Bruce Hosch decided to return to the business of agriculture last month when he opened Main Street Market in Lilburn. Hosch had spent time farming in the 80s and had been a partner in Dexter Farms. Retired for nearly 10 years, Hosch visited the local farmers' market but couldn't find the right produce, which prompted him to open the market in downtown. I recently sat down with Bruce to talk about his business.

Patch: What is the best aspect of owning Main Street Market?

Bruce: I guess it would be the people. People, especially people here, are very, very friendly, nice and extremely helpful. We've lived in Lilburn for 32 years Some of our customers are people we haven't seen in forever from when our kids played sports at Mountain Park and it's brought people back into our lives, so it's been a fun experience.

Patch: What is the most challenging aspect of owning your own market?

Bruce: The hours definitely. I am up at three or four in the morning, go to the market, come to our store and then I'm here till at least seven. So the hours are very long each day.

Patch: What makes Main Street Market unique?

Bruce: We don't compete with the Publixes and other grocery stores. We have an Amish brand of food, we have NiHis and Frosties. We have locally made peanut brittle, tomatoes, corn, pecans and a bunch of other produce. We try and stock products that people wouldn't necessarily be able to find at other stores. We try to find the best quality we can.

Patch: What makes the Lilburn community special?

Bruce: Well we've been here for 32 years. Lilburn is kind of like a big brotherhood with everybody promoting local. We've got parks and other nice features within the city and everybody just seems to be happy here.

Located at 79D Main Street, Main Street Market is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 6 p.m.

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