RUSTON, Wash. — Days after receiving backlash for directing the Tacoma Farmers Market to stop selling "Mexican style" food, Point Ruston said in a statement Wednesday that it's reversing the decision.
"We are pleased to have worked with Taco Street to reach an agreement that will allow for El Guero and Burrito Boy to set up shop at future Sunday Markets at Point Ruston," Point Ruston said in a statement posted to Facebook Wednesday morning. "We will always strive to support the small businesses that earn their living as full time brick and mortar shops within the Point Ruston neighborhood and are excited to be able to support the pop-up shops at the Sunday Market. We look forward to continuing to celebrate all cultures and communities at the waterfront."
The controversy began when Tacoma Farmers Market announced Saturday a directive from the Point Ruston Owners Association to stop selling what they described as “any Mexican style food” at their Sunday market. As a result, two vendors selling Mexican food were removed.
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The announcement came despite the Tacoma Farmers Market being a completely separate entity from the Point Ruston Owners Association.
Point Ruston's initial statement said the organization had an exclusivity clause with the contracts of their brick-and-mortar vendors in regards to Mexican cuisine.
The announcement caused an uproar on social media, with many declaring that they will not visit until the issue is resolved.
When Amelia Escobedo of the Leagues of United Latin American Citizens PNW got wind of the announcement, the message was clear.
“To me, that says, ‘No Mexicans Allowed,'” she said. “That means no Brown people allowed. That means you’re not welcome here.”
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None of the restaurants on Point Ruston’s website serve that style of cuisine exclusively.
In fact, the only restaurant that does is Taco Street, located at the Waterfront Market in Ruston, which is its own entity.
“It’s completely separate from Point Ruston,” said Paul Kunitsa, general manager of Waterfront Market at Ruston. “The Farmers Market happens in that Breezeway. So it’s obviously pretty far from us. We don’t even have an access point to get there right now.”
Kunitsa said news of the announcement caught him by surprise and he hopes his vendors aren’t impacted by the controversy.
“It’s frustrating,” Kunitsa said. “We mind our business, take care of our market, build up our vendors, and focus on us, so all this stuff just came out of the blue.”
Civil rights attorney Molly Matter said Monday that enforcing a clause like this would be nearly impossible because it amounts to discrimination on race and national origin, which is illegal.
“You can’t say I’m only serving white people, or I’m not serving this particular racial ethnicity. This is what we’re talking about, it’s completely illegal,” Matter said. “I’m not a contract lawyer, but I can’t imagine that this would hold up in court. I can’t imagine a judge would look at this and not see the pretext for racial discrimination.”