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Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market Told To Move

Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market

 

San Antonio’s Alamo Quarry Market has terminated its agreement with the Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market which has been operating in front of Whole Foods Market since 2011.

Now, owners are planning to re-open the farmers market in a different location.

The market has been a mainstay for residents and restaurant owners, selling fresh vegetables, natural meats and eggs, prepared foods and other products from the parking lot of the Quarry on Sunday mornings.

Market founder and director David Lent said FedEx delivered the notice about a week ago. Terms of the eviction give him about three weeks to find a new location.

“They had the right with a short amount of notice to tell us to go,” he said.

Lent says the letter advised him the shopping center needed its parking spaces for the center’s brick and mortar customers. He was confused about the decision to evict.

“The conflicting part is the fact that they sent us an email telling us that the agreement would be renewed. They agreed to the larger space and they agreed to a new license agreement,” he said.

The Alamo Quarry Market sent a statement to TPR late Friday, saying the “difficult decision was based on extensive discussions with our tenants and their customers to better serve their operations and shopping experience during the holiday season and beyond.”

Though the story of the eviction elicited dozens or even hundreds messages of support, Lent seemed convinced that going another way would be okay. He said he’s in talks with nearby property owners who he believed would welcome a farmers market within a mile or two of the Quarry.

“But we feel that our customers who have come mostly from this area have been so loyal and supportive that we don’t want to move far away and make it inconvenient for them. So if all goes well, yes, we will relocate in the same vicinity,” Lent said.

Lent said Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market would hold a press conference Sunday, Nov. 23, at the Quarry location. 

Eileen Pace is a veteran radio and print journalist with a long history of investigative and feature reporting in San Antonio and Houston, earning more than 50 awards for investigative reporting, documentaries, long-form series, features, sports stories, outstanding anchoring and best use of sound.