Yellow Green Farmers Market may be temporarily shut
The popular Yellow Green Farmers Market in Hollywood may be ordered temporarily shut amid city concerns about growth, safety and parking issues, with a meeting scheduled today to determine whether the weekend-only food and shopping destination will be open for business Saturday.
“Right now there are a lot of iffy things,” Mark Menagh, Yellow Green Farmers Market general manager, said Thursday. “We’re hoping to get the situation on Friday.”
The fate of 500 vendors and workers at the market, along with weekend plans of thousands of customers who flock to the complex on North 30th Road between Taft and Sheridan streets, hangs in the balance.
Menagh and Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy said they are hopeful a shutdown can be averted. Levy said the market’s growth, including a new parking lot and temporary structures built on a parking lot near the market’s open warehouse, has triggered clarified a review by city building, code and fire officials. Those officials will meet with the market’s owners today to set a course of action.
“We all want the success of the market to continue,” Levy said Thursday night. “It has become Hollywood’s second biggest attraction after the beach. But as we are all aware, the market has grown rapidly in the last few months, and from time to time the city needs to review that growth to make sure it is safe and up to code.”
Levy said the meeting would clarify whether there are any violations severe enough to trigger “red-tagging” the market, meaning closure until problems are fixed. Menagh said he hopes for resolution early Friday, to give ample notice to employees and vendors. The market is usually open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Menagh said city officials have been visiting the property to flag issues as the market has expanded. The market houses more than 360 vendors selling produce, crafts and prepared foods, such as empanadas and barbecue.