Update: The official reopening date for the Century City Farmers’ Market is Thursday, March 31.
The Century City Farmers’ Market vacated the area for the first-half of winter, but the community will get its local market back once it re-opens at its new location this spring – with the exact date to be announced at a later time – during the usual business hours, each Thursday between 10 am and 2 pm.
The new location will be just a stone’s throw from the longtime spot, surrounding Plaza grounds at the Hines property at 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., according to John Edwards, president of Raw Inspiration, the operators of the farmers market.
“While the farmers’ market will no longer be in the exact location that our vendors and patrons are used to, 10100 Santa Monica has kindly and generously offered a space for the market, immediately adjacent to its former location,” said Jennifer McColm, the head of the farmers’ market organization. “With 10100 Santa Monica’s involvement, the farmers’ market will continue its decades-long tradition of serving residents and office tenants alike with local, fresh produce and artisan food offerings.”
McColm credited the Hines property and its property manager Michelle Olenick for their determination and support in saving the farmers’ market.
“Without 10100 Santa Monica stepping in, I believe it would have been the end of a favorite Century City institution,” McColm said.
Previously located in the Plaza of the Topa building at 1800 Avenue of the Stars, the farmers’ market was endangered in August 2015 when Topa warned that it had 60 days to close down operation on the property.
This notice spurred an online petition of impassioned pleas from professionals and residents who relied on the weekday farmers’ market for local and seasonal foods. The petition has since garnered 464 signatures with 191 comments at press time.
With approximately 30 vendors, including the near-famous and queued for Aloha Chicken, the Century City Farmers’ Market hosted throngs of desk jockeys at the Topa location every Thursday since 2008. Years before, it was held around Constellation Blvd.
L.A. City Councilmember Paul Koretz, whose 5th District includes Century City, has been a vocal supporter of the Century City Farmers’ Market from the beginning. In November, Koretz wrote a letter to Jim Brooks, president of Topa Management Company, in strong support of the market remaining at its current location, at least until the end of 2015.
The farmers’ market was given a new lease on life, at least for a few more weeks, when Topa agreed to let the market stay at its location until the last Thursday of the year. Since January, Century City has been market-less.
“I am truly delighted that the Century City Farmers’ Market is reopening and that its future is secure,” Koretz said in a statement. “The farmers’ market is an invaluable community centerpiece because it’s a fun gathering place that makes available wonderfully fresh and healthy food items. I thank Raw Inspiration and Hines Properties for making this possible, and congratulate all of Century City on this great news.”
