Spring is here!
And so is the Buckhead Farmers Market.
The beloved market (officially known as the Peachtree Road Farmers Market) is back in full swing at The Cathedral Of St. Philip this Saturday April 7th, bringing with it the best locally-sourced products created right in Georgia’s backyard (don’t let the rain stop you, it moves inside during bad weather).
Crowds are expected — so rise and shine and head on over to join the Buckhead community in welcoming back our artisans and farmers!
The market opens at 8:30 am for early birds and wraps up around Noon.
Here at Buckhead.com, we get excited about the market as it offers a weekend escape after a busy work week. It’s also an excellent place to engage with local farmers who take pride in growing healthy foods.
“My family and I look forward to our trip to the Buckhead Farmers Market nearly every weekend they are open,” says Ben Hirsh, CEO of Buckhead.com. “My wife buys around 80% of our meat and produce there, and the quality is clearly much better than anything we see in the local grocery stores.”
For the past 11 years, the Buckhead Farmers Market has brought together the best local vendors at the largest producer-only farmers market in Georgia.
That means that every single item is farmed, crafted or created by vendors.
Freshly made crepes. Juicy tomatoes. Locally roasted coffee. Small-batched, cultured butter.
Is your mouth watering yet? We know our taste buds are ready.
If you’re ready for made-from-scratch goodies and pesticide-free produce, look no further. Save the trip to Whole Foods. Support your local farmers and artisans while enjoying a fun day out.
April brings beautiful spring weather in Georgia. Soak in the sunshine while visiting with vendors to learn how your food was grown. Take advantage of samples, and use all your senses to enjoy the farmers market experience.
Plus, fresh fruits and veggies are the most flavorful when picked in-season. Produce also has the highest nutrient count when picked at its peak.
A fresh pumpkin pie isn’t the same in the spring as it is in the fall, right?
Same for fruit.
Think about the last time you ate a store-bought apple. How satisfying was it once you got past the shiny layer of food-grade wax?
Eat an apple from your local farmers market; you’ll never go back to less crunchy, juicy apples again.
Plus, you’ll feel good knowing what’s going into your meals was grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides & fertilizers.
It’s also easier to buy healthy food instead of junk food when you shop at the farmer’s market. A bag of Lay’s potato chips won’t be calling your name from farmer Joe’s booth.
Unsure of what to do with that strange new vegetable you just bought?
Check out the free chef demos at 10 am June-August for cooking inspiration. Chefs who regularly buy from market farmers teach shoppers how to get comfortable cooking with local ingredients using seasonal produce.
The new “How To Cook Without A Recipe” series will bring in 12 teens to shop with a professional chef at the market. Together, they’ll develop a dish on the spot using basic pantry staples and market ingredients, likely inspiring your dinner for the evening!
When you spend your money at the market, you directly support a local family. There’s no middleman, so all proceeds go back into supporting local, sustainable farming practices.
How often do you get to meet the people who grew or raised your food from scratch? You don’t get to do that at the grocery store. Engage the vendors with questions — they love it.
Who knows, you may even pick up some great gardening tips!
Without the market, some locals wouldn’t receive healthy food options. It’s cheaper than most store-bought produce, offering affordable, wholesome options to all.
What’s more, Meals on Wheels Atlanta buys leftover produce from market farmers. Approximately 150 lbs. of food is purchased each Saturday and then distributed to those in need through the Meals on Wheels program. The program reduces food waste and provides nourishing meals to seniors in the community.
If you’re like us, you’re excited to beat the crowds. We’ve got a few tips, though, to make your trip even better.
Peachtree Road Farmers Market
(April 7 – Dec. 15, 2018)
Saturdays: 8:30 a.m.-noon
2744 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta
Peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com
What’s your favorite part of Buckhead Farmers Market? Share with us in the comments below!
