R.I.P. Rancho Farmers Market

Goodbye, Rancho Farmers Market. We hardly knew ye.

A representative of the Rancho Merchants Association confirmed Thursday that the farmers market, begun with so much excitement last year, will not be returning.

"It didn't pan out it," said Dina Rosa, vice-president of the Rancho Merchants Association. "It just didn't work out ... there were not enough people to support it."

After a hiccup that delayed the May 2011 opening while merchants scrambled to get a required permit, the market seemed like a fresh addition to the community in its early weeks.

When it opened in June, there were long rows of stalls, live music, and festive atmosphere. The Saturday morning market was designed to serve a slightly different population, located further south in Los Altos and slated to be a year-round affair. Merchants hoped people could build a Saturday routine around a morning farmers market, the same way people had built a Thursday night routine around the summer downtown farmers market.

As time went on, there were signs, however, that it wasn't happening. By the holiday season, the farmers market quietly faded away.  The market, organized by Urban Village Farmers Market Association was done for the year.

Rosa said that the decision was reached about three months ago. Merchants are having a meeting to talk about upcoming events in the summer, including a pancake breakfast, she said.

As downtown prepared for a big 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting to mark the opening of the Thursday afternoon farmers market, readers had contacted Los Altos Patch, wondering when Rancho might open theirs.

Now the wondering is of a different sort.

Were Saturday mornings too busy for families booked up with youth sports and activities? Would Sundays have been a better day? Can the town support two farmers markets in different locations?

It's hard to know, but the parking lot at Rancho will seem a little empty this summer.