On a recent Saturday, early morning clouds gave way to blue skies and sunshine — perfect for a visit to the Peachtree Corners Farmers Market at Town Center.

Set within the parking lot directly in front of Firebirds, Beard Papa’s and Fire & Stone Italian Pizza Kitchen, the market was lightly bustling when we arrived and more families were making their way over from the Town Green playgrounds and splash pad to shop, sample their way through the booths or pick up quick snacks.

Parents lined up at the Sequel Coffee cart and Nurture Coffee for a mid-morning caffeine fix, while kids gravitated to the King of Pops cart and the games that had been set up next to the Jazzercise booth. Other shoppers lingered over baked sourdough breads, spice blends and craft booths or lined up to get a bag of fresh Pearson Farm peaches.

The vendor tents lined both sides of the blocked off section of the parking lot — enough booths to make for a fun morning of shopping and tasting, but not so many that you’d feel rushed to see them all. The overall vibe was happy as neighbors greeted each other, shoppers and vendors laughed and chatted and everyone seemed to enjoy being outdoors supporting local businesses.

Food, fun and more

The many food offerings at the farmers market ranged from baked goods and desserts to delicious mac ‘n cheese squares (packaged up for a quick and easy lunch), Hooch Pickles, a variety of creative empanadas from Healthy Bites and Venezuelan street food from Friticas.atl.

Peachtree Farm, organizers of the market, was there with fresh vegetables and starter plants for sale. Blossom & Vine had a lovely display of fresh-cut flower arrangements. Sumthin About Spice offered a selection of specially blended organic seasonings. And Herbal Health 360 presented herbal teas and other wellness products alongside several local crafters selling hand-made artisan goods.

The lineup may change slightly from week to week as organizers continue to accept applications from vendors who want to take part, but many of the businesses said they plan to be there all summer.

About the market

The Peachtree Corners Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., May 10 through August 30. Organized by Peachtree Farm in partnership with the City of Peachtree Corners, their mission is to support local businesses while bringing fresh produce, prepared foods and artisan goods to the community.

Parking for the market is available in the Town Center parking deck and throughout the rest of the open lots.

For more information, visit peachtreefarm.org/farmers-market. Or keep up with market dates and other community events at community.peachtreecornersga.gov.

Photos by Shawne Taylor

In January 2024, the Boston Consulting Group released a report that offered guidelines on how to turn Atlanta into a top tech hub in the U.S.

Peachtree Corners recently proved it has become an instrumental piece to reaching that goal after hosting the kickoff event of this year’s Atlanta Tech Week, which took place June 8–13.

Atlanta Tech Week is an offshoot event of RenderATL, one of the largest tech conferences in the country. While RenderATL takes place at the Americas Mart, Atlanta Tech Week is a full week of events held in multiple locations throughout metro Atlanta, including Peachtree Corners, Brookhaven, Midtown and Downtown.

Kicking off the week in Peachtree Corners

To get things started, Atlanta Tech Park in Peachtree Corners hosted an all-day conference on June 8 that catered toward tech companies and entrepreneurs who live outside the I-285 perimeter.

“We’re on a mission to make Atlanta a top-five tech hub, and the big focus for us has been uniting the entire Atlanta tech ecosystem,” said Avoilan Bingham, president of Atlanta Tech Week. “We’re proud to kick things off here in Peachtree Corners because it’s an ideal spot — outside the perimeter; there’s so much talent that lives in and around Peachtree Corners.”

“What makes Atlanta Tech Week special is that it showcases what’s unique about each individual neighborhood that’s an innovation hub,” he continued. “Peachtree Corners can tell a unique story about innovation, growth and entrepreneurship.”

That story includes the development of Atlanta Tech Park and Curiosity Lab, which have attracted numerous tech companies to the area. They’ve also laid the foundation of Peachtree Corners’ journey toward becoming a leading smart city with its wireless 5G environment, autonomous shuttles and solar roadway.

