Looking for some juicy, home-grown tomatoes or fresh-picked green beans? Starting Friday afternoon, you’ll find them in downtown Gainesville.

The Hall County Farmers’ Market is expanding to offer a downtown market on Friday afternoons in addition to being open Tuesday and Saturday at the current location off Jesse Jewell Parkway.

The market will be open from 4-7 p.m. every Friday on the parking lot running parallel to Spring Street between the downtown area and the Georgia Mountains Center. About a dozen vendors have signed up so far to sell a variety of fresh produce — all locally grown — and homemade items such as breads, granola, soap and honey.

The expansion of the market is the brainchild of Steve Thomas, a former chef who has been doing cooking demonstrations on Saturdays at the Jesse Jewell market. Not only did he want to expose the vendors to more potential customers, but he wanted to make it more accessible for people to visit the market.

"On Tuesday morning, a lot of people pass the market, but they’re on their way to work and they can’t stop," Thomas said. "...On Saturday, a lot of people don’t want to get up that early. So I thought the idea of Friday afternoon and catching people on their way home would be a good idea."

Thomas said vendors were excited about the idea, with many of them telling him that Gainesville used to have a farmers market on Fridays more than a decade ago.

Joe Burnett, executive director of Gainesville’s Main Street program, said bringing the farmers market back to downtown is something he’s pleased to see happen.

"It’s something that we had wanted to do here when I first got here, but things didn’t work out for the farmers market to split and have two different sites," Burnett said.

Mountain Earth Farms, run by husband and wife Ronnie and Tina Mathis, will be among the vendors selling produce downtown on Friday. Ronnie Mathis, whose been farming for 40 years, said he welcomes the expansion.

"We just have to have a place to sell it, and we’re always looking for another opportunity to sell our produce," Mathis said. In addition to selling at the Hall County Farmers’ Market, Mathis also provides produce for The Longstreet Clinic Farmers’ Market, which is open to the public from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Having local markets available keeps costs down for the Clarkesville farm, Mathis said.

"I’m afraid we’re driving around everywhere," he said, including Gainesville, Suwanee and Cumming. "The closer we can get to sell it, that’s an advantage, with travel expenses like they are."

What delectable produce will Mountain Earth Farms be offering on Friday? Cucumbers, squash, a variety of tomatoes, onions, blueberries, turnip greens and half-runner green beans.

"It’s at the peak right now, so we’re hoping folks will come out and get them some," Mathis said.

Thomas and Burnett agreed that bringing the market downtown again also brings together vendors and restaurant owners, a boon for both.

"One of the other things that I’m trying to do and it’s happening slowly, is to introduce the restaurants to the local farmers ... so they can meet the local farmers who will actually plant for the restaurants," Thomas said.

Thomas said he hopes the Friday afternoon market becomes popular.

"I am hoping that I created a monster and it’s something that will become a permanent fixture," he said.

Downtown merchants also are excited about the market’s expansion and are hoping for success, Burnett said.

"Our hope is we’ll quickly outgrow this particular location and have to find bigger quarters," he said.

Burnett said those visiting the market should be able to find ample parking within a block of the lot in addition to the Hall County parking deck located one and a half blocks away.