Granary to Roots

By Lee Becker

Market Board Customer Representative

Alisa and James Ware, owners of The Granary Bakery and Country Store in Watkinsville, made the decision at the beginning of the year to return their store to its roots: Oconee Farmers Market.

And they are happy they did.

“It is a wonderful marketing tool,” Alisa Ware said. “At least half of our customers at the Market didn’t know about the Granary or had seen it but not stopped in.”

Now, she said, many of her Market customers also are regulars at the store, located at the busy intersection of Main Street, Greensboro Highway and Barnett Shoals Road in the center of Watkinsville.

At the Market, Alisa sells breads, scones and other baked goods, but at the store, the couple sells baked good as well as jams, candies, dairy products, flours and lots more.

Previous Owner A Market Vendor

Kim and Scott Thomas opened The Granary in 2009 after Kim discovered that her homemade breads and sticky buns were big hits at the Oconee Farmers Market during the 2008 season.

The Wares bought the store from the Thomases a year ago. (Here is an article more closely following this transition.)

During the Market’s off season, Alisa Ware talked to Market Manager Cindy Pritchard and made the decision to come back to the Market this year.

“I like the new and interesting customers I get to meet,” Alisa Ware said.

“I like the vendors. They are so great. It is like a big family.”

The Ware’s two young children, Jackson, 7, and Caroline, 3, now are asking each week to go to the Market to see their playmates–children of other vendors.

Tuesday and Saturday

The Granary is represented at the Saturday Market, which runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the courthouse in downtown Watkinsville, as well as at the Tuesday Market.

The Tuesday Market is open from 4 to 7 p.m. at Watkinsville First Christian Church at the corner of Main Street and Simonton Bridge Road in downtown Watkinsville.

Vendors on Saturday will offer:

•  Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Corn
• Squash
• Zucchini
• Mushrooms
• Honey
• Pork
• Beef
• Chicken
• Eggs
• Bread
• Homemade Dog Treats
• Pasta
• Flowers
• Plants
• Handcrafted Items
• & much more!