Olvera Street’s Vendors Face Troubled Times

“All we want is good business and to be left alone to do it,” said Nati Verduzco, who for 30 years has operated his leather shop on Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles. “What we need right now is people.”

The one-time back alley whose gift stands, curio shops and Mexican restaurants are a reminder of the city’s Latino beginnings, finds itself facing hard economic times--made even more difficult by a squabble among the Olvera Street merchants over whether some of them should be evicted for refusing to pay association dues.

The dispute has shattered the marketplace’s tranquil atmosphere. Heated debates now strain friendships among owners whose shops have been in their families for generations, and who can remember playing with each other as children.

A pall has been cast over the festive, informal atmosphere of Olvera Street since the Olympic Games last summer. Tourists have been staying away in droves and business is off as much as 80% for some merchants. That is a shock for proprietors accustomed to seeing nearly 2 million visitors a year stroll through the 44-acre El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park, of which Olvera Street is a part.

Rosa Gonzalez Manriquez, who has operated a Mexican pottery stand on the street for more than 20 years, said she grossed only $479 in sales last month, a third of her normal January business.

Vivien Bonzo, who manages the popular La Golondrina restaurant for her family, said its lunch trade is off 75%. She is thinking about closing a second weekday if business remains poor.

And at Rodolfo’s taco stand, Linda Magdaleno complains, “at 2 o’clock, the only ones at our tables are pigeons.”

The immediate reasons for the drop in business, some merchants observe, include the recent cold weather. But while the shop owners can always expect warmer days, other problems are not likely to go away quite so easily.

For example, Olvera Street’s location, just north of the Civic Center between Main and Alameda streets, is not quickly apparent to many tourists. “Unless you know where it is, it can be hard to find,” said Jerry Smart, El Pueblo state park director for the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks. (The city operates the state park under a 1974 joint powers agreement).

Also, the merchants blame the city for a restriction on parking for tourists and school buses on Main Street adjacent to Olvera Street. Tour bus drivers now only can unload passengers and then move away.

Los Angeles recreation and parks officials said the restriction was imposed to prevent curb-side congestion and heavy traffic near the Old Plaza Roman Catholic Church on the other side of Main Street.

More Competition

Another reason for the slippage in business may be a more fundamental one. In years past, Olvera Street--which was closed to traffic in 1929--was one of the city’s principal tourist attractions. There was no Disneyland. No Marineland. No Universal Studios Tour. Olvera Street merchants did not rely on formal advertising to attract the public, but rather on such regular events such as Mexican Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo and the Blessing of the Animals.

“We don’t have that kind of money,” responded one merchant when asked why the street does not launch an advertising campaign.

The city formerly promoted Olvera Street, but it relinquished that function several years ago to the Olvera Street Merchants Assn., Smart said.

But that 78-member association has been strained to the breaking point by the dispute that has arisen over whether the city should evict five of its members for refusing to pay dues.

Election Problems

The brouhaha broke out several years ago after a contested election in which the old officers were replaced amid numerous charges of vote-rigging. It intensified in 1982 when Bonzo, the new association president, and other new officers hired Los Angeles attorney and longtime Chicano activist Herman Sillas to provide legal advice and represent the group in Sacramento.

In order to pay Sillas, the majority of the merchants agreed to have their monthly dues raised from $2 to as much as $150. There was an immediate uproar and eight of the merchants refused to pay.

One of the eight, Jose Ramos, who has operated an Olvera Street import goods shop for more than 20 years, said dues should be used only to promote activities at the marketplace, not to pay an attorney.

Later, three of the eight agreed to pay the higher dues. But the remaining five vowed not to and fought against what they saw as dictatorial rule by the association’s leadership. Some of the attacks grew personal, which was unheard of for the normally placid, longtime friends.

The city, citing a provision in the association’s bylaws that paying dues is “a condition of retaining their business concessions,” served eviction notices on Ramos and four others last September. That enraged the five even more and they filed a $10-million suit against the city and the association to stop the evictions.

They also went to Sacramento for help.

At the behest of Gov. George Deukmejian, state parks and recreation head William S. Briner looked into the dispute and told the city that such a situation was inconsistent with policies governing state park concessions.

Faced with Briner’s ruling, the city and the association were forced to back down two weeks ago. “The city has halted proceedings on the evictions and the merchants group is seeking a solution with the five merchants who refused to pay,” Smart said.

“In a while,” said Bonzo, faced with bitter feelings along the historic street, “we’ll sit down and try to work out a solution with them.”

“Like hell we will,” said one of the unhappy merchants.