Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Santa Barbara, Calif.-Area Plaza Adds Farmers Market and Outdoor Kiosks

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 16:35:08 -0500

Santa Barbara, Calif.-Area Plaza Adds Farmers Market and Outdoor Kiosks

December 12, 2002 4:28pm

Dec. 11--Something is definitely in the air at La Cumbre Plaza, and it isn't just
Christmas.

Since last month, the bustling shopping
precinct in the 3800 block of Upper State
Street, between La Cumbre Road and Hope
Avenue, has been even more busy and colorful
than usual.

One of the big changes has been the
establishment of a regular Wednesday
Farmers Market, while La Cumbre also has
begun welcoming those little kiosks once a
familiar sight at its downtown sister shopping
center, Paseo Nuevo.

On top of all that, said La Cumbre Plaza
general manager Traci Taitt, stores continue to
expand or open at the shopping center, which
is already 97 percent leased with around 60
outlets.

Changes coming in the spring include the opening of Pizza Mizza, a 3,000-square-foot
eatery with outdoor
patio seating, a new outlet for the Nextel cellular phone company and the relocation of
children's and baby
clothing store Gymboree, which will double in size.

Ms. Taitt said about a year of planning led to the Nov. 13 launch of the Farmers Market.
It runs from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m. each Wednesday, attracting about 20 growers whose stalls are sprinkled around
the plaza's flower
beds and fountains and between rows of shops.

"We're absolutely thrilled," she said. "The merchants all think it's a fabulous event.
We've just had so many
good comments. The farmers said they could tell from the first day it was going to be
successful and it has
been.

"We have bought all new umbrellas and linens for the tables, and often we have live music.
It feels like we're
providing a special event each week."

To catch the Christmas season, the market has opened as La Cumbre Plaza Farmers Market and
not a
certified farmers market -- meaning vendors have to grow what they sell -- like several
others held on
different days around the district.

Organizers are in the process of obtaining from the city a conditional use permit, which
involves satisfying
all sorts of planning, health and safety requirements. Ms. Taitt said a final hearing is
scheduled for Jan. 9
and she is confident about the outcome.

Gail Zannon, board president of the Farmers Market Association, a cooperative of 150
growers, shares that
optimism.

Mrs. Zannon, who grows pistachios in the high desert of the Cuyama Valley, said next
month's appearance
before city planners is to finalize a number of details. "I'm hopeful and I'm sure this is
just a formality."

She said La Cumbre is good for the Farmers Market as there was nothing similar operating
in that area. The
day and time also fit well, dovetailing nicely with the Solvang market from 3 p.m. to 6
p.m. the same day.

Mrs. Zannon said La Cumbre was limited in space though it could accommodate up to 30
growers and offer
a good cross-section of produce. "Stores like us to be there as we bring in more people,"
she added.

This is traditionally a slower time of year for Farmers Markets, said Mrs. Zannon, so it
is a good time to
launch the new venture. She also praised those responsible and said growers had been
"pleasantly
surprised" by their hard work and thorough organization.

Meanwhile, the plaza is to become home to half a dozen vendor carts, perhaps more in the
future, of which
three are already in business selling mini remote controlled cars, cell phone accessories
and makeup.

These, officials say, are much less obtrusive than the black and green 9-foot carts, which
appeared in
Paseo Nuevo for a few months before they were forced to make an ignominious exit almost
exactly two
years ago.

In that case angry retailers claimed their storefronts were being obscured, costing them
money; the city
council claimed the kiosks never had official approval and that in any case they were
standing on part of De
la Guerra Street.

Lawyers got involved, lawsuits were filed and finally a judge ruled that the kiosks be
removed from the main
pedestrian entrance to the shopping center.

Ms. Taitt, who was involved in that skirmish, is confident there will be no such
repercussions this time after
completing design and architectural reviews with the city and satisfying the building
department.

The first kiosk, offering natural makeup under the True Colors banner, opened Nov. 1.
Operator Helen
Mufarreh said November had been slow and she's hoping business will pick up before the end
of January
when the three-month lease comes up for renewal.

Next door, Ernie Flores runs Cell Station with a range of cell phone accessories such as
holsters,
earpieces, leather cases and jazzy face plates.

The third cart in line, selling mini remote control cars, is run by Oxnard couple Ashik
and Rikta Islam who
plan to be in the plaza "at least until Christmas."

Placing kiosks in shopping centers has been an industry trend for 20 years, according to
Ms. Taitt. She
said the carts complemented rather than competed with surrounding businesses while adding
life and
vitality to the plaza.

-------------------

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