FOREST PARK, GA— Nickey Gregory looks right at home in his second-story office at the Nickey Gregory Co. on the Atlanta State Farmers Market. That’s not surprising when you realize he’s literally spent his entire life here.

“Ever since I was about 6 years old I’ve been on this market. I helped my dad out. I’d play ball out here and stuff, but early in the mornings I had to work ‘til I started school, then on the weekends I’d come in and help out. They didn’t have child labor laws in those days,” Gregory laughed.

It was 1967 when Gregory first showed up on the market. He worked with his father and, later, with other companies there before opening the Nickey Gregory Co. as a full-line distributor in 2000.

Since then the company has grown year-over-year. In 2009, a sparkling new facility opened that seemed like it should handle growth for quite a few years to come. It didn’t work out that way.

Nickey Gregory has spent 50 years on the Atlanta State Farmers Market, the last 15 at the helm of the ever-growing Nickey Gregory Co. (Photo by Chip Carter)“We started in 2000 in the gas station up here on the market — I call it the gas station because it was one for 30-something years,” Gregory said. “We started there and in 2001 moved to the (former) maintenance building. In 2002 we kept that and moved into the old hamper house building too. Then in 2009 we moved into this building and expanded it a couple of years later.

“It’s funny, I thought we had a long time to grow — I never thought it would be so short-lived and that in four or five years we’d outgrow it. We’ve been blessed with this building, we’ve been very fortunate.”

Now the Georgia Department of Agriculture has demolished the old weights and measurements building next door (it relocated to Tifton, GA) to give Gregory room to “add about 35,000-40,000 square feet.”

“The state has always been good about keeping everything up here and the Georgia Department of Agriculture gives this market great support,” Gregory said. “Now the plans are drawn up and we’re in the beginning stages of growing yet again.”

Part of that growth is Gregory Family Express, a subsidiary dedicated to trucking fresh and frozen products throughout the Southeast and along the Eastern seaboard as far as Pennsylvania.

“In 2009 we were running seven to eight trucks but we were starting to get a lot of backhauls out of other areas from other carriers and vendors of frozen foods and the like asking if we could help out. We saw a market for it and in 2013 we decided to start up GFE,” Gregory said.

“Now we have a total of 25 trucks and are steadily growing because everybody wants great service and that’s what we strive for in the produce business and the trucking business. I don’t like being late. I like delivering the way it’s supposed to be. My team has done a great job building that and carrying on that momentum.”