like Father Knows Best in my house, but Pop didn’t wear suits to work and Mom didn’t have any pearls. But she cooked dinner every single night, including dessert. I lived down the street from my elementary school, and we rode bikes and played in the creek or woods about every day.

3) No traffic: I know some streets get dang crazy sometimes out there, but I am fortunate enough that I live pretty close to work. My insurance guy was amazed that I put an average of 5,000 miles on my car a year. Plus, I have lived in Atlanta, and what we have is an inconvenience at best.

4) Musical heritage: Otis, Little Richard, The [Allman] Brothers, and so many more. It’s nice to have positive famous people from your hometown.

5) Community involvement/foundations and whatnot: The people of Macon are certainly generous with their time and money when it comes to helping out.

6) Proximity: You are about three hours away from beaches, mountains, woods, or the big city.

7) Attractions: We have some great parks, beautiful cemeteries, and I want to spend more time at the river.

8) Exciting things are afoot ‘round here: All the “it’s about time” progress going on downtown, and how ‘bout a big pile of indoor pickleball courts? Brilliant! Good ol’ Ocmulgee National Park Preserve is this close to hitting the big time! I can smell the clay inside that mound just thinking about it.

9) Ingleside Village: It’s the oldest shopping center in Macon and full of some of the best locally owned shops and restaurants in town! You can get anything from toys, paint, cards, lamps, tools, dry cleaning, massages, fresh produce; you can get your hair did and enjoy pizza, sandwiches, jerk chicken, or a bakery snack.

10) July 4 pizza party: That every year, during the week of July 4, a good number of restaurants will close down to celebrate, and Ingleside Village Pizza gets all their business!