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Meats on Main, a restaurant that doubles as a meat market, has been open more than a month on Main Street in Hogansville.

Ashley Queen, general manager and executive chef, said Meats on Main was started as a way to bring the community aspect back to small towns.

“The owner, Clark Klinkenberg, and I wanted to provide a space where we can connect the farmers and local cattlemen back with their community and step away from big box retail,” Queen said.

Queen said they are excited about being in the community and offering residents more food options.

“It has been going great. We’re about a month and a half in, and we’re slowly seeing progress, and that’s all you can ask for with a small business — especially in this day and time,” Queen said.

Queen said the restaurant side of the business is an add-on aspect but the meat market is where the passion for the business is.

“Speaking for myself, I like connecting people with what they’re eating and showing them what and why they’re eating. I’m a classically trained chef and I have been all over the United States working in extremely high-end restaurants,” Queen said. “People typically don’t know why they like what they do, and I like explaining to them why they might like a certain type of meat better than another.”

In the meat market, they sell duck, lamb, pork, beef, and in the future seafood. They also offer premade items like salads and locally sourced honey and barbecue sauces.

“About 70% of our meats are locally sourced. We like to highlight small businesses and try to get help them get their name out there. That way they can expand their client base down here and hopefully grow as we grow,” Queen said.

On the restaurant side of things, Meats on Main sells breakfast and lunch, Monday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, they have specialty days.

“I barbecue on Saturdays and Fridays is fish fry. We do basic American diner food, like burgers and Philadelphia cheese steaks,” Queen said. “We do everything from scratch. We make sure that we use the finest ingredients and keep it at prices that everyone can affordably pay.”

Queen said some of their best-sellers are the double cheeseburger, the sausage biscuits and biscuits and gravy.

With the business being heavily community-based, Queen said it has been vital in getting out the word about the business.

“The community helps play a big role in our growth and the fact that we have been able to grow mostly just by word of mouth. I do some social media work, but it’s all the community, our partners, our vendors in the area posting about us, and we boast about them,” Queen said.

“It’s nice to get back to that whereas in California doing the fancier fine dining things you’re just building up your personal name. I love having this business here because we can help build everyone up, it’s not just about us.”