Four months into Mission vending ban, one market set to close

It takes about five minutes to walk the four blocks from Mission Local’s office at 21st and Mission streets to 24th and Capp streets, where the city set up a tented space for legal vendors after imposing a vending ban in late November.

The vending ban prohibits street sales on Mission Street between 14th and Cesar Chavez streets. No matter. During a recent noon walk on the eastern side of Mission Street, about 20 vendors were lined up between parking meters and bike racks selling shampoo, soap, coffee, t-shirts and jerky.

Nevertheless, the city deemed the vending ban successful and extended it until August 27. In the meantime, it is closing one of the sanctioned vending spots, El Tiangue, at 2137 Mission St. near 17th Street, because it simply hasn’t had many customers.

The dozen or so vendors still there — the city once imagined a space filled with at least 40 vendors — are set to join the half-dozen merchants at the other sanctioned site ‘La Placita’ at 24th and Capp streets.

One of the vendors at La Placita said that she welcomes the addition of the merchants, because she thinks having more products might make La Placita a more appealing destination. So far, she said, sales are not going great. And, if the city sees the vending ban as effective, the permitted vendors said the extension would only hurt their sales even more. 

“The majority of our business comes from people walking by Mission Street and getting off the bus. People don’t really come into this space,” said Doña Hilda, fussing with her jewelry display as a potential customer walked near her stand. “Get close. Get close. What are you looking for,” she asked in Spanish while she shared her frustrations over the ban with a reporter. “I am retired, and I need to supplement my income. Yesterday I only sold five dollars all day.” She estimated that her sales have fallen more than 90 percent since the ban began.  

Doña Hilda’s case is not unique, as each of the merchants we spoke to at El Tiangue and La Placita said they have lost more than 90 percent of their income. Nowadays, $50 in sales is considered a good day. Before the vending ban, a good day meant $350 in sales.  

Rodrigo Lopez, a merchant at El Tiangue and the president of the Mission Street Vendors Association, an organization representing 116 permitted vendors, said that, despite efforts by the city to advertise and organize events at El Tiangue, business is almost nonexistent. He too hopes that having all the merchants together at one location will bring more foot traffic.

“We wish it had worked;  the city did everything they could,” Lopez said as he watched employees from the city’s Public Works Department ask street vendors almost next door to El Tiangue to move. He fears the vendors think that the merchants at El Tiangue are calling the authorities on them. 

Of his move to La Placita, he said, “It’s like moving to a new home … it feels a little scary.” 

He recalled approaching Mayor London Breed at an outdoor event at Golden Gate Park a couple of months ago to share some of his and fellow vendors’ frustrations. He said that he was impressed by how receptive Breed was to have a conversation with him and how quickly her team set up a meeting for him with a member of her staff. 

Susana Rojas, the executive director of Calle 24, said that the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development has done a good job listening to what the vendors need, despite the disappointing sales throughout these initial months.

“What has made this collaboration so great is that the staff [from the OEWD working with the community] understand the community,” she said.  “There’s not much convincing, because they have people from the community.” 

Still, Rojas said that, despite the city’s good intentions, the ultimate goal for her and for the merchants she has been working with is to go back to the streets. It’s unclear how they will manage to keep the unpermitted vendors at bay. 

A merchant at La Placita, Maria Martinez, agreed. She said it was frustrating to see other street vendors on Mission operate illegally while they suffer behind the bars that enclose the La Placita parking lot.

A person at the OEWD said that the situation is complex; the police can only interact with street vendors if they have a Public Works employee with them, because the state decriminalized street vending in 2018. This dynamic, they said, has made it difficult to better regulate illegal street vending. They said that confiscation of goods and infractions are still options on the table. However, they haven’t yet worked.

Out of desperation, Martinez said that she has even considered returning to Mission Street to sell her goods, even if that could put her permit at risk.  For now, however, she encouraged everyone to come say hi and buy from her great selection of speakers and other products at La Placita.