Q&A

Deborah Cash

This summer, San Luis Obispo will celebrate the 30 Year Anniversary of its Thursday Night Farmers’ Market. And Deborah Cash, who heads up the Downtown Association, has been there since its humble inception. Today, Farmers’ Market is recognized as world-class and is credited as a top tourist draw to the Central Coast. We caught up with Cash recently to learn about how it got started…

How did you start working for the Downtown Association?

I call it a happy accident. I moved here in 1974 and went to Cal Poly. I was going to study viticulture because I really wanted to learn about winemaking. I ended up opening a wine shop downtown. Then I changed my focus to journalism and went back to school. I worked for a marketing firm for a while and then the Mozart Festival. But my heart was always downtown, and so when this position became available I had a lot of the pieces and it all fit together. I’ve been here for 18 years. It’s been wonderful. It’s been a wonderful career. I’ve had a really, really good time. And I can say that downtown has really advanced in the past 15-20 years because of our efforts and our passion. All of us here in this office, we’re very passionate about downtown. So, I just kind of landed here like I was always supposed to be here.

What is the Downtown Association, really? What does it do?

It has always been our M.O. to not toot our own horns or pat ourselves on our backs. I mean, a lot of people think that the City puts on the Farmers’ Market or the Concerts [in the Plaza], for example. And we often hear from people who are saying the same thing that you’re saying, “Who are you and what do you do? Are you the Chamber?” We are essentially a business improvement district. Back in 1975 a group of businesses got together and said, “We want to promote downtown more.” Back then downtown didn’t look like it does now. It was pretty different. They formed an assessment district whereby all of the businesses here, and there about 650 of them currently, assess themselves a fee. And that fee is collected by the City and dispersed back to us to do certain activities that enliven the district. It’s not a voluntary membership. If your business falls within the boundaries it’s a mandatory fee. When you get your business tax certificate for the first time or renew it, you pay a surcharge. That makes up about a third of our budget so we have to raise other money.

What about the chain stores? Aren’t they driving out the mom and pops downtown?

I think we’re seeing a really good mix in terms of chains and independents. Our infrastructure is such that there’s not a lot of room for the bigger stores. So the smaller stores will always have the opportunities to have these little spaces like we have on Garden Street or Chorro Street or Morro Street. You are seeing some really clever entrepreneurs fill those spaces who are making them work and taking advantage of the size. Yet the bigger chain stores are also attracting foot traffic, which benefits the smaller independents. So, it’s actually a really nice mix and I don’t really agree with people that say that the chains shouldn’t be here. I think that they provide a solid economic base, a level of sophistication and an impetus for other stores around them to maintain their properties to a certain level.

Okay, so how exactly did Farmers’ Market get its start?

In the 70’s San Luis was like the Valley on Thursday nights; it had car cruising. You remember the movie American Graffiti? It was like that. On Thursday nights the cars would go up Higuera and down Marsh and do the loop all night long. And what happened was that people stopped coming downtown on Thursdays because they didn’t want to get in the middle of all that. The town was kind of taken over by the cruisers, which sounds kind of cool but the businesses didn’t like it. So, they went to the City and said, “You need to stop the car cruising and these young hooligans.” So, the City closed down the streets. They blocked the streets off. So, instead of cars, you had nothing. You didn’t have anybody. It was empty. Eventually, some of the restaurants got together and said, “We should do something.” They brought some barbeques out, not the big ones they have now but little ones. And then somebody said, “I know someone who has some volleyball nets.” So they set up volleyball courts on Higuera. Soon there were more activities popping up and some of the downtown businesses started setting up booths. After a while the Downtown Association stepped in and said, “Let us organize the affair.”

Who all was involved in those first Farmers’ Markets?

Hmm… let’s see… it was McLintock’s, the Wine Street Inn, which was a fondue restaurant, Wine Street Wines, which was my wine shop, Old Country Deli, and I think there was one more. I set up a booth on the street and I used to bring out beer-making supplies. I had these kits that people could buy to make their own beer. College students loved it, you know. I really enjoyed just being out there talking to people. And then I would send them down to my shop downstairs. You can’t sell alcohol at the Market. But I did have wine bottles on display and people would come over and I’d say, “I can’t serve it but I have a tasting room right downstairs.” So, I’d just funnel people right down to my shop. [laughter] For $5, or whatever it was, they could go taste wine. Farmers’ Market is just a real feel-good thing, and it has been since the beginning. I still go down there. In fact, I’ll be there tonight taking pictures. And I still get goose bumps watching people have a good time, sitting on the curb eating their ribs.