The farmers market will reopen in Pacific Palisades on Sunday.
Melissa Farwell, director of coordination and development for Raw Inspiration, said Tuesday that the Palisades Farmers Market would reopen this Sunday at two locations near the Village Green.
The popular market launched 20 years ago, has been closed since mid-March because its location on the Palisades High campus was closed by the LAUSD.
The market’s first location will be on Antioch, between Swarthmore and Via de la Paz. The waiting line to access this market will be on Swarthmore, below The Yogurt Shoppe.
The second location will be on north Swarthmore, from the alleyway over to Monument (allowing people to access Caruso’s Palisades Village parking lot). The entrance line for shoppers will start at the alleyway and extend west to Sunset, and around U.S. Bank.
“We will have sidewalk markers in place to ensure guests remain mindful of physical distancing,” Farwell said.
Palisades residents are reminded that farmers markets have strict safety protocols. Masks are mandatory and only a limited number of patrons are allowed in at one time to shop. Patrons are not allowed to touch the produce and there is no food sampling, per L.A. County orders.
“We will have a staff member at each entrance, at each exit and one who roams at all times throughout the market day,” Farwell said.
The market hours every Sunday will be 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
People will not be allowed to enter either market location from the sidewalks. Farwell said, “Vendors will be set up along each side against the sidewalks, creating a natural barrier, with customers shopping in the middle of the street. People will not be able to access the vendors’ booths from the back because there will either be banners up or it will be roped off.”
Once a shopper is inside the market, “There will be chalk marks on the ground that will assist customers in knowing where to stand in front of booths.”
Farwell told Circling the News in an August 24 email that “We have been successfully operating in compliance with state and local Covid guidelines at all of our 12 open markets. The safety of our vendors, customers and our employees is of the highest priority.”
Vendors will park in Caruso’s underground garage and people visiting the farmers market will receive complimentary parking from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Palisades Village. “Out of respect for our neighbors, we kindly request that people do not utilize street parking in the neighborhood,” Farwell said.
Swarthmore, south of Sunset, will remain open to traffic, as will Via de La Paz.
Although the market will not have a separate time for seniors, there will be a separate line for those over 65 and also for those people who have shopped at one market location and then want to visit the second one.
Although this reopening and the new location had not gone before the Pacific Palisades Community Council or the Village Green board, Councilman Mike Bonin’s office was essential in obtaining the permits.
“They had heard from so many constituents that wanted their market back open,” Farwell said. “We are excited to serve the Palisades Community once again. This is our 20-year anniversary, and while we can’t do much to celebrate the way we had originally planned, we are so very excited to be open to the Community that we have served for all these years.”
Although there was a chance to return to PaliHi, Farwell said this would have required going through an extensive approval process. “We were eager to bring the Farmers Market back for both the Community and the Vendors – which are comprised of small, local businesses – and we are delighted to return the Farmers Market to Swarthmore.”
Originally, the market was located on Swarthmore (between Sunset and Monument) before the street was closed in 2016 for construction of Palisades Village. Initially, Caruso promised the market would come back to Swarthmore once his mall opened in September 2018. Two years later, half of the market is returning to its original location.
Thank you for reporting this exciting news!