What’s going on with the Mercado these days? Just last week, chef Ryan Clark announced his departure from the retail and dining square’s flagship restaurant, which also saw him selling his share in the restaurant with an almost imperceptibly speedy replacement by The Coronet’s chef Erika Bostick. Let’s not forget Taqueria El Pueblito’s move out of the space and replacement by Seis. Now Blu, the sandwich, wine and cheese shop, is calling it quits at the Mercado San Agustin too.

Unlike the expectedly mundane content of the announcement from Agustin Kitchen, though, Blu’s release gave a little insight into something more. Owner Tana Fryer said explained that the store’s closure was caused by “an impasse with her landlords.”

“We had hoped and planned to be part of the Mercado for a long time,” she said in the release. “It makes me sad that we couldn’t come to terms with our landlord and it was awful to tell my team that most of them don’t have jobs anymore.”

With both Fryer and Clark leaving the Mercado without a solid next stepping stone, the initial question holds true: Just what exactly is going on with the Mercado San Agustin these days? As a beautiful venue for events, live music, a farmers market and more, hopefully the Mercado won’t see any more of its keystone businesses closing up and moving out.

For information on the future of Blu, including gifting, catering and private events opportunities, visit Blu’s website.

This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2015.

5 replies on “Blu Leaves Mercado San Agustin Due to Stand Off with Landlord”

  1. Have you been to the Mercado lately? The lovely courtyard now looks like a gravel pit, very unattractive. Glad we were able to take in a last meal at the Kitchen before Ryan Clark’s departure.

  3. Mercado has such potential. Too bad landlord is unreasonable. Hope someone an intervene soon. I’ve heard stories about landlord with previous tenants as well.

  4. Not sure a tenant/landlord dispute is relevant to Ryan Clark’s leaving. As far as that goes, I might be a voice in the wilderness, but I always found Agustin underwhelming. The Coronet, on the other hand, has been consistently excellent. I think the change will be for the better.

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