Grand Lake Farmers Market — Attraction in Oakland

AJ aka Andrew John. You approached me around 12:30pm at this farmers market today (Saturday). We were standing slightly across the street from Grand Lake Theater.

Identifiable as a white guy with dark brown hair roughly 5’10” to 5’11”. Have a fit/slim build. You looked like you’re somewhere in your 30’s. You were wearing a well-worn brown leather motorcycle jacket and carrying a white motorcycle helmet.

I was kind of out of it after a workout class and juggling a bunch of produce.

We chatted briefly—your name is AJ (Andrew John). You live in San Leandro and work in Berkeley. You ride a motorcycle it’s probably a standard bike or some kind of cafe racer. I told you I live in Adams Point and that I’m originally from Kentucky.

I thought I put my number in right, but I realized afterward I accidentally gave you a wrong digit. I even had you call it and unfortunately I never checked my phone to see if it rang. Total mistake.

If you see this, I just wanted to say it wasn’t on purpose! You seemed fun and interesting. Tell me my name and what fruit I was carrying, or what we talked about so I know it’s you.

If anyone knows this guy, or if by a miracle you read this AJ, please...

I used to LOVE the farmer's market. Honestly I still do. But today I had a horrible experience of sexism and racism.

I stopped at one of the food stands, a normal stop for me and my partner every Saturday. He was not with me today. When I declined a sample indicating I'd be purchasing items to restock, the proprietor turned cold and stopped engaging with me. The other member of his team began taking my order, gathering my items. Suddenly, a white woman came in, interrupting my order and placed her order and paid. The proprietors stopped interacting with me completely and served the white customer. It was as if I wasn't there. The white woman ordered and paid, even had a chat with the proprietors, all with me standing there with my jaw on the floor. It wasn't until the white woman left that they returned to attend to me.

I'm deeply disappointed in what happened. I've never experienced such direct sexism and racism at the Grand Lake Farmers Market before and it's been years since I've experienced this in my life.

Needless to say I will no longer be supporting that business and sadly may refrain from going to the farmers...

Parking is an issue, but that's kinda the point here. At edge of the lake (well, across the highway) and surrounded by homes and apartments this is a great market to walk to. It does sprawl with totally unrelated vendors having everything from records and dresses to voter information. Surrounded by food trucks, there is a further layer of prepared food vendors then the jewelry and apparel with the fresh vegetables and fruit farmers under the edge of the overpass. (Pretty sure that sentence failed elementary school, but it makes sense to me so it stays) the prepared foods and non food vendors seem to vary week to week, but the farmers are all standbys It is a longer market that runs 9am (most farmers are set up by 8am, prepared foods and trucks barely hit that 9am) until 2pm, but vendors sell out often so...