Nothing concrete to report on where, when and whether the Wallingford Farmers Market will return next year, but some comments from those involved. First, we checked in with Zach Lyons, the Communications Director for the Seattle Farmers Market Association (and brother of well-known folk musician Dana Lyons, of “Cows with Guns” fame). Here’s what he had to say:
We are currently negotiating for a site for the 2010 Wallingford Farmers Market, but as of this moment, nothing is set in stone. Initially last fall, Wallingford Center had said it would not renew hosting the Market in 2010, which facilitated our looking for other neighborhood locations, and other locations facilitated our being open to considering other days of the week, though our preference would be to keep the location and the timing the same this year. Recently, we have heard rumblings from Wallingford Center that they are interested in revisiting their decision, but nothing is certain yet.Unfortunately, that’s the best I can do right now. We are as anxious as you to know the answer to these questions, so that we can get on with planning another great year of the Wallingford Farmers Market.
From the Wallingford Center, we hear:
For the past four years, Wallingford Center has donated space to the Wallingford Farmers Market and has enjoyed sponsoring this event and supporting local agriculture. Increased occupancy of the Center, however, has necessitated that Wallingford Center retain a larger portion of its parking lot for customer and resident use. Therefore, notice was given to the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce & the Seattle Farmers Market Association in the beginning of November 2009 that Wallingford Center could no longer host the 2010 Wallingford Farmers Market at its current location in the Wallingford Center parking lot.Given Wallingford Center’s commitment to the Farmers Market, the Center offered use of the south end of the parking lot and the west side of the property (all the way to the north corner of N 45th and Wallingford Ave N) for a new market location. The Seattle Farmers Market Association has opted to seek to out other alternatives, but their efforts have not yet produced permission for a new location. Wallingford Center has been and will continue to be supportive of their efforts to find a new space and we continue to be open to providing space for the market within the alternate locations at the Center we have outlined to them. All groups involved are still in negotiations with no clear outcome for 2010. The Seattle Farmers Market Association is also working with SDOT and the City of Seattle in hopes of securing other locations within the Wallingford Neighborhood. Wallingford Center and Lorig Management Services hope the Seattle Farmers Market Association and the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce will be able to secure an adequate alternative space for the 2010 farm season.
And, of course, lots of ideas as comments on our Wallingford Farmers Market in Doubt post last week, including an offer from the pastor of the Discovery House (the church behind Dick’s that houses Mosaic Coffee) to consider their parking lot.
WTH? The Wallingford Center is one of the most pristine, historical neighborhood buildings in the City. Its also one of the most poorly run. Lose your neighborhood bookstore? Check. Lose your neighborhood furniture – home accessory store? Check. Lose your neighborhood (and fabulous) garden store? Check. Lose your original toy store? Check. As a small business owner myself, I shake my head at the general ineptness of its management. Lose Farmer’s Market. Check. Like the spoiled rich kid who never had to work very hard, it just bungles along replacing priced institutions with empty space. Feh.
Ooops, I meant “prized” institutions… Still working on that first cup.
I like the idea of the parking lot behind Dick’s. It is very close to buses going east/west and north/south. Although, one thing I like about Ballard’s market is the mixture of temporary vendors with permanent stores, which brings more people in to visit the market and help create a more vibrant scene.
lots of passion at Wallyhood. love it. what I would love to see even more is all of these folks with passion about the neighborhood, getting involved in the neighborhood. The Community Council, WNO, Sustainable Wallingford, etc are all DOING great things, but could use your passion and help. Lets start looking at what we can do, things we can effect and move forward. If the Wallingford Center is not interested in the farmers market, fine, lets help find another location. You might let the business at the center know you are disappointed- they have some power. Lets not let the Wallingford Center dictate what the neighborhood is going to do or look and feel like. This Wednesday night the Community Council is meeting- visit, sign up to do something great for Wallingford.
The Farmers Market needs to remain in the central part of the neighborhood. The Wallingford Center would be ill-advised to kick it out for the sake of parking. Its businesses will only survive by catering toward neighborhood foot/bike-traffic, which the Farmers Market brings in.
Keep it there and keep it on Wednesdays. And please bring back Spot Bagel…
I agree with CSBeer and Doug – if the folks at the Wallingford Center were smart – they would position themselves as the heartbeat of Wallingford. Unfortunately, over the years, they have made themselves nearly irrelevant. Oh, how I miss Spot Bagel and Bistro Simpatico.
@Lauren — I agree with you whole-heartedly about how Wallingford Center has been run over the last 10 years. Add the wonderful French bistro that was there for a couple of years (I forget the name) and Taco Del Mar (though they just went into Chapter 11) to the list of those retail organizations I miss.
One note, though: I loved Bistro Simpatico, but from what was published in the Seattle Times and P.I. at the time, their undoing was brought on by themselves: tax fraud. Here’s the link from the Dept. of Revenue: http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/Pubs/News/2003/nr_08_03_Golden.pdf.
