Corona Del Mar farmers market gets new vendor despite complaints from community

A new vendor interested in growing the Corona Del Mar Farmers Market will replace the operator who managed it for almost 30 years, raising concerns from some residents that the weekly community event could become a nuisance and lose some of their favorite merchants. But the new manager says those notions are rooted in misinformation.

Heritage Wellness Collective won a revocable license to run the market for the next five years following a 6-1 vote by the city council at their meeting Tuesday, with Councilman Erik Weigand as the only member in opposition. The nonprofit will take over after the license with the current manager, Rick Heil, expires on June 30.

David Franco, shown talking to customers Saturday, has been selling his fresh flowers at the Corona del Mar Certified Farmers Market for 27 years and wants to continue.

(Susan Hoffman)

The city began soliciting bids for a new operator in August, according to a staff report. Newport Beach officials made their decision based on candidates’ experience running farmer’s markets as well as their ability to create community events and attract quality merchants while retaining existing vendors. Heritage Wellness Collective was chosen out of 8 bidders.

The nonprofit runs seven weekly or bi-monthly farmer’s markets in Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Their executive director, Bing Turner, has a background in public health, and told the Daily Pilot during an interview Wednesday he hopes to preserve the Corona Del Mar gathering’s focus on high quality produce while drawing in more families, local businesses and institutions to visit and take part in it.

“Will the market look different than what it currently looks like now? Absolutely yes,” Turner said. “Will the vendors change at the market? That’s going to happen. Are we going to move people out of their market or out of their spaces? No, unless they decide they don’t want to work with us. But we’re there to really enhance and make the space reflective of the community... this isn’t going to be any rock concert.”

Numerous residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting said they feared the merchants supplying their favorite carrots, strawberries, pomegranates, flowers, cuts of meat and more may go away if the market changes management. Current operator Heil claimed that only one of its current vendors had been contacted by Heritage.

Several public speakers cited the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” They said they preferred that the the market remain solely for the exchange of artisan produce. Many worried that adding food vendors, music and public events would make it a larger event that would result in more noise and traffic.

Opponents of the change in vendors claim more than 1,000 people had signed a petition to prevent the move.

“The people are really angry in the community,” Heil told the Pilot at the most recent Corona Del Mar Farmer’s Market on Saturday. “I’ve never seen anything like this where the city council go up against the will of the people who like it and don’t want to change something that’s been there 29 years.”

However, Turner said he has heard from numerous people in the Newport Beach community who want to see the market evolve into a more family-oriented event. He said that includes local chefs and merchants who had been denied after expressing interest in doing business at the market.

Turner also refuted Heil’s claim that only one vendor had been contacted by Heritage. The nonprofit’s executive director said emails were sent prior to Tuesday’s meeting to about 15 or 20 merchants currently doing business at the Corona Del Mar market, and 14 had replied expressing interest in staying under new management. Turner added that he was hesitant to contact them before confirming the new license agreement, but had been advised by city staff to do so.

Concerned Corona Del Mar residents said that email was the first notification they received regarding new management and the city did not reach out to them for input. Many said the preliminary message from Heritage was evidence that the change was a “done deal” even before council members cast their votes.

“We like the Farmers Market the way it is,” said Corona del Mar resident and petition monitor, Carole Geronsin said Saturday. “Everyone we talked to there was not one person that doesn’t absolutely love it the way it is.”

Turner, as well as members of the council, acknowledged that more could have been done to engage residents before the issue came to council. However, he said Heritage’s immediate priority will be building a bridge with the Corona Del Mar Community to ensure the market continues to meet their needs and wants, while growing to include more of their neighbors.

Before voting on the new agreement, Councilman Weigand asked that provisions for the inclusion of live music be removed. Mayor Pro Tem formally backed that amendment, which was seconded by Councilman Noah Blom. Councilmembers also asked city staff to further study potential impacts to traffic.

“I get it they don’t want to lose something they have none of us do once we have it... nobody on this dais ever wants to see food trucks everywhere,” Blom said. “I’m here to give new things a try because sometimes it’s amazing what happens when we take a chance on something new. And I hear the scoffing from people in the room, mainly from the current operator.”

Blom and other councilmembers also noted that the new license is revocable, and can be terminated if new management does not prove satisfactory.