Photo by Jane Kortright Photography
The owner of Wagon Barn Market, along with his wife Marlene and their family, have worked hard, primarily since the pandemic provided an opportunity for rapid expansion. Although Nathan Goering humbly says, “I want to give God the credit. Our business is a ministry to our employees and our customers.”
The specialty country market is a family business. “We started out in 2011 as a produce stand and roadside market. We grew two-and-a-half acres of produce and the second year we increased to five,” says Nathan.
When the original roadside stand opened, six of the family’s seven children were still at home.
Years later, daughter Briana continues to help manage the business alongside Marlene, while Nathan primarily focuses on the building, maintenance and harvesting. Even Marlene’s parents — Gerald and Lauretta Eshleman — are an integral part of the business, helping to run the store throughout the week.
In addition to growing fresh produce, Nathan travels to the state farmers market every other week to help meet the demand and expand the options available at Wagon Barn Market. He diligently checks each box for quality so that they can offer the best watermelons, black-eyed peas and more. “We grow most everything found in traditional gardens: cucumbers, squash, cantaloupe, zucchini, et cetera. Tomatoes and sweet corn are two things that we are highly known for.”
In addition to produce, the market offers premium ice cream and specialty goods like jam, pickles, salad dressing and barbecue sauce sourced largely from local artisans.
The kitchen produces 35 different varieties of oven-ready entrees in the fresh and frozen sections of the market along with a hundred different desserts including cakes, pies, cheesecakes, cookies and bars.
The stop is easily identifiable by the covered wagon parked out front, made in 1878 by Atlanta WagonWorks. Nathan recounts that he purchased the wagon from an elderly gentleman in Rome, Ga. The man had ridden in it as a child from Rome to Atlanta to drop off a load of cotton with his grandfather.
With its idyllic wagon landmark and located only a short drive from Augusta, near Waynesboro, the Wagon Barn Market is a fresh market destination.
Seen in the May 2025 issue of Augusta magazine
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