Georgia-based Surcheros Tex-Mex restaurants celebrated the grand opening of its newest location Monday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce.
The event also marked the opening of a third Surcheros restaurant for owner-operator Kyle Cullars, with another coming soon. The new Putnam County restaurant is located at 109 Thunder Pointe Dr, Eatonton, GA 31024.
“We’ve also got one in Milledgeville and in Warner Robins," Cullars said. "And we’re opening a fourth in Perry in about a month.”
For Cullars, the expansion into Putnam County is both a business decision and a personal homecoming. Having grown up near Lake Sinclair, he said the move felt like a natural fit.
“I’m very familiar with this community, and I love Lake Oconee,” he said. “We found this area to be just a great community, very good people with a lot of opportunity, so we wanted to be part of the development here.”
The new restaurant comes after more than a year of planning and coordination, Cullars said. He explained that the opportunity quickly took shape after local developer Brandon Burgess approached him last year with a potential site as part of a larger commercial project.
“Brandon said he was buying a 14-acre piece of property and wanted to know if we had any interest in being part of it,” Cullars said. “We had already looked at several parcels in the area, so when this came up, we jumped at the opportunity.”
Unlike many in the restaurant industry, Cullars did not begin his career in food service. He spent more than 25 years working within the University System of Georgia, including time at Georgia Tech and Georgia College, before transitioning into real estate and entrepreneurship.
“I was not a restaurateur before this,” he said. “I retired from the university system and started selling real estate with my sister, and then we decided to do this on the side, although it’s turned into a full-time job.”
Cullars credits his introduction to Surcheros to his son, who encountered the brand while attending college in Tifton.
“He told us, ‘You’ve got to check out this place; the food is so fresh and so delicious,’” Cullars recalled. “So, my wife and I went and tried it, and we fell in love with it immediately.”
That initial visit led to a lengthy phone conversation with Surcheros founder Luke Christian. Cullars said it 'sealed the deal' for him.
“Our values aligned,” he said. “They’re a good, family-owned, Christian-based company, and that was important to us.”
In addition to operating the restaurants, Cullars said he remains active in real estate alongside his sister, Kimmy Clements, who has worked in the field for more than three decades.
As the doors opened on the newest Surcheros, Cullars emphasized the business relationships that helped make the project possible.
“I’ve got to give a huge shout-out to Exchange Bank,” he said. “They’ve been great financing partners and have supported our family for years.”
With another location already on the horizon, Cullars said the goal remains simple: continue growing while staying rooted in the communities they serve.
“We’re just excited to be here,” he said. “This area is a special place, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
