diary of a mad florist

Fourth farmers market opens
Loudest opponent switches sides. Nearby business owners said more people came to the area.
By Zain Shauk Published: Last Updated Friday, July 3, 2009 9:52 PM
NORTHWEST GLENDALE — The Kenneth Village Farmers Market kicked off Friday afternoon, following a swirl of controversy and opposition from area businesses who argued the weekly event might be bad for business.The Kenneth Village Meat Market, a store on Kenneth Road that sells organic produce and other groceries, was previously the most vocal opponent to the farmers market, with owner Sarkis Militonyan arguing that a weekly collection of produce stalls might poach his business.But Militonyan changed his tone dramatically Friday. After weeks of protests to City Clerk Ardy Kassakhian and other officials who oversaw the permitting process for the event, Militonyan signed a petition to continue the farmers market beyond the parameters of its current four-event permit, said Mariane Atkinson, owner of Ivy’s Flower Station and the main organizer of the market.Militonyan shifted his stance after visiting the market and speaking with Atkinson, she said.“We really had a heart-to-heart about what he was concerned about,” she said. “What I told him is ‘I’m the florist. I sell flowers and plants. There’s an orchid man here,’” she said, pointing to a stall selling orchids and explaining that although stalls may sell similar items on Friday afternoons, they would bring more business to the one-block stretch of stores that has struggled during the recession.Militonyan was not available for comment, but store Manager Seta Tarakchian, speaking on his behalf, confirmed that he had changed his stance.“It’s very nice to see people around and there’s a lot of people out here that we’ve never seen before,” she said of the market. “It’s good for the community. Why not?”The Kenneth Village Merchants Assn. also supports the market, even though some store owners were previously opposed to it, said Rene Karapedian, president of the group.The market is paid for and operated by Scholastic Gardens, a nonprofit that runs four other farmers markets, including one in Toluca Lake.The organization gives proceeds to local schools to support community gardens and campaigns promoting healthy eating habits, said Tanja Castle, who runs business operation for the group.Although the Kenneth Village Farmers Market is the fourth such weekly event in the area, other business organizations, which use the markets to attract more consumers to their stores, were not opposed to it.There is now a farmers market every day from Thursday through Sunday, with one on Brand Boulevard, another at the Americana at Brand and one in the Montrose Shopping Park on Honolulu Avenue.“We never look at it as competition,” said Jennifer Gordon, vice president of Caruso Affiliated, which launched Gigi’s Farmers Market earlier this year. “We look at it as more people coming to the area, enhancing the community and the area a lot more. I think it’s a positive thing.”With the controversy from the market’s most vocal opponent out of the way, area residents strolled past the dozen stalls on the parking lots of Ivy’s Flower Station and Yoga at the Village, with the sounds of steel drums and the smell of grilled chicken rising into the air.The event succeeded in drawing residents to a business area that many of them were not previously aware of, said Elyse Briggs, owner of Yoga at the Village.“So many people who came up here ironically said, ‘I didn’t even know this place was here,’” Briggs said.Although the market was small, it still provided an opportunity for residents to enjoy an afternoon walk, said Christopher Glass, who was walking passed other stores along the one-block business district.“You might as well walk around and see what else is here other than just the farmers market,” Glass said.