Pike Road Got Two New Corners This Year, and They're Not Serving the Same Town
August 13, 2026
August 13, 2026
On Monday morning, February 2, drivers pulling into the shopping center at Pike Road and Vaughn found a drive-thru line that hadn't existed the week before. It wasn't a chain. It was A'Kays Coffee, opened by two guys who had never run a business before and decided this corner was worth the risk.
Across town on Highway 80, near the I-85 interchange, a different kind of buildout was underway: a Barberitos with patio seating, sliding in next to a stir-fry counter and a smoked-meat sandwich shop most of Pike Road hadn't tried yet. Same town. Same year. Two new commercial corners taking shape at once. But they are not telling the same story about Pike Road, and knowing the difference changes where you'll actually end up running errands this fall.
Merry Corners sits directly across Vaughn Road from the Publix shopping center that's anchored this part of town for years. It's an infill project, filling in the retail gap next to something residents already know. Heritage Plaza is the opposite kind of growth: a highway-facing strip at Exit 16, built to catch traffic off I-85 and feed the subdivisions that have gone up around it in the last few years.
That distinction matters more than the fact that both are "new." One corner is designed for people who already have a routine and want it to include better options. The other is designed for rooftops that don't have a walkable center yet and need one built from scratch, right off the interstate.
"We want them to step into a place that feels different, where there is a presence of God or the community, just a sense of peace."
That's Marcus Landrum, co-owner of A'Kays, describing why he and business partner Ryan O'Meara built in a kids' toy corner and a kitchen table set aside for small meetings and Bible studies. Neither man had owned a business before. They watched the area take shape starting in 2024 and called the developer directly to ask for a spot.
The Trotman Company broke ground on Merry Corners back in 2023. The center's architecture was deliberately designed to echo the Shops at Pike Road across the street, another Trotman project anchored by the same Publix. McDonald's and a Baptist Health facility opened first on the outer parcels. Now the 41,000-square-foot main center is filling in behind them, and the tenant list reads less like a national rollout and more like a roster of people who already had a stake in this town.
A'Kays was first through the door in February. Firehouse Subs followed in April, with a grand opening on April 13 that doubled as a live broadcast of Mayor Gordon Stone's "Mondays with the Mayor" radio program, complete with the Pike Road Volunteer Fire Department parked out front with a ladder truck. The Firehouse location is co-owned by Rayleen and Paul Luis, who've lived in Pike Road since 2021. Rayleen spent a decade teaching upper-level English, first at Macon East Academy and then at Pike Road High School, before opening the restaurant. Paul is a Major in the Alabama Army National Guard with two deployments behind him. As Rayleen put it when the shop opened:
"We chose Firehouse Subs for its community-first model and close ties to first responders, and we plan to support the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation."
She's also been hiring close to home. "We have already had several Pike Road Patriots join the team," she said, referring to the high school where she used to teach.
The rest of the lineup, announced by Town Councilwoman Mim Whatley in January, fills out the corner:
One space in the center was still unleased as of the January announcement, with the developer in talks over who fills it next.
Drive the other direction and the story changes shape. Heritage Plaza sits at 12718 US Highway 80 East, right off the only exit that serves Highway 80 from I-85, Exit 16 in the Waugh/Pike Road area. That single exit is the access point for more than 550 single-family homes across Stone Park, Eastwood Villas, and Knollwood, plus over 375 apartment units at The Grove at Stone Park. None of those rooftops existed with a nearby commercial center a few years ago.
Barberitos is opening its third River Region location here, with outdoor patio seating, joining a lineup that already includes Teriyaki Madness, Kado Stir Fry, Bite House, and Omni Provisions. There's a small quirk worth knowing if you live nearby: Teriyaki Madness, despite sharing a building with the new Barberitos, carries an official Montgomery mailing address, while Barberitos' address reads Pike Road. Same building, two municipalities on paper, one more reminder that Pike Road's boundaries run through some unexpected places.
| Merry Corners | Heritage Plaza | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Pike Road & Vaughn Road, across from Publix | 12718 US Hwy 80 E, at I-85 Exit 16 |
| Feel | Walkable infill next to an established center | Highway-facing strip serving new subdivisions |
| Who's behind it | Locally owned coffee shop and sub shop, plus national brands | Regional chain expansion (third River Region Barberitos) |
| Already open | A'Kays Coffee, Firehouse Subs, McDonald's, Baptist Health | Teriyaki Madness, Kado Stir Fry, Bite House, Omni Provisions |
For years, a quick coffee run or a fast lunch in Pike Road often meant a drive out toward Eastchase or into Montgomery proper. That's the part that's genuinely shifting. Merry Corners is also adding an outdoor gathering space between its two buildings, with plans for live music on select weekends, something the corner never had before. It's a small addition, but it's the difference between a shopping center and a place people might actually linger.
There's a community dividend attached to all of this too. The Trotman Company has said the completed development is expected to create around 150 full-time and part-time jobs, and the added retail is projected to generate sales tax revenue that benefits Pike Road Schools directly. That's not an abstract growth statistic. It's the kind of detail that shows up as a job for a Pike Road Patriot behind a sandwich counter or a line item the school district can actually use.
Neither corner is finished. Merry Corners still has that one open space developers are negotiating over, and River Bank & Trust is expected to break ground on its outparcel there sometime in 2026. Heritage Plaza continues to add tenants along the Highway 80 corridor as the subdivisions behind it keep growing. Worth checking back on both later this year, because the tenant list on either corner is unlikely to look the same by December as it does today.
What's clear already is that Pike Road isn't building one new commercial center. It's building two different kinds, in two different parts of town, for two different versions of daily life here. If you live near Vaughn, your new options this year probably taste like coffee and a sub sandwich from someone who already knew your name. If you live out toward the interstate, they probably taste like a taco from a patio table near a highway exit. Both are real. Neither is the whole picture.
If you're curious about what else is changing across Pike Road or the wider River Region, or you just want to talk through what a corner like this means for a neighborhood you're watching, Elevar is always glad to compare notes. Let's Start a Conversation.
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