Editor:
Weekend vendors are literally taking money from the pockets of we, the brick-and-mortar store owners in the village. Now, but more than ever since the fire.
Our revenue is suffering, yet we seem forced to still share what little there is. Tell me why?
I’m not the only business to feel this way or notice the decline in revenue and traffic due to cheaply offered vendor spaces. Permits or not, neither of these promoters used enough “common sense or courtesy” to first ask the “year-round” brick-and-mortar store owners, either individually or collectively, what we thought of their bright ideas. I’m certain we would have all said “No.” This is cut-throat tactics at work.
Farmers Market should be on a week day for local farmers only, not crafts or paintings, etc. Good venues for such items are the Palm Springs street show on Thursday night or College of the Desert on weekends — both are year-round.
Since my first gentle effort with a letter to the editor over a year ago, nothing has changed except my traffic, and, consequently, revenue on Sundays and Saturdays, too, when Art in the Park is taking the cream off the top.
This has to stop, before we all just sell from pop-ups to save ourselves the rent, hard work, blood and tears it takes to make this town the beautiful village it is, and we end up looking like a swap meet.
I mean, why not? It’s obviously cheaper, and since no one seems to care anyway, and there is no governing force in town with the authority or foresight to stop it. Riverside County which gives the permits, doesn’t care enough about our financial condition to negate permits for such offerings in our small village. They just want money.
Simply stated: There is not enough surplus revenue to be competed for in this way. Please use some common sense with respect to the people who have given this village our blood, sweat and tears for many years on end to create the appealing nature of this special place.
If you don’t demand it, there will be no supply. We demand people stop supporting these vendors and patronize the brick-and-mortar stores only in our village. But that’s only if you would like to see our town survive, of course. So how’s that for starters?
Mountain Mike Allen
Idyllwild
