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Growers grow testy over market changes
Town residents have long enjoyed combining their Saturday morning dog walk with a stop at the Warrenton Farmer's Market. With a dog's leash in one hand and the other free to pick out produce or carry flowers, these customers and their furry canine companions have sprinkled the market's scene since its opening in 1975.
However, when the market opens this April 12, it will not be extending its welcome to dogs. Vendors of the Warrenton Farmer's Market discussed and voted on a number of market policy changes during their annual meeting last week, including a new “no dog” policy.
While many vendors did not personally oppose the presence of dogs at the market— some had previously even made a tradition of handing out dog treats — Virginia Health Department regulations prohibit dogs at farmer's markets, a law that has long been in place, but which farmers' markets rarely enforce.
Those reluctant to vote in favor of this change asserted that dogs are an integral part of the market's tradition and fear that prohibiting them will mean losing valuable customers. Nonetheless, the potential health and safety liability posed by a dogs won out.
“I have nothing against dogs,” said Monty Cross, of Next Generation Garden and Nursery, Midland. “I like dogs. But if a dog pees on one of my plants I have to go and wash that plant before I can sell it to a customer. That's not my job.”
The vendors did discuss the possibility of installing hooks, where customers passing through could tie their dogs as they shop, but this would need to be approved by the town's Public Works Department.
The time and location of Warrenton's Wednesday Market was also a topic of debate.
Until last season, the Wednesday market was held on Court Street, in front of Town Hall. “It was accessible and convenient for people living or working in town who could walk,” market manager Mickey Rhoades said, “but it didn't meet the larger population's needs.” Rhoades said that the market also blocked accessibility to offices, and obstructed the road, creating traffic problems.
Rhoades and the market's board negotiated with the manager of the Warrenton Shopping Center, located off of W. Lee Highway, to secure a Wednesday market spot in the center's parking lot. Safeway, which decades ago was located in the same shopping center before moving to the shopping center on the other side of Branch Street, has a lease agreement with the manager that includes a “no-competition clause.” The exact location of the Wednesday market in the shopping center parking lot therefore required approval from Safeway.
The market was designated to the back side of the the Warrenton Shopping Center, near the Warrenton Center Cleaners and Mojitos and Tapas Restaurant at the Branch Street entrance.
“Safeway didn't want this to be successful, so they stuck us in the back” said Bob Wollam, who sells flowers from his farm, Wollam Gardens in Jeffersonton, at Warrenton's Saturday market. Many of the producers said that they are choosing not to participate in the Wednesday market again this year due to the location, which they claim offers little visibility, and lacks atmosphere.
“There's no commitment, because of the location,” Wollam said. “We need a place that looks like it has a future. There can be good demand here [Warrenton]. We just need the right place.”
Rhoades said that new signs directing people to the market will help compensate for the lack of street visibility. “The signs in town need to be replaced because they are weathered and faded,” Rhoades said. “We're taking advantage of that and putting up signs on Lee Highway next to Branch Drive that point people toward the Wednesday market.” Rhoades has also ordered new signs for the parking lot of the Saturday market.
Nonetheless, many vendors were not satisfied. “You're trying to fix up something that's not fixable with advertising,” Wollom said. “The site is an obstacle.”
Another vendor suggested that perhaps Riceberg Corp. had chosen that location to attract business in the section of the shopping center with the least visibility.
Gene Swartz, of Hawks Haven farm in Sumerduck, participated in last season's Wednesday market, and disagreed with many of these comments.
He said that on some Wednesdays, the new dry cleaner attracted as many as 700 people. “If the people who left last season had just stayed, they would have seen business picked up,” Swartz said.
“If the people who participated in the Wednesday market last season are happy, there's no need to change the location,” said vendor and new market board member Sabry Alsharkawi.
Vendors also debated the time of the market.
Last year, the Wednesday market ran from 1 p.m. to 7p.m. Many agreed that the afternoon market was successful in accommodating customers' work schedules, as well as attracting parents on their way to and from picking up their children at school, particularly Highland.
However, the busiest time of the market, 1 p.m. To 3 p.m., was also the hottest time. Lydia Dahl, said that the sun “ruined her produce,” melting the soaps she sells. Other vendors also complained that their vegetables did not stay fresh under the intense heat.
Subsequently, the vendors voted to change the market to a morning market which will open at 7 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m. Some opposed a five-hour market, and requested that the market open at 8 a.m. instead. They claimed that opening the market at 7 a.m. is futile, when the stores in the shopping center do not open until 9 am. “How much traffic is going to be coming through at 7?” said Emil Weber of Sumerduck Emu Ranch. “It's a workday, and the stores aren't even open.”
Rhoades emphasized that the Wednesday market needs vendors to commit to it, in order to build a stable customer base.
“We have a multitude of successful business people who have each made their business a success on their own, by doing things their way,” Rhoades said. “The challenge is bringing their minds together to come up with solutions that work for all of them.”
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