A resident-led petition is pressing Johns Creek to do something its neighbors Alpharetta and Suwanee already do: host a recurring farmers market.
Jane Yoon, a Johns Creek resident, launched the Change.org campaign "Initiate a Community Farmers Market in Johns Creek" in October 2024. As of Tuesday, Aug. 18, the petition had collected 162 verified signatures, according to a North Atlanta Star report.
The pitch is straightforward. Johns Creek has no weekly or monthly market of its own. Residents who want locally grown produce, eggs, meat or honey must drive to the Alpharetta Farmers Market or Suwanee's city-run market, both seasonal Saturday-morning operations in neighboring cities.
Where it could land
Four sites have surfaced as candidates, each with trade-offs:
The Boardwalk at Town Center, the city-owned park behind City Hall at 11360 Lakefield Drive, is considered the strongest near-term option. The $39 million space opened May 8 and includes pedestrian plazas, an amphitheater and terraced seating with capacity for 4,000 people. It drew roughly 15,000 visitors to the city's America 250 Independence Day celebration, and the city already plans a Diwali Celebration there on Saturday, Nov. 7, featuring a food and retail market. That event could serve as a proof of concept that the infrastructure can handle vendors.
Medley's 25,000-square-foot Plaza is the private-sector wild card. The $560 million, 43-acre mixed-use development at Johns Creek Parkway and McGinnis Ferry Road holds its grand opening Oct. 29, with 125,000 square feet of retail in its first phase. Developer Toro Development Company plans to activate the plaza with up to 200 events per year. Mark Toro, the company's founder and chief vision officer, described the plaza in an Aug. 3 pre-leasing announcement as "a meaningful Third Place for the community."
A $7 million pedestrian tunnel under Medlock Bridge Road now connects the Boardwalk directly to the Medley site, meaning the two venues could function as a single district for market-goers.
Newtown Park and Cauley Creek Park round out the list as established community destinations, though neither has the built-in vendor infrastructure of the first two sites.
What it would take
No city body has formally considered or rejected a farmers market proposal. The city has not announced plans for one.
Running a weekly market requires an operator, whether that's the city, a nonprofit, a business association or a private developer. That operator would need to recruit farmers and food vendors, secure site permission, carry liability insurance, manage traffic and waste, and enforce food safety rules. Georgia's House Bill 398, effective July 1, 2025, eased one barrier by eliminating the state cottage food license for producers of qualifying shelf-stable products, though operators must still complete an accredited food safety course.
One practical path forward, according to the North Atlanta Star report: a monthly pilot at the Boardwalk during spring or early summer, starting with 15 to 25 vendors focused on Georgia-grown produce, eggs, meat, honey, flowers and bread.
What's next
The petition remains open on Change.org. The nearest events that could test market logistics are Medley's Oct. 29 grand opening and the Boardwalk's Nov. 7 Diwali Celebration. No City Council agenda item or feasibility study has been announced.
