Small Business Q&A: Burger's Market

The Burger family brings a north Georgia mountain heritage of quality without pretense to the Northeast Cobb produce and grocery store .  

Sisters Sharilyn Burger-Turner and Tina Burger-Berry own the market.

"My dad and brother go to the State Farmers Market in Forest Park every morning and buy what's best that day," Burger-Turner said.

Brother Jay Burger operates a in Dallas that predates the Marietta-area location. It's where father Junior Burger met his bride, Sharon, many years ago.

It's a story of young love. Sharon was 16. Junior was 26.

The couple started a family, moved to Cobb County and opened the market on Canton Road in 1973.

Burger-Turner has worked at the store since she was 10.

Large ceiling-to-floor doorways allow fresh air into the 2,400-square-foot interior.

Spring customers are greeted at the market by a wide variety of flowers from white to deep purple that bask in the sunshine, while broad-leafed ferns uncurl in the shaded areas near the storefront.

Store-brand chow-chow, pickled vegetables, jams, jellies and juice drinks are sourced from producers in the Georgia mountains.

Children's art hangs on a back wall near a seating area complete with toys to occupy regulars too young to be interested in shopping or keeping up with current events.

"We have vine-fresh tomatoes year-round," Burger-Turner said, "mostly grown in Florida."

Cull or bruised fruit is almost always available for $5 a bushel. Partially shelled pecans sell for $4.99 a pound.

Burger-Turner told Northeast Cobb Patch that 75 percent of Burger's prices are cheaper than other grocery stores.

Q. What's the best thing about your job?
A. I love working outdoors with the flowers. I love being able to see family every day. (Big grin) I'm not saying it's always easy. My sister and I get to take our kids to get plants, and they can help, and I enjoy that.

Q. What is the best thing about Northeast Cobb?
A. I know so many people—customers who are really friends. I grew up here, graduated from .

Q. Why did you choose to open your business in Northeast Cobb?
A. My father saw that it's a good area for a business. I have a degree in psychology. My sister has a degree in hospitality management. We decided to buy the business from our parents.

Q. Why did you pick this kind of business?
A. Dad grew up on a farm in Calhoun and had always been around plants.

Q. What are some of the services you offer that people don't know about?
A. We make and deliver fresh fruit baskets. We don't use fillers, and our prices are a lot cheaper than florists charge. We deliver within a 20-minute drive from here and offer same-day service.

Q. How did your business get started?
A. My grandfather and his brother had a Burger's Market in Calhoun. That's where my dad learned about the business. It's in the family.

Q. Do you have advice for anyone who'd like to start a small business in this area?
A. Have lots of money to invest. It's not easy, and you need a lot of patience. My grandfather always would say that you need to spend money on inventory to make money. And if you think that you're going to open a business and make an easy killing, then it'll never make it. It doesn't work like that. Business takes work and patience.

Q. Is there anything else you'd like our readers to know?
A. We're starting to get flowers in. Come and take advantage of our great deals on hibiscus, low-maintenance mandevilla vines and vegetable plants.

Sharilyn Burger-Turner
Tina Burger-Berry
Burger's Market
1395 Canton Rd.
Burger's Market Facebook
770-428-8248