Vendors feeling effects of closure

With the recent closure of the Glendon Avenue portion of the
Westwood Village Farmers’ Market due to a pending
construction project, many market vendors are feeling pressure from
lack of space and uncertainty about their future.

Merchants who formerly set up stands on Glendon Avenue now must
find another location as the street is being closed for
construction of a multi-million dollar retail and housing complex
by developer Alan Casden.

To accommodate displaced vendors from Glendon Avenue, the market
has reduced the size of other booths to make space for more
merchants on Weyburn Avenue, now the only street designated for the
market.

Now, space for those vendors with no permanent spot is
determined by who gets there first, and Thursday was the first time
that a vendor was sent home due to low space availability.

Monica Curca, who has been an active chiropractic vendor for
five years with the Farmers’ Market, said the market is doing
the best that it can given the situation. Curca, who once had a
secure spot on Glendon Avenue, must now rely on spare space and
good luck for a spot on the Weyburn Avenue portion of the
market.

She continued to say that despite losing a permanent spot on
Glendon Avenue, the move has proven to be beneficial for business
because of the increased visibility and foot traffic on Weyburn
Avenue.

After the closure of Glendon Avenue was finalized, many wondered
where the shifted vendors would move to. Even though possibilities
of the market moving to the UCLA campus, Lot 36 or an additional
weekend market south of the Federal Building have recently been
proposed, manager Aaron Shapiro said the market would not be
relocating in the near future.

Shapiro also said the market is continually trying to
“keep as many high quality vendors as possible” and
that they will persist in their goal of revitalizing Westwood
Village and “accommodate as many people as
possible.”

Until Glendon Avenue is opened again, which could be several
years, Shapiro said he will continue to accommodate as many vendors
on Weyburn Avenue as space permits, and adjust to each seasonal
change, which will bring new seasonal fruits and over half a dozen
new vendors.

Margie McFabyen, a stylist at The Beauty Salon on Weyburn
Avenue, said the Farmers’ Market hinders parking for business
on Thursdays, but said she would rather it not change locations
because she shops at the market regularly as a consumer.

Students who frequent the market were also apprehensive about a
move anywhere other than Weyburn Avenue. UCLA student Kate Balingit
said she visited not for the fresh produce but for the Peruvian
food and that a move on campus would not change the frequency of
her visits, since vegetables are not her favorite food.

Despite the closure of Glendon Avenue, Shapiro and the vendors
are optimistic for the future, even though some, like displaced
jewelry vendor Molly Dagnino, can’t help looking at the
past.

“I would really like if it went back to normal, if
everyone could have their own spot again,” Dagnino said.