Business & Tech

[Updated] Webb Park Farmers Market Must Find New Home Immediately

Market managers have been exploring other options in recent weeks.

The Webb Park Certified Farmers Market can no longer operate in its namesake park, it was decided Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Rancho Bernardo Business Association amid disputes about market revenue. The RBBA had served as the liaison between the market and the Bernardo Town Center Property Owners Association, which owns the private park.

On Wednesday, the property owners' board voted to also end its five-month relationship with the current market, citing a lack of revenue.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"Our board has decided the objectives of our farmers market were not being met and we, too, have decided to sever our relationship," said Ron Bamberger, head of the property owners association. "We wish the operators good fortune and success in relocating the market and it will no longer be in Webb Park, effective immediately."

Market co-manager Richard Knudson said he is not surprised by the park owners' decision, though he had expected to be given a few more weeks to find a new location. Knudson said and he co-manager Claire Winnick are looking into four other locations, though none are final: Rancho Bernardo Community Park; the Courtyard Marriott's parking lot; The Plaza shopping center parking lot; and The Church at Rancho Bernardo's parking lot.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The market first began in Webb Park last May under different management and ran for a few hours on Tuesdays. The market was losing vendors and falling short of revenue expectations. On Oct. 26, the market re-launched with extended Tuesday hours and Knudson and Winnick in charge.

The original objectives of the market for the property owners association were to benefit the community, help raise money for the RBBA and recoup some of the costs for park maintenance caused by the market, Bamberger said.

The market has proven beneficial to the community but has not provided the desired revenue stream for the RBBA or the property owners, he said.

"It was not the successful concept that we had hoped to have it be," Bamberger said. "I'm brokenhearted it didn't succeed."

But the notion that the market hasn't succeeded is up for debate.

According to detailed market records, the average number of market vendors has increased from 22 in the old market to 39 since January. The new market also grossed $48,000 in the first 11 weeks this year, about as much as the total for the old market's 21-week run. Knudson and Winnick also rebuilt the market after switching from Tuesdays to Sundays in January after neighboring businesses complained about marketgoers hogging their parking spaces. In the transition, the market lost all but one of its farmers but has since gained several more. Sunday is a busy market day across the county and most of the vendors from the old market already had commitments for that day when Webb Park changed days, the managers said.

However, from October until now, the market has not provided any money to the RBBA or the property owners. Both sides initially agreed to delay any payments for use of the park for six months until April to give the market a chance to grow. However, they disagreed on whether the January switch to Sundays reset that six-month clock. Winnick and Knudson have said the switch amounted to recreating the market from scratch, meaning they did not get a full six months to grow the market.

Starting Sunday, the market was to pay $10 per vendor which would be split between the RBBA and property owners. The managers, citing an average gross revenue per week of only about $13 per vendor, said they could not afford to pay that much and offered to pay a lesser amount. The two sides never came to an agreement about a reduced cost.

Bamberger said the decision for the park to split from the market had "very little" to do with the issue of how much per vendor would be paid.

The market's managers will have to seek emergency clearances from county agriculture officials to host their certified farmers in another location on Sunday. The market has been running on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated since its original posting Wednesday morning.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter @RBPatch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here