Grayson Farmacy to start selling locally grown produce this summer

There will be a new place in Grayson to buy locally grown produce this summer.

Grayson Farmacy, a play-on-words for the health benefits derived from fresh foods, plans to open in June with fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy, olive oil and other items sourced from Gwinnett County and the rest of Georgia, said owner Blake Hawkins.

Customers will be able to purchase and season extra virgin olive oil with herbs and spices at a bar. “It’s going to bring people that are looking for different things that nobody else but Grayson will have,” said Mayor Allison Wilkerson.

The 2,400-square-foot provisions store, located at 412 Grayson Parkway, will reside in two historic buildings as part of The Railyard, a mixed-use development in the Gwinnett city’s downtown area of restaurants, retail, office space and residential flats. The store’s buildings, built in the early 1900s, were once the Bank of Grayson and a mercantile shop, Hawkins said.

Blake Hawkins, owner of Grayson Farmacy, stands outside the future site of his business at 412 Grayson Parkway. The buildings were most recently a plumbing company and trophy shop. (Courtesy of Grayson Farmacy)

The store will prioritize preserving the historic face of the buildings while remodeling the interior, Hawkins said. It will offer a porch with rocking chairs and hanging plants, Hawkins said, hoping to mimic the “welcoming feeling” of roadside farmers markets with front porches for customers to sit and chat.

“I don’t think there’s a brick-and-mortar store that’s like this (in the Gwinnett County area) that’s locally owned and operated that specializes in all local produce,” said Hawkins, who resides in Grayson. “I think that we are going to fill a niche that’s not been filled before, as we have several produce stands around the area but nothing in Grayson proper.”