A day of workshops and networking

The event featured numerous tech workshops throughout the day, including one in which Atlanta Tech Park, Curiosity Lab and other innovation centers in metro Atlanta could showcase the technology coming from the companies they host.

“It gives entrepreneurs and startups an opportunity to see what’s happening outside the perimeter,” said Nashlee Young, director of business operations at Atlanta Tech Park. “We’re excited for people to see the technology that’s going on in the area and bring more visibility to Peachtree Corners and what we’re all about.”

Young said over 1,100 people attended the kickoff event with hundreds more applying for a waitlist.

“It keeps growing,” she said. “The number of people we’ve got registered today shows that more people want to get out in front of others and connect.”

Valerie Chang, managing director of Curiosity Lab, said the success of the event shows how much the area has recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic, when most of the office space in the area went unused.

“There was a fear about whether it would build back up,” Chang said. “We put a lot of work into revamping this area and reinvesting in The Forum and making it appealing to people who work out here. It’s a huge part of Peachtree Corners’ vision to be a leader in innovation. This feels like a full-circle moment. To kick off Atlanta Tech Week here this year is very meaningful to us.”

Tech and innovation outside the perimeter

As more and more companies seek to open offices and headquarters in Atlanta and more entrepreneurs create startups, Chang said if they look beyond Downtown and Midtown, they’ll find multiple suburbs that can meet their needs. Peachtree Corners, for example, offers the 5G ecosystem at no cost and a city government that supports startups.

“When it comes to building a tech hub, don’t count any city out of the conversation,” Chang said “We put a lot of work toward recruiting companies to come here and showing off what Peachtree Corners has to offer. We’re more than just a suburb. We’re an innovative tech community.”

For more about Atlanta Tech Week, visit atl.tech.

To learn more about Atlanta Tech Park, visit atlantatechpark.com.

The Peachtree Corners Business Association and the City of Peachtree Corners officially welcomed Ride Lounge, one of the city’s newest businesses, with a morning ribbon cutting ceremony on May 29.

From 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., members of the city and PCBA, along with members of the community, enjoyed mingling, getting to know the Ride Lounge staff and learning more about the unique company.

Guests also enjoyed a light breakfast spread of bagels, fresh fruit, coffee and juice and brief speeches from featured guests.

Welcoming the business

Lisa Procter from the PCBA spoke first and thanked Ride Lounge for being part of the PCBA and the Peachtree Corners community. She also recognized the collaboration between the organization and Ride Lounge in hosting the ribbon cutting.

“The PCBA was proud to coordinate with Ride Lounge and the community to make this event a success,” Procter shared.

Mayor Mike Mason followed Procter in addressing the crowd and talked about the state of business in Peachtree Corners and how companies like Ride Lounge help make the city a great place to live and work.

Dave Codrea and Josh Friedensohn, founders of Ride Lounge, then thanked everyone for coming and shared a little about the company and their vision.

The cutting of the ribbon and photos followed the brief speeches. Afterwards, the crowd was invited to tour the space and spend more time chatting and networking.

About Ride Lounge

The Ride Lounge is more than a car storage facility, it’s a place that celebrates car culture; where car enthusiasts can meet to discuss their passion and show off their vehicles.

Founders Dave and Josh wanted to create a welcoming community that people would trust to store their vehicles, but that would also offer a club-like atmosphere and host fun, car-centered events that the whole family could enjoy.

Ride Lounge’s 20,300-square-foot facility is comprised of 58 parking spaces with the potential to include car lifts in certain areas. There are cozy seating areas, a meeting space and kitchen area so members can hang out, relax and talk cars.

Designed for cars that are driven and enjoyed by families, Ride Lounge has room to hold up to 400 people for special events and activities.

To learn more about Ride Lounge, visit ride-lounge.com.

For more about the PCBA, visit peachtreecornersba.com.