Its detractors will tell you a stroll through the Westwood
Village farmers’ market is like walking into a briar patch.
Its supporters will say you’ve found the yellow brick
road.
How is it that the Weyburn Avenue farmers’ market has
created such a divide in Westwood Village?
Since freshman year, I’ve frequented the Thursday market,
always enjoying the scent of fresh produce and lots of free
samples.
I have even been known to purchase the occasional nectarine or
heirloom tomato.
With produce, prepared food, clothing and crafts, what’s
not to love about the market?
Talk to the merchants of Westwood and it’s apparent
there’s not much love at all.
Store owners in Westwood contend that the crafts and prepared
food vendors at the farmers’ market cannibalize their own
sales. They see the market as an errant tenant in Westwood ““
one that has not paid its proverbial rent.
The merchants’ concern is growing as the farmers’
market makes plans to move from Weyburn Avenue in the wake of
Casden Properties’ development on Glendon Avenue, which
should begin excavation no later than March 2004, said Steve Sann
of the Westwood Business Association.
Current plans call for the relocation of the market to Broxton
Avenue (most likely between Weyburn and Kinross Avenues) and there
are also preliminary talks about moving the market to Lindbrook
Drive. If the market moves to Broxton, it appears certain merchants
on that street will try to keep the prepared food and crafts
vendors out, only allowing produce vendors to participate in the
relocated market.
The market’s manager, Aaron Shapiro, said he would have a
hard time moving to Broxton if businesses on the street organized
against it and voiced their concerns to the city, as the Los
Angeles City Council would have to vote on any new street closure.
(My attempts to get a comment out of Councilmember Jack
Weiss’ office were unsuccessful, so who knows what he
thinks?)
Of course, the possibility of ending prepared food and crafts
sales upsets those vendors.
“Markets with just produce is like going back in the
past,” said Rosemine Patel, who sells pasta at the market for
the restaurant La Spaghettata. “We should be moving forward
““ produce markets are from the 1700s. They are really in the
past.”
Actually, one doesn’t have to look back that far in the
past to find a time when the Westwood Village farmers’ market
predominately sold fresh produce. When the market was established
in 1994, it was a certified farmers’ market almost solely
selling produce from California farmers, and was part of the
Southland Farmers’ Market Association.
The market is no longer part of that association and the reasons
for its departure are contentious. Howell Tumlin, executive
director of the Southland Farmers’ Market Association, will
tell you the market was kicked out of the association because it
sells too much prepared food and crafts. The association is
currently sponsoring California legislation to reform
farmers’ markets by limiting non-agricultural sales.
“Some markets are taking advantage of public subsidies to
undercut small business people,” Tumlin said. “This is
one of several reasons why the Westwood market is no longer in the
association.”
Shapiro said he sought to remove the market from the association
because “the association was abusing the system. There was no
advertising, no outreach, no e-mail, faxes and they were not
contacting us about meetings and regulations.”
Tumlin and Shapiro do not see eye to eye, but at this point,
Shapiro’s real battle will be with the merchants on
Broxton.
Jon Vogel, owner of Village Eyes Optometry on Broxton, knows a
great deal about the farmers’ market. His shop was located on
Glendon for 11 years, but Vogel moved it from Glendon to Broxton to
avoid the farmers’ market.
“Whenever there was a farmers’ market, my patients
were so mad because they couldn’t find a place to
park,” Vogel said. “I moved to get away from that
problem.”
The extra traffic the farmers’ market creates is irksome
to many. Mike Quinones, the store director at Ralphs, said the
store issues 350 to 450 more validated parking tickets every
Thursday because the farmers’ market offers no parking for
its patrons. He said people buy coffee at Ralphs for the validation
after shopping at the farmers’ market.
Hey, at least they buy some coffee.
Beyond traffic woes, there is some more concrete evidence of the
impact the market has had on Westwood merchants. With no rent,
labor costs or insurance to pay for, vendors at the market can
afford to undercut their competitors in the Village.
So the introduction of seemingly harmless flower vendors at the
farmers’ market has had a major effect on the flower shops of
Westwood.
Westwood used to be home to four flower shops but three have
gone out of business in the last 18 months, Sann said, citing the
closures of Flowers of Meadowstream, Bel Air Florist (which had
been in Westwood since 1934) and Flower Fields. The remaining
flower shop, Westwood Flowers Garden, has moved from Glendon to
Gayley.
“The market was set up to bring people to the area,”
said Jerry Rutiz, a farmer who sells flowers, berries and
vegetables, and participated in the Westwood market for 11 years
before leaving last year due to a drop in profits. “If
business owners feel the market is in competition with them then
something is wrong.”
One might imagine the market’s produce vendors
aren’t thrilled about the prepared food and crafts vendors,
who could undercut their own sales. But I had a hard time finding
one who would open up about the issue.
“The food vendors attract people. But if the trinket
people disappeared tomorrow I wouldn’t care,” said Bob
Polito, a farmer selling produce at the market.
That’s the closest I got to finding a farmer who would
speak out against the prepared food and crafts vendors. Tumlin has
a theory on why no one would come forward.
“I suspect the reason you didn’t hear their
dissatisfaction is that most of the growers are intimidated by the
management,” he said.
“They have no power and they rely on the market for their
livelihood. They are reluctant to voice their opinion.”
Westwood merchants’ concerns may be finally answered, as
the relocation of the market draws near. Shapiro concedes there is
little chance of having prepared food at the market on Broxton
Avenue, as local merchants strongly expressed this sentiment at a
community meeting held two weeks ago.
“I believe that it’s almost inevitable ““
unless there is a sea change or pressure put on the merchants
““ the prepared foods vendors won’t be there,”
Shapiro said. “I think the die is cast and we will
significantly reduce prepared food or do away with it all
together.”
When the farmers’ market was brought to Westwood, the only
grocery story in the area was the now-defunct Breadstix. Now, with
Whole Foods and Ralphs doing brisk business, it could be argued
that the market is no longer necessary.
But let’s back up a minute ““ surely the market can
do some good in the community. Even merchants grudgingly note
it’s hard to be angry at a place that offers really tasty
fruit.
And the farmers’ market will be giving back to the
community by contributing $2,400 for the landscaping of the median
on Westwood Boulevard. How could anyone hate a place that sells
sweet potatoes and sweet silver necklaces?
“I’m not trying to reinvent Westwood,” Shapiro
said. “If I can keep this event going, we will, and we can
keep on working with local merchants as well as we can. We can get
people to come to Westwood even if the merchants don’t think
so. It’s kind of a tough love thing. But we do need some
political support. We can’t do it alone. Or maybe we can.
“So far we’ve done it by will and argument. If we
have to hire a lobbyist, if we have to play a political game
““ which we don’t want to, but if we have to do that
““ we will. We are not going to leave Westwood. We know
it’s good for the Village and everyone knows it.”
It’s all in the spirit of building a better Westwood,
right?
E-mail Miller at dmiller@media.ucla.edu.