Westwood Village association to approve new farmers market management
The Westwood Village Farmers Market, held every Thursday on Broxton Avenue, will soon be under new management that hopes to expand the market and add vendors. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Mary Manukyan
May 17, 2017 1:18 a.m.
This post was updated on May 18 at 7:40 p.m.
The Westwood Village Improvement Association said it may approve a new manager for its farmers market, despite recent protests from farmers and market vendors to keep current management in place.
Andrew Thomas, executive director of the association, recommended that a farmers market-operating company called Farmer Mark run the Westwood Village Farmers Market at last week’s Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting. Thomas said the association’s subcommittee recommended Farmer Mark because the company’s proposal aligned with the vision the association has for the market’s future, such as expanding the market and introducing new vendors.
He added the company may drop some current vendors from the market as it expands and introduces new members.
Local business owners and farmers protested in April the association’s decision to partner with a new manager, claiming new company management would hurt vendors’ business. Vendors also signed a petition to keep current manager Emmanuel Bautista.
The neighborhood council voted May 10 to recommend giving Bautista another 18 months to demonstrate how he can improve the current market. However, the association ultimately decided against extending Bautista’s contract and has now moved toward choosing Farmer Mark.
“Emmanuel was judged on the merit of his (proposal) for the future,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t about the past or what he has done, it was about the future of the market.”
Thomas said the association conducted a survey and gathered about 70 signatures from community members in support of new operators.
Clinton Schudy, owner of Oakley’s Barber Shop and a former association director, said he thinks changing the manager to Farmer Mark may create a rift between the association and the public. He thinks the public will be unhappy with the association switching to a new manager despite protests, he said.
Schudy added he has seen companies similar to Farmer Mark try to bring in more vendors to match other large farmers markets and is afraid the same will happen in Westwood.
David Portillo, a salesman for Homeboy Industries, a bread company that currently sells at the market, said he also thinks Farmer Mark will bring in more vendors that sell similar products, which would force competing vendors to share profits and customers.
“We’ve already had to back off of a couple markets because of that,” Portillo said.
Portillo added that some vendors do not want to work under Farmer Mark because of their more strict regulations, such as charging nonrefundable fees for showing up late or not attending.
Schudy said he thinks the market’s goal should be to include more unique vendors rather than trying to expand the market.
“Our goal was to not try to be like everybody else – we can’t be an Americana or a Grove, we have to be more specialized,” he said. “That’s what makes us unique.”
