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Your DeKalb Farmers Market originally opened in 1977 on Medlock Road in Decatur.
Credit: Provided by Your DeKalb Farmers Market
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Your DeKalb Farmers Market: a metro Atlanta go-to for ingredients since 1977
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Your DeKalb Farmers Market is unlike anywhere else in metro Atlanta.
The chaotic hum of the market is somehow embraced into order and organization. Multiple languages printed on identification cards reflect flags representing various countries hanging above the meat and seafood counters and rows of produce stands. Immaculate pastries are stationed behind glass, while long lines snake from the rotisserie chicken stand on Wednesdays. Shelves come stacked with ingredients that provide a glimpse of home for so many Atlantans.
Your DeKalb Farmers Market feels both otherworldly and anachronistic in the best possible way.
Your DeKalb Farmers Market (YDFM) has a reputation: it’s known as the home of Atlanta’s best ingredients and where local chefs shop. It’s also affectionately referred to as “the real United Nations.” Nearly half a century old, the market is a hallmark of metro Atlanta’s diversity and essence and a sanctuary for shoppers who truly care about the food they consume.
Robert Blazer, a Rhode Island retailer and the man behind YDFM, moved to Atlanta in the late 1970s to gain a foothold in the produce and fresh food industry.
“I wanted to sell something that was important to people,” he said.
It wasn’t strictly business for Blazer, either. Although he had extensive experience with retail, he was ready to try something different—something in the South involving produce. He’d applied to and been accepted into prestigious business schools, but none of the programs incorporated the social work Blazer felt fostered cooperation over competition.
“[I wanted to go] beyond fear and greed as the motivators of individual and organizational behavior,” Blazer said of how YDFM operates.
Blazer opened YDFM in 1977. He considers the original space on Medlock Road in Decatur more of a greenhouse. The market moved to its current building off East Ponce de Leon Avenue nine years later. Blazer said he never advertised the market, relying instead on word of mouth and the quality of the products sold at YDFM.
Blazer’s strategy was enough to draw shoppers from throughout Atlanta, Georgia, and outside the state. When customers of varying cultural backgrounds requested specific ingredients not commonly found in Atlanta, Blazer listened and stocked the items. Now, he said, “We’ve got the grandkids [shopping] here.”
Dana Nahai, registered dietician, cook, and instructor at The Barn at Stillhouse Creek in Ellijay, has been shopping at the DeKalb market since 2000. At the time, she was working as a private chef for a family and needed bulk access to high-quality ingredients.
“I needed the freshest food for the least amount of money,” Nahai said.
Over the years, Nahai has given clients tours of the sprawling YDFM building, teaching people how to shop in a traditional market as opposed to a contemporary grocery store like Kroger or Publix.
“There’s a lot of intimidation if you’re used to shopping at a place like Trader Joe’s, where you can just walk in, swing everything in your cart relatively quickly and get out of there,” she said.
“A lot of people don’t know how to make selections from [various areas of a large market like YDFM,] how to tell what’s fresh, and how to shop for something that they could actually cook,” Nahai added
She notes that YDFM’s staff members are always willing to assist customers. Their friendly eagerness to help people who may have questions reduces the level of intimidation and feeling overwhelmed when shopping at YDFM.
According to Blazer, it’s not enough to look at Your DeKalb Farmers Market as a business operation; the main focus isn’t business or the food, but people. It’s partially why the market remains mostly unchanged from when it opened nearly 50 years ago, aside from a few technical adjustments like different signage for products and the cafe’s transformation into a prepared food section. And, when asked, Blazer said he would never consider opening a second location.
Fifty years ago, he felt disillusioned in business school. Today, however, Blazer said he manifested a successful part of Atlanta all from valuing understanding and teamwork over capitalism. He even wrote a manual on his business philosophy, “The Generational Distinction: Our Connection to Life.”
In Blazer’s eyes, the runaway success of YDFM in metro Atlanta amounts to cooperation with his staff and listening to his customers, a strategy that far outweighs the need to compete with other similar markets.
“Unless you can work with people properly, you just create scarcity and suffering,” he said. “It’s not about money, it’s about providing service, a better way to do something.”
Looking toward the future, it’s possible that YDFM could expand on the property at some point. No firm plans are in place yet but with a larger facility, the market could support space for more merchandise, employees, and customers and maybe see the return of its popular cafe.
Regardless, an expansion wouldn’t change what makes YDFM such a unique and special place to shop for food and ingredients. For Nahai, that all comes down to the Atlantans who shop here.
“The DeKalb Farmers Market is one of the best cult classics that we still have remaining in Atlanta,” Nahai said. “When you go there, you have a very strong sense of place. It’s a true measure of who lives in the metro Atlanta area.”
Your DeKalb Farmers Market, 3000 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.
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