Rules Change Everything

Rancho Santa Fe was a great Sunday market for Mad Munch.  We were pretty consistent there & developed some regulars who loved to order the Hashy Larry every week (pictured below).

But after my family came to visit the Sunday morning market & saw how good it was for us, a few instances altered everything for us (& other vendors) at Rancho Santa Fe.    

The very next week a guy wearing board shorts & selling lemonade shake ups was set up in our spot.  The same spot we'd been in since the first month we were there.  And, it was his first week at RSF.  Apparently, he thought you could just pitch your tent where ever you damned well please.  Diane, the market manager, made him move when we arrived.

The following week, everything was in disarray right from the start.  Even the guy with the rotisserie meat truck looked lost when we arrived.

"Diane said the Fire Chief was out here & is making her move things around," Matt, the fish & poke vendor who recommended the market to us explained.  He'd been doing RSF for years & he didn't look happy about it the new setup.

In the past, there were several "walkways" throughout the market, unlike most markets we'd done where it was just one long strip with tents on both sides.  This one had more of a "backyard" feel, with all of the metal bistro patio chairs & tables with umbrellas.  The food court area almost looked like it was taken from an open-air shopping mall.

Apparently, though the fire department didn't see it that way.  So, we followed the new rules & went where she told us to setup.  

It didn't really bother us at first, but over the next month or so, the crowds thinned out progressively every week & soon it felt like we were at a different market altogether.

One of the first weeks we were setup there, we actually saw former Chargers NFL quarterback, Philip Rivers & his family get out of a large van to order from the Rotisserie guy.  

Our last week there, Carlo Cecchetto, a recognizable reporter from local CBS Channel 8 ordered Mad Munch.  He was super friendly & it was a perfect send off for Kate & I to go explore new Sunday market options before the 2018 football season started.