Dear Guy Fieri: Please bring your fork to Macon

Dear Guy:

I hope you won’t mind if I call you by your first name.

I’m worried my spell check might turn Mr. Fieri into a Ferrari. Everyone knows you drive a red 1968 Camaro convertible. 

I’m sure you’ve never heard this from anyone else, but I’m a huge fan of your show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.’’ Or “Triple D,” as you like to call it.  

I have been a Food Network fanboy since the days of Emeril Lagasse. I admire creative people. I love to grill. Bobby Flay is one of my heroes. 

I used to never miss Giada De Laurentiis. She was heavy on the Calabrian chili paste and easy on the eyes. I confess. I can’t remember any of her recipes.

I’ll cut to the cheddar. This is an open invitation to visit Macon. 

I have a friend, Jake Fincher, who has been trying to get your attention for the past four months. He has been posting videos on TikTok. He croons. He dances. He begs. 

Fincher’s Barbecue is a fourth-generation family restaurant at 3947 Houston Avenue in Macon. Jake’s grandfather, Doug “Dude” Fincher, opened it in 1935. 

It is among the most iconic restaurants in Macon, along with Nu-Way Weiners and H&H.  It’s officially a nonagenarian this year and the second-oldest BBQ in Georgia. 

Last week, Jake posted his 120th TikTok request for you to shoot an episode at Fincher’s. He has found more ways to pitch pork than Bubba Gump listed ways to serve shrimp.

Jake now has more than 16,000 followers on TikTok from as far away as Alaska, Colorado and Arizona. One of his followers is Alton Brown, the Iron Chef.

Jake has labored long and hard to get an RSVP. One day, the camera was rolling as Johnny Cash began singing “Folsom Prison Blues” on Pandora. Jake started moving his hips and lips right there in the kitchen. The video got more than 200,000 views and 50,000 likes. (His kids might ask for a cease-and-desist on his dancing.)

Episodes of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” are shown on the flat screen at Fincher’s every day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is a life-size Guy Fieri cutout in a corner of the restaurant. (Jake’s mom, Alice, bought it on Amazon.)

He’s trying to woo you. Read your email. Check your spam folder. Maybe your ham folder, too.  

Others have been giving Fincher’s some love. It was featured on last week’s episode of “Tulsa King” on Paramount (at the 36:11 mark of Season 3, Episode 6) starring Sylvester Stallone. 

The restaurant was closed for four days while a film crew moved the sign next to the road on top of the building and redecorated the interior walls. 

Jake had to sign a non-disclosure agreement not to breathe a word to anybody. Do you know how hard it is for Jake to keep a secret? But he did. I’m sure he will do the same for you.

 Fincher’s will also be included on a “Behind the Scenes” episode of “True South” on ESPN and the SEC Network on November 20. Host John T. Edge, who grew up in nearby Jones County, said a hamburger theme runs through the episode, so Fincher’s was the “perfect place  to go.’’

Yes, they sell burgers at Fincher’s. And hot dogs, chicken salad and turkey and ham sandwiches. But not quinoa bowls.

The barbecue is out of this world. Literally. 

Hometown astronaut Sonny Carter carried freeze-dried containers of Fincher’s barbecue on the Space Shuttle Discovery on November 22, 1989. That was 36 years ago this month.

 Discovery traveled some 1.8 million nautical miles on its five-day trip. How’s that for a DoorDash delivery? Fincher’s got some mileage out of it. The restaurant sold T-shirts that said: “First in Space, Best in Taste.’’ 

Of the 571 shows you have featured over the past 18 years, you have visited 40 restaurants in Georgia. Of those, 26 were from Atlanta and the suburbs of Decatur, Tucker, Marietta, Smyrna and Avondale Estates. The other 14 were along the coast – Savannah, Pooler, Tybee Island, St. Simons Island and Brunswick. 

So, you have filmed in only five of the state’s 159 counties. C’mon, Guy. You’ve got to touch some new grass. Your GPS either needs diversity training or a geography lesson.

I asked Jake if Fincher’s checked any of the boxes as a diner, drive-in or dive. 

Admittedly, it’s not a traditional diner. And the drive-in hasn’t been fully functional since Macon’s last carhop, Sam Crowel, died seven years ago.

But dive? Well, yeah. The neighborhood is in transition. The building will be 75 next year. The decor is retro. 

“It half-checks the first two boxes but totally checks the box for Dive,’’ Jake said, laughing.

I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter. You can bet your Boston butt that Jake is going to keep his videos streaming and screaming. He is keeping the faith. He will stay patient … much the same way the pitmaster smokes barbecue in the South. Low and slow.

He promises to roll out the welcome mat and save you a seat. Although he will be disappointed if you don’t come, he believes there is an upside.

By reaching out to you, he is telling a story that needs to be told.

Ed Grisamore was once interviewed about Fincher’s Barbecue on a show called “Blue Ribbon” on the former Turner South cable network in 2004.