Wow, 2003! Time certainly compresses when you get old. :-/
I have to say that Wallingford Center really needs to get their act together. That is such a cool building and as a local neighbor who frequently frequents the Farmer’s Market I wouldn’t even really go in there if it wasn’t for the Market. I wander in at least quarterly with baby daughter and after about 7 minutes I’m pretty much done. There are so many opportunities for that space and they just seem to not get it at all. There’s also plenty of street parking around that area in the afternoons, it just seems like such a big mistake. I can’t imagine that many people are driving to Wallingford Center as a destination, except maybe to go to the Farmer’s Market on Wed. afternoons!
Agree with D. It would be a shame to lose the farmer’s market in the Wallingford Center.
It would be even better if they moved the market to the McDonald school playground. Ideal location would be a great poll for the blog.
how about the parking lot on the north side of Lincoln High School? Close to neighborhood businesses (give the other end of the business district a boost), near the library for multi-tasking, and if any of the vendors want to give leftovers to the food bank, it’s right across the way.
Wallingford Center is beautiful — it could be the heart and soul of Wallingford if only the management there would prioritize space for people over space for cars.
Did they forget that foot traffic is one of the most beneficial things for small businesses?
When I go to the Wallingford Farmers Market I usually pick up a piece of hardware at Tweedy and Popp or at least grab a cupcake from Trophy for dessert.
Small business owners in Wallingford Center, please encourage your landlord to help your business by keeping the Farmers Market!
wow, this has really become a concern of the whole community – you’ll hear more updates at tonight’s Wallingford Community Council meeting ( which was already planned ).
since the Farmer’s Market is sponsored by, and is a project of, the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce, we should be one of the first stops for info. i’ve been working on the potential moving of our Market for a couple months, and the Wallingford Center management has been quite helpful.
we’ll post after tonight’s WCC meeting, and anyone interested can also call or come by Not A Number any time to get info straight from me. thanks for all your support!
Kara, Wallingford Chamber Prez / owner, Not a Number
I’ve read with interest the comments about the Wallingford Farmer’s Market. I live in Wallingford and frequent the Ballard, U-District and Wallingford markets, however it is my opinion that an alternative location would be best. The Wallingford Center is not a “community center” and while some might long for the center to be the “heart” of the community the fact is that the Center is a private enterprise where small businesses pay substantial rents in order to provide goods and services to the community. Part of what the business owners are paying for is parking for their customers. QFC and Chase Bank have nice parking lots as well, but I doubt very much that they would turn over their parking lots for a farmer’s market. As a frequent customer at Bad Woman Yarn I know first hand that many of the customers of the yarn shop come from great distances and parking is important. I’ve been told by many customers and members of our Wednesday evening knitting group that they avoid the Center on Wednesdays during the market because there isn’t sufficient parking.
I hope that an alternative location is found..sounds like there are some great suggestions being offered.
If WC doesn’t allow them back, I sure hope they find somewhere else near by. Everyone in Wallingford should be shopping at the farmers market. It is through farmers markets that we keep local agriculture alive. Maybe some would rather be eating the wet newspaper flavored tomatos and other out of season produce shipping in from all over the world sold at QFC to support big agro and big oil, but I am not one of them. Eat local and or organic or hungry is my belief, we can’t let the farmers market slip away.
I shop at the WC often, but parking is never a concern. When I walk to the market there are plenty of available street spots and the few times I have had to drive, I have been able to find parking right out front.
What about the Good Shepherd Center/Meridian Park?
This is another beautiful old building which does have community events regularly
and I imagine may be able to meet the criteria for space(especially in Meridian Park).
I know that this location is 5 blocks North of Wallingford Center
but with Tilth there and incredible gardens all around, plus a park
with a fruit orchard and a parking lot with a fruit orchard,
it could be a great location and one that SDOT should be
er…well acquainted with, no?
I think that it is beautiful how you all care for Wallingford…
thank you for that!!!
May we all be well, free and happy!
In an attempt to dispel any rumors, both management and the merchants of Wallingford Center support the Wallingford Farmers Market and have supported it for 4 years. We donated a large portion of our parking lot, which provided stability (consistent space) & sponsored signage for the market to incubate. In return, it has been a very successful market. We celebrate this success! We continue to support the Farmers Market, by offering other options on our property. If the farmers market chooses a different location from the location offered on-site at Wallingford Center, it would be a disappointment to both management as well as the merchants. However we understand that as a business evolves, needs for space may also change. Thank you to Maggie for your comments and valuable insight.
Amy Singer kindly pointed out to me that my words did not come out quite right. It should have said, “Initially last fall, Wallingford Center had said it would not renew hosting the Market in 2010… as is.” Wallingford Center certainly has been a generous host over the years. Sorry my initial attempt at a “simple” response to Wallyhood was inadequate.
So everyone better understands this issue, SFMA is still looking at the south lot option, but using that part of the Wallingford Center lots, versus the areas used for the farmers market over the past four years, would result in a reduction of vendors stalls of about 25-30%. As it is, the Wallingford Farmers Market had a waiting list for vendors most of last year, so losing vendor spaces would be very hard on the market, which is why SFMA is looking for other locations.
Thank you Zach!! 🙂
Just to clarify, Wallingford Center offered additional space on the west and northwest plazas of the Wallingford Center, in addition to the south end of the parking lot.
The WC is a landlord folks. If a tenant business fails, how is that their fault?