Not everyone is happy that the SP Farmers Market has been moved, some are still wondering where it is
The San Pedro Farmers Market has been held at 639 S. Beacon Street in Little Italy every Friday since September 2020. Prior to that, it was on 6th Street between Pacific and Mesa for as long as most remember. It was still on 6th Street when COVID-19 hit, forcing it to close down in March 2020. Some San Pedro residents have been unhappy with the new location, but others are pleased.
“We believe the new market location is safer for vendors and guests because it takes the market off a busy street,” said Elise Swanson, president and CEO of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, which financially supports the market and has been a partner with it for more than 20 years. “The vendor stalls, portable restrooms and handwashing sinks do not block the view of businesses on 6th Street or take parking spaces in front of local businesses. The new location and partnership have allowed us to bring additional resources and an experienced management team to the market.”
Danielle Sandoval, former president of Harbor City Neighborhood Council and candidate for Council District 15, said she has heard complaints from vendors at the market when she attended the night market hosted by Little Italy and the San Pedro Art Association on Aug. 21. Sandoval said that vendors told her they were not making as much as they did at the previous location.
“These are people’s livelihoods,” Sandoval said. “This is how they’re making their money. I feel that there’s a … disregard for … why they’re there. And the lack of reaching out from the decision makers who made the decision to move on … they should have asked or … been more accommodable to the vendors.”
Christian Guzman, president of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council candidate for Council District 15, used to work for the chamber of commerce. He is the former manager of the market. He said that he took over because sales were declining.
“The farm stand sales had really stagnated,” Guzman said. “Really the only way it was surviving was from the hot food. The barbeque people and the pupusa people, they were just bringing in up to $1,000 dollars per market on their own.”
However, the farmers were only bringing in $250 — and that was on a good day. Because of this, the chamber took over the market completely.
“We put in some of our own budget, tried to revamp things, tried to increase the sales,” Guzman said.
Guzman made some changes with the Chamber’s approval, such as changing the live music and some of the hot food vendors. Then the pandemic came along, only three months after Guzman took over.
“We were closed for a long time,” Guzman said. “Little Italy was interested in doing a farmers market, that might allow for the marketing budget to increase.”
Guzman oversaw the transition from the market’s previous location to its current one. He said the idea was to bring the market into the Little Italy brand, as well as get new customers from a new apartment building and the San Pedro City Hall building.
Guzman said it’s difficult to go to other farmers markets to try and recruit vendors, who tend to be loyal to their current manager.
“Being a small farmer is hard,” Guzman said. “You only have so many resources, you only have so many employees, you only have so many miles on your vehicle that you can drive before that thing breaks down.”
Guzman said that many farmers have to be strategic about which markets they attend and can drive up to six hours to get to them.
Guzman was the manager for the market for about six months before he left. Afterwards, Little Italy hired a contract manager company named Venaver.
“They manage other farmers markets,” Guzman said. “So, they were able to bring in other vendors very quickly and very easily.”
Most of the vendors currently in the San Pedro Farmers Market at its new location were not at its previous location. Guzman says this is because the pandemic destroyed some businesses; but allowed others to flourish.
The chamber did not take official public comment on moving the market, Swanson said.
“However, I have been at the chamber for over seven years and have received verbal and written input on issues related to the market from vendors, visitors, [and] impacted businesses over the seven years that factored into the decision to move the market,” Swanson said.
The chamber had already made the decision to move the market from its 6th Street location, but it just hadn’t decided where it would go until Little Italy contacted it.
“I was approached by members of the community involved in Little Italy and we determined we could create a better market by partnering, and the market would stay in downtown San Pedro,” Swanson said.
Swanson said that others are welcome to bring their own farmers markets to San Pedro and put them in a different location.
The San Pedro Art Association put out a poll on its Facebook page in late August 2021 asking if people like the current location of the market, or if they would like it moved back. The poll has since been deleted. The San Pedro Art Association declined to comment on this story.
Pupusa Salvadoreñas is one of the vendors that was at the previous location and the current one. Elviz Gonzalez is an employee of the vendor, and said the new location is not being promoted as much as it could be. He said that most people don’t know that it’s moved, the only people that are aware know because of its promotion on social media. People being scared of COVID-19 has slowed business as well. The farmers market hasn’t bought any advertising in this publication for over 20 years.
Laurel Martin works for A Bite of Good, which has only been at the market since September 2020, when it reopened.
“I love this location,” Martin said. “I love the trees. I think in general it’s more visible to people driving down Harbor. I think especially once the waterfront gets open, we’re going to get a lot more business here than we would at the top of 6th Street.”
When the market ran along 6th Street, it was in front of businesses — and its departure has affected those businesses, mostly for the worse.
Stacey Jackson, owner of Nuda Juice & Wellness Shop, said that Fridays used to be her busiest days, and that she would like it to move back in front of her business. However, she didn’t like when the market had vendors that sold similar products to the stores along 6th Street.
Erving Johnson, owner of P.M. Sounds, also said he preferred when the market was in front of his store. People came in more often during that time.
Zoe Silva, an employee of JDC Record Store, said there was a lot more foot traffic on Fridays beforehand.
However, not every business in that location has been negatively affected. Jared De La Cruz, an employee of Nice Device, said the market’s departure hasn’t had much of an impact. There has been more parking available. He still sees people come in on Fridays asking where the farmers market has gone.
Lou Lee, owner of JD Hobbies, said he is glad the market is no longer in front of his business. Vendors would take away parking from his customers.
Sandoval pointed out that the current location of the farmers market is not going to impact local businesses at all. She previously pointed out that the neighborhood council was never consulted about the change of venue nor does it appear that the chamber of commerce reached out to the merchants before deciding on the move.
“There are no businesses down there,” Sandoval said. “The nearest business would be the Green Onion. [The] Green Onion’s been there for a really long time, so you know, they have their own following