By Hutton Marshall | SDUN Editor
If you were one of the motivated few who awoke before noon last weekend, and you happened to drive down Park Blvd. over to its clustered intersection with Normal St. and El Cajon Blvd, chances are you noticed a new gathering. On Saturday Nov. 15, in the lawn and parking lot of the old teacher’s annex, the inaugural University Heights Open Aire Market was held, adding yet another local farmers market to the Mid-City communities.
Running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday, the Olde English-titled Open Aire Market will host your typical farmers market, with a few oddities thrown in, such as a drum circle and yoga classes strewn throughout the morning.
University Heights Community Development Corporation Executive Director Christopher Milnes said the idea of a farmers market has been floating around for upwards of 15 years, but finally reached fruition thanks to the proactive involvement of farmers market manager Lisa Hamel.
“I was looking for something I could sink my teeth into really,” Hamel said. “And I knocked on their door and I said, ‘hey, what do you think?’”
This is Hamel’s third farmers market. Most notably, she got Oceanside’s Sunset Market up and running, which she says vastly improved Oceanside’s once troubled downtown.
“It helped clean up the community up there,” Hamel said. “They closed off the streets and brought in some electricity. Now it’s a lot of fun.”
While University Heights isn’t in need of saving or revitalization, it’s got several other well-established markets nearby to compete with. Little Italy North Park, Hillcrest and several other communities already draw sizable crowds to their neighborhoods on a weekly basis. Giving the Open Aire Market a unique appeal will be the make-or-break challenge faced by Hamel and the University Heights CDC.
While the market has all the essentials—the local art, a few food trucks and local businesses setting up shop—they’ve added a few off-color ideas to the mix. A large drum circle with a few dancers certainly caught the eye on Saturday. Donation-only yoga classes run throughout the morning—also offered to kids—granted getting a child to attentively participate in a yoga class sounds like a daunting challenge. A featured teacher of the week will also host a class midway through each market, and once a month an art show will take place on the lawn.
“We wanted it to be open enough where everyone could be included,” Hamel said. “There [are] so many choices, so many fabulous markets to go to, so we’re just trying to shine a little bit brighter.”
While the crowd present on Saturday was light, businesses saw it as a catalyst for drawing a larger portion of the community to the market in coming weeks.
Virginia Yousif, who works in Ms. Patty Melt, a food truck owned by the Cohn Restaurant Group, said these events are vital for food trucks during this period in which mobile vendors are stuck in a legal limbo. Interim Mayor Gloria revived neglected city laws that prevent food trucks from operating on private property—at least until new regulations are put into place—although enforcement of this policy has thus far been axed.
“With our company we go only where we have a certain space,” Yousif said. “With the whole transition with the mayor and whatnot, we’ll see what happens, because right now it’s super strict.”
Yousif said Ms. Patty Melt’s policy is to only go to scheduled events rather than going “rogue” and roaming populated street areas like many other vendors. Foot traffic is a big concern for all food trucks, and it’s an especially large factor in determining where Ms. Patty Melt will set up shop. While foot traffic at the Open Aire Market’s first installation may have been lower than Yousif prefers, she anticipates the crowd to grow because of the good location and visibility of the market.
“I think once they get the word out and people tell their neighbors and their friends, it’ll be a good turnout,” she said.
Jensea Storie and Susan Heenan were two North County residents who traveled down to University Heights to get a glimpse at what its local businesses had to offer. Loaded with bags full of purchases from the market, they were two of the day’s more enthusiastic patrons.
“I got some fresh beets, some free-range, no-hormones, no-antibiotics eggs. A fabulous loaf of walnut, date, sourdough, freshly baked bread,” Storie said emphatically, boasting about capitalizing on the organic produce stands.
The two also commended Hamel, their friend, for organizing what they were confident would be a successful farmers market.
“[Hamel] did a grand job,” Heenan said. “I think it’s going to be a monster.”
Both Hamel and Milnes emphasized inclusiveness over all else at this weekly event, especially with University Heights businesses and residences, as shown through their motto, “I love local.” Anyone interested in participating, whether it be displaying, performing, selling, buying, hula hooping, cawing like a bird—any way you’d like to participate—should contact Hamel directly at [email protected] or at 760-500-7583.
Next Featured Teacher: Nov. 23rd, Ken Dorr of the Optimum Health Institute and Kale University
Next Art Show: Dec. 7
Location: 4100 Normal Street
Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
