Politics & Government
UPDATED: Market Owner Reports No Parking Hassles
Controversial Mercado El Rey opened Saturday. The landlord hired an employee to watch the parking lot all week. He reports few, if any, problems. Next-door neighbor Dan Friess has a different story.
A new Mexican market opened this week and, so far, the parking nightmares predicted by some in the community have not materialized, say the shop’s owner and a representative for the landlord.
On a Thursday visit to , a mini-market on the Camino Capistrano site formerly occupied by a , business was already brisk.
“It turned out good, very good,” said co-owner Roger Shalabi. “We’re busy.”
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Outside, an employee of the landlord has sat in a picnic chair since Monday, watching customers come and go in the parking lot and keeping tabs on how long they shop. Ken Mendoza said he’s witnessed no major problems.
“It’s going pretty well,” Mendoza said. If there have been any hiccups, it’s from customers from the next-door bank, , parking in the mercado’s parking spaces.
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“They just didn’t know,” Mendoza said. So, on Tuesday, the mercado erected signs clearly demarcating its parking spaces, he said.
Shalabi said most customers spend “five minutes, 10 minutes max. Most don’t even spend five minutes. In and out. In and out.”
Most don’t even spend five minutes. In and out. In and out.
– Roger Shalabi
It may be operating just as Shalabi expected, but that’s not what Daniel L. Friess predicted. A member of the city’s , Friess also owns commercial property next door.
He successfully convinced the Planning Commission to change the mercado’s business classification from “retail” to “grocery store,” which requires more parking. But in September, saying the market wouldn’t attract any more cars than the thrift shop before it.
Friess sued the city. A case-management conference is set for January.
Friess said at the June Planning Commission that he didn't oppose the store itself, just the parking problems it posed.
He's been monitoring it, too, although not as formally as the owner of the market's building. Friess said people do park in his commercial building, which is just south of the store, and cut across the property.
"It has definitely been a problem during their peak hours [in the afternoon]," Friess said.
"This is not what we usually do, file lawsuits, so hopefully, we'll get it wrapped up soon," he added.
Customer Ascunción Olverez of Dana Point wasn’t aware of the controversy. She’s just thrilled the shop is open. She’d been commuting to the for the inexpensive prices, wide variety and clean environment, she said.
The San Juan Capistrano location is “más bueno para mi,” she said. Better for me.
