Today we’d like to introduce you to Blake Hawkins.
Hi Blake, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
What a great honor it is to be in the Hidden Gem company of these entrepreneurs, Thank you Voyage ATL!
As a child growing up in the seventies our family grew a huge garden, and we canned and froze food which would last the entire winter, this was a necessary practice and a practical process to save money and to continue family traditions. This included harvesting local proteins as well, I loved growing vegetables and learning the preservation processes and then the traditional family cooking methods. This created my love for cooking and sharing!
Following graduation from the Florida State University, I worked with my degree in Leisure Services to program classes and camps for youth and adults, but my desire to open a restaurant was strong and in 2008 myself and three friends opened a local restaurant in Grayson, The experience was immensely satisfying and following an amazing eight years we decided to sell and move onto new adventures. However, I missed serving, missed working side by side with people and missed working with food and certainly missed the independence of entrepreneurship!
And now, perhaps, the final career chapter for me has begun with Grayson Farmacy, a brick and mortar year round Georgia Grown local produce, proteins and handcrafted goods store. Sourcing and supporting local farmers and crafts people in Georgia to offer the freshest, local and clean products available. In addition, the Farmacy will include a classroom and following my roots, we will offer classes on food preservation, arts, gardening and teach home-school classes to learn “where food comes from” and “entrepreneurial culture”.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The real struggle was choosing a solid 40 hour a week “job” with a guaranteed paycheck or take the leap of faith and choosing to do what I love and want to do, what makes you happy!
I am very happy.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I like to think I am a realist, I believe that you get back what you put in and hopefully more. The choices I make are what defines me and I have made many mistakes and learned that it is ok, just learn and keep moving forward. I am a self-taught cook who learned from my Mother and relatives and I love to cook and share with others. I look for new and innovative ways to make experiences better than before. Customer Service is my specialty. I am a proud Dog Dad to my German Shorthaired Pointer, Gunter.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Eat.Shop.Live.Local
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such a great community!
Contact Info:
- Email: dbhjr1964@gmail.com
- Instagram: FarmacyBlake
- Facebook: Grayson Farmacy
