It gets quiet in Buford, and it gets boring, Hirsch said. But it’s never lonely, even in the winter. Hirsch pulled out the guest log he created when he started running the town. He ran his finger down the long list of where his visitors came from: London, France, California, Texas. There are also a substantial number of people from the other Buford — Buford, Georgia — and Vietnam.

“The Vietnamese travelers come in and take lots of pictures but never really buy anything,” Hirsch said.

One trucker wandered into the store Tuesday looking for Wi-Fi, another amenity Hirsch would like but just can’t afford. After buying a pack of cigarettes, the trucker stepped back into the wind.

“Keep rocks in your pocket,” Hirsch called out as the door swung shut.

But it’s the locals who come in and sit on the cream-colored bar stools along the glass counter — filled with trinkets featuring pictures of the town’s semi-famous “POP 1” sign — who are the heart of the place. Hirsch loves the smallest-town lifestyle. He likes that there are no stoplights or even paved roads between his home and the town. Sometimes on sunny summer days he rides his paint horse, Sugar Pie, to work.