SAN ANTONIO – The Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market is frantically searching for a new home after its licensing deal with the Quarry Market property was cut short.
Sunday was a typical scene, farmers and ranchers laying out their fresh goods at the Quarry in the parking lot in front of Whole Foods. It's what's gone on every Sunday for the last three and a half years, but that's all about to change.
"On Nov. 13 we got a letter via FedEx from the corporate office in California, telling us basically that we had four weeks left to be here," said Quarry Farmers Market co-founder David Lent.
Lent said the property owners, American Assets Trust out of San Diego, terminated the lease agreement early, saying the market took up too much parking room at the Quarry.
"I mean look around, there's so much parking here. I don't get it," Lent said.
Lent said he felt blindsided.
"Only a few short months ago they allowed us to double the size of the market, and actually encouraged us to get more vendors. We never got a phone call saying, 'Hey let's sit down and talk about this, let's work through the problem.' We just got a letter," he said.
The 35-40 vendors who sell at the Quarry Market are the main concern. The farmers and ranchers sell at multiple markets each week, but vendors like Joel Stiefer with 3G Farms, said the goods he sells on Sunday at the Quarry make up 50 percent of his income.
"It was a shock," Stiefer said. "This location has been very good to us. It's a one-of-a-kind location. It's going to be hard to replace, but they say they're going to do it and we're going to back them."
The last Quarry Farmers and Ranchers Market will be Dec. 7. In the meantime, Lent is choosing between several nearby relocation options, so vendors won't miss a week of sales, especially during the holidays.
The Alamo Quarry Market released the following statement Sunday:
"This difficult decision was based on extensive discussions with our tenants and their customers to better serve their operations and shopping experience at Alamo Quarry Market during the holiday season and beyond. In that we believe a Farmers Market may be a valuable use in the future, we intend to revisit this decision as circumstances change."