History at the corner of Amsterdam and N. Highland…
Highland Avenue Market (the HAM) has a long and colorful history. Situated at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue (the unofficial northern “entrance” of Virginia-Highland), the HAM sits on a plot of land owned by the Cheshire family and sold by them in the 1930s as the area became prime for development.
The first business there: a small grocery owned by brothers Leonard and Irwin Greenbaum. According to Images of America: Virginia-Highland by Lola Carlisle and Karri Hobson-Pape, the brothers wanted to sell liquor, “but the proximity of the Lutheran Church forced them to find a new location.” The brothers ended up opening Green’s Liquor on Ponce de Leon Avenue, and Tower Liquor on Piedmont Avenue.
That’s when the Vrono family stepped in in the 1940s. Louis Vrono opened Vrono's Super Market at the intersection, which was close to the Nine-Mile Circle trolley line. His son, Harold, who served in World War II in Patton’s regiment, eventually took over the business as the neighborhood grew.
Harold himself, in fact, became a fixture in the area, riding horseback in the annual Virginia-Highland parade, and holding family-friendly promotions and events at the store that often involved farm animals. During one event, a cow escaped and it took all day, and the help of neighbors, to wrangle it.
After Harold moved the grocery to a new location, the United States Post Office – still here today – took over much of the space in 1960, and another attractive brick row building was added just south of the original.
The HAM Today & Tomorrow
The HAM encompasses two buildings — The Corner and The Row — anchoring the intersection of N. Highland and Amsterdam with the kind of variety and vitality that defines a true neighborhood favorite.
When Scott Stern, an native Atlantan, purchased the property from Vrono in 1991, he became only the fourth owner since the land was natural forest. Over the decades that followed, he steadily invested in the intersection, and in relationships with business owners, deepening its connection to one of Atlanta's most beloved neighborhoods.
The HAM is a place that is locally focused, authentic, and approachable — where the character of the center is part and parcel to the charm of Virginia-Highland itself.
Starting in 2022, Scott led a substantial renovation effort at the property — a project envisioned and realized in partnership with Gene Kansas and Ted Bradford of Gene Kansas | Commercial Real Estate — ensuring the buildings themselves could carry the neighborhood's story forward.
Today, Highland Avenue Market is home to some of Atlanta's most cherished neighborhood businesses — an exceptional mix of local favorites: Mali Thai & Sushi, San Francisco Coffee, Ela, Bring It OM Yoga, Highland Nail Salon, Highland Pet Supply, Rosa, Bequest, and a USPS location that has been at the property since at least 1960. Enjoy!
