Where do Fort Benning families eat in Columbus, and what's the difference between living east, north or across the county line?
By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage · Licensed in Georgia ·
Short answer
Columbus's one unanimous restaurant is Country's Barbecue — pork, beef and ribs over oak and hickory since 1975 — and it happens to have a location on each side of the Benning housing map: the original on Mercury Drive in east Columbus, a North Columbus location at Mainstreet Village, and an Uptown location on Broadway by the RiverWalk. Pick your Country's and you've picked your neighborhood.
East Columbus — Mercury Drive, the original
Country's Barbecue — 3137 Mercury Dr. The 1975 original. Chopped pork, the ribs, Brunswick stew, a homemade pie. Live here: East Columbus — 1960s–90s brick ranches and split-levels between Macon Road and Buena Vista Road, 10–15 minutes to Benning's main gate down I-185 or Victory Drive. The closest neighborhoods to post and the lowest price band in the guide.
North Columbus and Midland — Mainstreet Village
Country's Barbecue — North, Mainstreet Village. Same menu, newer building, the one you'll end up at with kids. Live here: North Columbus & Midland — the 1990s–2020s subdivisions along Veterans Parkway and in Midland, the Muscogee schools families ask for, 25–30 minutes to the gate. The metro's default family address.
Uptown — Broadway and the RiverWalk
Country's Barbecue — 1329 Broadway. The Uptown location, a block from the Chattahoochee RiverWalk and the whitewater course. Uptown is the Saturday side: the river, the restaurants, the college. Drive time: 15 minutes from east Columbus, 20–25 from the north side.
Harris County — across the line
Nothing on the list is in Harris County; it's rural by design. Live here: Harris County — Hamilton, Cataula and Pine Mountain; acreage, Harris County schools (the region's most-requested), 35–45 minutes to the gate, and the trade every senior NCO and officer at Benning eventually considers.
Why this is a housing article
Columbus is a one-restaurant argument and a three-neighborhood decision. East is the commute, North is the schools, Harris County is the land — and there's a Country's within ten minutes of two of the three. Run the payment on the BAH-to-payment tool.
Source: Explore Georgia; Country's Barbecue location list. Confirm hours and locations before you drive.
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Questions people also ask
- Where do Fort Benning families eat in Columbus, and what's the difference between living east, north or across the county line?
- Columbus's one unanimous restaurant is Country's Barbecue — pork, beef and ribs over oak and hickory since 1975 — and it happens to have a location on each side of the Benning housing map: the original on Mercury Drive in east Columbus, a North Columbus location at Mainstreet Village, and an Uptown location on Broadway by the RiverWalk. Pick your Country's and you've picked your neighborhood.
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