It was warm and sunny in the Mission District on Thursday afternoon. But even San Francisco’s nicest weather wasn’t enough to drive sales at El Tiangue or La Placita, the two locations the city has assigned to vendors since the start of the Mission St. vending ban.
“We just try to recover the amounts right now, whatever they invest.”
This is Rodrigo Lopez. He’s president of the Mission St. Vendors Association. For the last five months he’s been trying to sell his goods at 2137 Mission St. or El Tiangue. But business has been so slow that he’s had to rely on part-time work elsewhere to make ends meet.
“But even like that, it's still hard. It is hard to deal with no income like it used to be.”
When the city announced that they’re closing down the storefront, he wasn’t surprised.
“The city is offering a new place, a second place, second location, right? At 24th and Capp Street, they call it La Placita.”
La Placita is a converted parking-lot, with only 20 spots for vendors. Here’s Susana Rojas, the Executive Director of Calle 24 Latino Cultural District.
“Originally, La Placita was going to be an artisan type of market. More so than El Tiangue, so right now that's mostly what we have here. So, we have flowers, we have leather goods, we have some jewelry and we have some miscellaneous items.”
But business at La Placita isn’t any better than it is at El Tiangue. Rojas says, ultimately, their goal is to get the vendors their old spots back.
“For us it's about making sure that while they're here, that they're making money and they're making a living, but also that we are advocating and continuing to work to create a path back to Mission Street.”
Both Lopez and Rojas are optimistic for the future of Mission St. vendors. Again, Lopez.
“I cannot give you too much, uh, too many details, too much information, but the city is working with us right now.”
Meanwhile, the scene down at 16th St. BART station was a familiar one. A few rogue vendors were set up to sell goods, but for the most part, the area was quiet. Francis Farrell was sitting on the steps of the plaza, enjoying the sun. He told KALW he misses having the vendors there.
“It's made the area less interesting to me and I don't think it's fair to the people. I don't know why they're bothering. I really don't. I miss it. Just browsing.”
El Tiangue will be open until April 21st. Once it closes, you can find Rodrigo and other vendors at La Placita, on 24th and Capp St.
