PORT ANGELES — The Saturday Port Angeles Farmers Market will make The Gateway its long-term home beginning this weekend, but with a few less vendors.
The farmers market’s board of directors voted to move the market to The Gateway’s pavilion at Front and Lincoln streets Tuesday after a majority of the vendors said they like the new location’s high visibility, covered area and access to public restrooms.
But four of the six vendors who declined to sell their goods at The Gateway during the last two Saturday trial runs told the Peninsula Daily News that they will leave the market for good when the market moves from the parking lot outside the Clallam County Courthouse.
Those vendors — Sequim Valley Products, Princess Valiant Coffee, wooden toy maker Erwin Barr and The Elwha Apiary — say that there isn’t enough vehicle access to the pavilion to make it worth the effort.
Two other vendors who didn’t try The Gateway over the last two weeks, Harmony Hill and Dry Creek Farm, could not be reached for comment.
Approximately 30 vendors attended the Saturday markets at the courthouse, which was the location of the Wednesday and Saturday markets since December 2005 when the City Council voted to not extend its permit to close a block of Laurel Street because of complaints from several merchants nearby.
The smaller Wednesday market moved from the courthouse to The Gateway on July 1.
Goal for city
Getting both markets into The Gateway was a goal for the city.
“I think that the farmers market . . . has real potential to grow in the downtown area and bring residents into the downtown area,” said City Manager Kent Myers.
Myers said Wednesdays and Saturdays will be reserved for the market in a yet-to-be-signed contract.
The vendors who are leaving say the problem with the pavilion is that it requires vendors to either drive onto it one at a time and unload, and then find a place to park, or park first and haul their merchandise and equipment in.
Help offered
The market’s management has tried to offset those issues by hiring a few people to assist with loading and unloading and providing a few carts.
Board Chairwoman Cindy Elstrom said choosing The Gateway wasn’t easy when board members knew that they would lose a few of the vendors.
“It made it a very difficult decision because we would have loved to have pleased everyone,” she said.
“We would have loved to find a place that met every single need identified.”
Barr, who requires two canes to walk, said that he needs to be able to operate out of his truck because of limited mobility.
He said he doesn’t want to let the hired helpers load and unload his carved wooden toys because they may not handle them with the same care he does.
“I’ve had help in other markets, and half your stuff gets broken,” Barr said.
He said he won’t sell at the Sequim Open Aire Market because he can’t work out of his truck there either and plans to sell his goods out of his home instead.
Sam Crossley, who runs The Elwha Apiary with her husband, David, said age, her arthritis and a recent surgery will keep them from using The Gateway.
“We are both elderly, and my husband just had surgery on a shoulder,” said Crossley, 63.
“It’s not convenient for us or our customers.”
Crossley said they don’t want to give it a try with the few hired helpers because the lack of free all-day parking spaces at The Gateway and the memory of having to move the market out of downtown nearly four years ago also are factors.
“We were run out of downtown once,” she said. “We just don’t feel like we need to do this over again.”
Instead, they will operate only out of their home, Crossley said.
Jack Clapp, owner of Sequim Valley Products, said his elderly father who sells his syrups and jams at the market finds walking difficult.
“It’s extra walking and double handling,” he said.
Clapp said that not selling at the farmers market will have a minimal effect on his sales. He will continue to sell his goods at the Old Post Office Sweets and Gifts store in Carlsborg.
Denise Brennan, owner of Princess Valiant Coffee, said she won’t use The Gateway because of the extra wait time in setting up her coffee stand.
“I just think there are a lot of disadvantages that far outweigh the advantages,” she said.
Brennan said she is looking for another year-round market to attend.
Elstrom said the board took their concerns into consideration, but in the end, the pros of having more visibility, a broader customer base due to ferry and general downtown foot traffic, the covered area and the restrooms outweighed the cons.
But one of the down sides — the lack of free all-day parking — still needs to be addressed, she said.
Elstrom said the market is hoping to get a fee waived by Heckman Motors, which runs the parking at The Gateway.
“It’s a work in progress,” she said.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