If you’ve ever attended a Memorial Day or Labor Day party, or headed over to a friend’s barbecue—which is to say, everyone—you’ve likely seen a Big Green Egg. Rich green in color, about two to three feet tall, and shaped like the breakfast food it’s named after, the Big Green Egg grill has become a cult favorite among casual pit masters. And although the Big Green Egg has become an international barbecue phenomenon, its beginnings have a humble story that started right here in Buckhead.
Ed Fisher, the founder of the Big Green Egg, first hatched the idea for his now-famous product in the early 1970s. A Buckhead resident for more than 40 years, Fisher (yes, he’s a cousin of the famous crooner of the same last name) got his start in business selling Japanese arcade machines in Miami. He moved to Atlanta to develop another Southern market for the arcade-game machines, and originally saw the kamado cookers—also from Japan and the inspiration behind the Big Green Egg—as a way to entertain potential clients. “I thought I’d cook wings for people coming in to shop for the pachinko machines,” he says. “Everyone who tasted the wings said they were the best they’d ever had, and soon, the grill became more popular than the machines.”
Fisher ditched the machines completely and began working to develop his own grill, after originally importing them from Japan. “I didn’t feel like I had enough control of the creation process,” he says. “Parts would arrive broken, or I’d want to tweak something inside a grill, so I went to Georgia Tech and asked if any ceramics students could help me.” Georgia Tech couldn’t help, but Fisher eventually partnered with a company in Mexico (the deal was formalized with a handshake), who still makes all the grills to this day. “Today, we’re too large to be operating without a contract though,” Fisher say with a laugh.
Though it’s a globally renowned brand with a presence in backyards and Michelin-starred restaurants alike, the office itself has the feel of a small, family-owned business: Guests are welcomed with coffee and ginger biscotti, and when he first walks in, Fisher is sure to greet nearly every employee with a hug. Elsewhere in the office, there are colorful lights that add a bit of décor to an otherwise white, industrial space, and a gym for those who need to stay healthy after diving deep into the barbecue life.
Much of this can be credited to the leadership of Fisher himself, who, over the last 40 years, has cultivated a corporate culture that puts the product—and customer first. To this day, all new hires start by working retail, regardless of their role. As Fisher puts it: “It’s very important that every employee knows how to talk to customers about the product and all of our accessories,” which now include recipe books, key chains, bottle openers, apparel, and other knickknacks. It’s an approach Fisher learned from his time with the Navy, where he served as an engineer. “In the Navy, they taught us when you’re on the ship out at sea, if someone gets sick or wounded in battle, you can’t pick up the phone and say, ‘Send me someone to replace the hurt person.’ You have to make do with what you have on the ship, so people were trained in every job on the ship. Somehow I carried that over in business—I made sure my employees knew other jobs.”But for as much as he and his team have done to raise the Egg’s profile, Fisher credits the product itself for its meteoric rise. He recalls an early day in the company’s history when he was doing an outside cooking demo with the Egg. Fisher cooked a turkey for the five couples who were browsing the store. After trying the turkey, every couple went home with a cooker. “I put the knife in the turkey, and all the juices just oozed out,” he remembers. “I think it proved that whatever you throw onto this grill—even something like turkey, which usually tastes so dry—comes out tasting delicious. You just throw what you want on there—and it’s so easy to use.” Fisher’s personal favorites are still some of his early-day experiments: Wings, salmon, and turkey.
Fisher says the Big Green Egg accounts for just 2% of the grills sold annually in the United States. That’s something he wants to change. “For all we’ve accomplished, it just shows how much more opportunity we have to share this product,” he says. “There’s 98% of grill buyers who don’t use the Egg—that’s a huge opportunity.”
The spirit of Buckhead heads forward. This is the way it has been, and perhaps this is the way it will always be. The spirit of Buckhead points forward. You see it in the way we work, and you see it in the way we play. The reach is always extending further. The search is for excellence and beauty and grace and vibrancy.
We are a community of individuals. We are diverse, we are dynamic, and we are discerning. We are builders. We are connected to one another with a common bond. A common dream. A common quest. Pointing life in one direction. Forward.
