This fall, most of the changes on the Lake Oconee side of Eatonton are happening at one intersection. A Publix is being finished on the east side of Lake Oconee Parkway. On the west side, Harmony Crossing keeps adding restaurants and shops. Between them, the Georgia Department of Transportation has put up a traffic signal that wasn't there last summer.
Each of these could be read as a separate update. Taken together, they show the corner where Harmony Road meets Highway 44 becoming eastern Putnam County's everyday center, with the highway around it being rebuilt for that role over the next several years.
A Grocery Anchor That Took Decades
The Publix is the first piece of Lake Country Village, a mixed-use development by Shaifer Partners that covers nearly 140 acres across Highway 44 from Harmony Crossing. At the groundbreaking ceremony on June 26, 2025, company president Adam Shaifer said the project "has been in the making for 25 years." Lake Oconee News reported that the company started buying the land in 1997.
Publix is the anchor of the commercial space. Shaifer Partners has also said parts of the site are planned for a hotel and conference center, more retail, and single-family and multifamily homes. Fortis Siteworks of Eatonton did the site development, and the Publix was described as the start of the project's first phase.
The store is close to opening. Publix held a walk-in hiring event for it on Sept. 11 and 12, and Lake Oconee News reported on Sept. 17 that sources expect a mid-November opening. Publix had not announced a grand-opening date when that story ran, so for now mid-November is an estimate.
The Businesses Arrived First
The newer businesses near this corner didn't wait for the grocery store, and at least one owner didn't know it was coming. Bryan and Amy Pulliam opened Tee Time 44 with a Sept. 10 ribbon-cutting hosted by the Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce. Bryan Pulliam told Lake Oconee News the Lake Oconee location was a deliberate choice, but the Publix was not part of the plan:
"I don't think we could have picked a better location than the lake. But we had no idea about Publix coming when we bought here, so that was just pure, dumb luck."
The other openings follow the same pattern. Each one landed within a short drive of the same intersection before the anchor store opened.
| Business | What it is | Where | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pho & More | Family-owned Vietnamese restaurant | 113 Harmony Crossing | March 2026 |
| The Crunchy Shop | Herbal remedies, natural goods, make-your-own candles and perfumes | 921 Harmony Road, Suites 5 and 6 | April 18, 2026 |
| Brilliance by Design | Home goods and gift boutique from builder and designer Tonya Miller | 1023 Lake Oconee Parkway | Aug. 10, 2026 |
| Tee Time 44 | Indoor golf simulators with a full restaurant and bar | 1027 Ga. 44 | Sept. 10, 2026 |
| Harmony Holistic | Wellness and detox-support business | 921 Harmony Road | Ribbon-cutting Sept. 23, 2026 |
Pho & More is owned by Marino and Summer Graf, and John Nguyen helped set up the restaurant, according to a July story in the Eatonton Messenger. It joins a dining lineup at The Village at Harmony Crossing that includes Inaho Sushi & Steakhouse, El Sitio, Iron Fork Café, Mellow Mushroom and Two Rivers Nutrition.
Two of the newcomers share an address. The Crunchy Shop, owned by Claudia Malcolm, opened at 921 Harmony Road in April. Kathi and Daryl Chandler's Harmony Holistic cut its ribbon at the same address in late September. Down the parkway, InMotion Wellness Studio, run by Pablo and Dana Santamaria, offers assisted stretching at 1124 Lake Oconee Parkway.
Tee Time 44 is located directly across the road from Goodwill. Lake Oconee Life reports that it runs Full Swing golf simulators. It has five practice and entertainment bays, and a separate coaching bay with cameras that analyze swing, weight transfer and ground force. Cole Bennett, the Pulliams' son-in-law, directs golf operations and teaches lessons with Mark Gunthorpe and Lee Miller. Brett and Julie Riccardi run the kitchen and bar. Families should know the simulators also run soccer, baseball, basketball and arcade-style games, and child-sized clubs are on hand.
The Road Is Being Rebuilt Around the Corner
The new signal is the clearest sign that GDOT sees this as a busy intersection now. It sits at Lake Oconee Parkway where the Publix entrance on the east side meets the Harmony Crossing plaza on the west side. A sign near Ace Hardware said it would go live in mid-September. GDOT then moved the date to Sept. 22 so crews could put down permanent striping, according to District 2 communications officer Will Volk.
GDOT said a traffic study showed SR 44 and the side roads meet the volume thresholds for a signal. Without one, drivers coming out of Harmony Crossing and the new shopping center would have faced long delays. The signal is a temporary fix. A Lake Oconee News caption says it will be replaced by a roundabout when the widening project is finished.
The widening is being done in phases, and the latest published schedule looks like this:
- Phase 1 was in its early stages in August, with utilities being moved and the contractor grading land. As of an Aug. 5 update, the target completion date was November 2028.
- Phase 2 had just started in August, with clearing west of SR 44 for erosion control and utility relocation. Its target completion date is August 2030.
- Phase 3 will widen SR 44 between Harmony Road and Phoenix Road and Carey Station Road. GDOT moved the contractor bid date from December 2026 to May 2027 to allow more time for right-of-way acquisition, and construction is scheduled to start in 2027.
Phase 3 begins right at Harmony Road, which means the new shopping corner sits where one finished stretch of road will meet the next one under construction. Until 2030, trips to Harmony Crossing, Tee Time 44 or the new Publix will likely pass through some kind of work zone, and the traffic pattern may change more than once along the way. The Eatonton Messenger's August coverage and Lake Oconee News are the places to watch for updates on the schedule.
Saturdays at the Corner This Fall
There's already a weekly reason to stop at Harmony Crossing. The Lake Oconee Farmers Market has moved to a fall season that runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sept. 19 through Dec. 5, at Harmony Park, 119 Harmony Crossing. It's set up by the fountain, playground and pavilion. Vendors bring produce, baked goods, organic popsicles, jams, farm-raised meat and eggs, crafts and art.
One vendor to look for is Oconee Bagel Co. It started at the market in May 2026 with hand-rolled bagels that are boiled before baking, and Lake Oconee Life recommends the everything bagel first. JuBeeli Honey Company also lists the market on its events calendar.
The rest of October includes several dates on both sides of Eatonton:
- Oct. 16, 5 to 9 p.m.: Harmony Crossing's Octoberfest at The Village at Harmony Crossing, 105 Harmony Crossing, with food trucks, music, vendors, shopping and family activities.
- Through Oct. 31: Eatonton Main Street's Scarecrow Contest & Showcase, with displays all over downtown and public voting.
- Oct. 23, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The City Council's Lunch Break Day Party at City Center Stage, 124A N. Jefferson Ave., with live music and food trucks.
- Oct. 31, 5 to 8 p.m.: Candy Mania trick-or-treating in downtown Eatonton.
Tee Time 44 also fits a rainy Saturday. It's open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 11 p.m. on Sundays, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
If the mid-November estimate holds, the Publix will open while the farmers market still has a few Saturdays left. That would put a grocery store, a weekly market, Harmony Crossing's restaurants and a new traffic signal all at one intersection.
If you live near the lake and are wondering how Lake Country Village and the Highway 44 widening might affect your own property or plans, The Hitchcock Team is glad to talk it through with you. We follow this corridor closely, and you can reach us anytime through Kyle.
