Breaking News: Evidence Emerges Of Kapnick Thaw & Bake Cheating

The screen capture here shows Kapnick's to be on mega-bakery Hill & Valley's vendor list. This list can be found at the following weblink: http://www.hillandvalley.net/results-state.php?startpos=40&State2=MI

The listing also refers to Lipari, a major food distributor which delivers pre-made pies and baked goods mixes to vendors all around the mid-west US. A list of all of Lipari's offerings can be found at the following weblink: http://www.liparifoods.com/catalogs/bky.pdf

The horrible thing about all this is that legitimate Ann Arbor bakers who sell or have sold baked goods at the Farmers Market are undercut and disadvantaged by unscrupulous vendors such as Kapnick's, who, as the evidence above shows, may buy frozen, pre-made pies and other baked goods, sprinkle a little sugar on top, bake, and bring to the Farmer's Market to sell as "their own product".

One former vendor who should lodge a complaint is Scott Newell, the owner of Ann Arbor's own Big City Bakery. Mr Newell, also a former Market Commissioner, complained to previous Market Managers that there was "thaw and bake" going on at the Ann Arbor market, but was dismissed for his efforts. As a business operating in the City of Ann Arbor, and making baked goods from scratch, Big City Bakery is a taxpaying business, and Scott Newell is a City resident who pays property taxes. Why should he put up with a competition that has distinct and unfair advantages? In fact, Scott Newell offered up specific criteria for baked goods to be sold at the market, but the criteria were dismissed out of hand by Parks and Rec manager Jayne Miller, when the previous Market Commission was drafting a new set of Market Operating rules. Scott Newell's suggestions for rule language should be revisited by the City and the Public Market Advisory Committee.

The City, and in particular Molly Notarianni the current Market Manager should immediately suspend Kapnick's from selling any more baked goods at the Farmer's Market, and should investigate Kapnick's for this violation of the cardinal Market Operating Rule: you must grow or make what you sell at the market. If an investigation indicates that Kapnick indeed violated the rules, then Kapnick's should forfeit their seniority, and be banned from selling at the Farmer's Market.

Fuzzbollah Succeeds In Getting Glenn Thompson's Head To Explode

Well, I guess poor old Glenn can't handle the truth. A thread started in the comments to the last post in his blog - Arbormarket. When fuzzbollah tried to add in to the comments, in a free speech sort of way, Glenn chose to delete a rebuttal that had been made to his own misinformational statements. All fuzzbollah was trying to do was point out the truth! Glenn Thompson, Fuzzbollah thinks you are so pathetic!

The thread goes as follows:

Vendors said...

Here's a link to the 2008 Northville Farmer's market.
http://www.northville.org/Events_Calendar/Content/Vena%27s_Greenhouse/

The persons in the photo are Denise Brock and her husband. MY question to Mr. Thompson is the following..
Since Ms. Brock is owner of Vena's Greenhouse and they have 3 stalls at the A2 market, is Denise Brock entitled to 3 more stalls at the A2 market? Totaling 6 stalls

January 15, 2009 11:08 AM
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Glenn Thompson said...

The two markets are completely independent. I don't see any logical basis for your question.

January 16, 2009 8:17 PM
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Anonymous said...

the business entity of "vena's greenhouse" has 3 stalls at the
A2 market. since Denise and Carol are owners of Vena's greenhouse" is Denise also entitled to have the business entity of "Denise Brock " at the A2 market (she has 3 stalls).
Denise Brock has 2 businesses at the A2 market.

January 17, 2009 2:04 PM
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Glenn Thompson said...

Again, the two Markets are independent.

The Ann Arbor Market has determined that Carol Vena and Denise Brock are both entitled to separate stall space. Through long term service, following the market rules for seniority, they have acquired 3 stalls each.

What they choose to do at the Northville Market is not relevant.

January 17, 2009 6:00 PM
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Anonymous said...

so at the A2 market Denise Brock is not owner of Vena's Greenhouse?

January 19, 2009 1:01 PM
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Glenn Thompson said...

That is possible.

January 19, 2009 4:38 PM
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Blogger fuzzbollah said...

What is relevant, Glenn, is that Ann Arbor's Market Operating Rules contained provisions about businesses operating at the market, that they should be "single business entities". Back in 2000, the Market Commission ruled that Carol Vena and Denise Brock should not be operating together, but as 2 separate single business entities at the Ann Arbor market - but they continued to violate those rules that were in place. Carol Vena and Denise Brock are forced to operate as a single business entity at the Northville Market under Vena's Greenhouse.

What exactly IS the business arrangement between Denise Brock and Carol Vena, and why is that even important for Ann Arbor's market? Do Carol and Denise own Vena's Greenhouse together? Do they share growing space? Do they grow anything independently from each other? Does Denise "rent" or "lease" space from Carol or vice versa? Why should they be allowed 6 stalls when in reality they operate as one business? This is unfair on its face, and I don't know how you can defend this practice. You should be ashamed of yourself, and apologize to all those vendors who have had to wait YEARS before being able to get even ONE permanent stall.

January 22, 2009 1:24 PM
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Glenn Thompson said...

You are confusing what is a business entity and what you think it should be. It is entirely possible, for example, for Brock Farms, Brock Greenhouses, Vena Farms, and Vena Greenhouses to all be separate legal business entities. It is entirely possible that the business entities at the Ann Arbor Market are entirely separate from those at Northville even if the principals involved are the same.

Two unrelated people could sell separately at the Ann Arbor Market and then sell as a partnership at Northville. Would you oppose this? On what legal basis? Is your great concern simply that the people involved are related?

If the son or daughter of a doctor or lawyer decides to become a doctor or lawyer would you try to prohibit them from practicing in the same city? Would it be "wrong" for them to share a legal office or a common library?

Many of my uncles were farmers. They started with a section of my grandfathers farm. Should they have been prohibited from selling milk to the same dairy? We should be encouraging sons and daughters to stay in farming rather than providing obstacles that encourage them sell the family land for development.

January 23, 2009 2:27 PM
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The following post from fuzzbollah was deleted by Glenn:

When this particular family business monopolizes the public space, they deprive other farmers from gaining a foothold in the marketplace. They deprive legitimate farmers of their livelihood and the chance to make a decent living, enough to want to come back to sell at the market with a much wider variety of goods.

You are forgetting the fact that this particular family business did break Market Operating Rules, in the process of conducting their business to their own benefit, not for the benefit of the community. They deserved the very punishment that they sought for others to have inflicted upon them, which could be expulsion from the market, and loss of seniority. In addition, this particular family business, as part of a so-called grower's association, managed to manipulate market politics for many years, and intimidating and threatening other vendors until a small valiant group of vendors and citizen/customers came and took away their power during the recent upheaval days of the Market Commission. I have observed that this particular family business holds Ann Arborites in contempt. I find them to be nasty vendors selling sub-par produce and seedling flats which look like they come from a distributor. They use chemicals on their produce. I take my business elsewhere in the market, usually to the organic growers.

The market is scarce public space, and the business generated there should be for the benefit of the public. The barriers to greater diversity of produce at the Ann Arbor Public Market include one particular family business allowed to occupy more than 10% of the stalls on the busiest market days. Its that kind of pet treatment that has been reducing the ability of other legitimate area farmers to be able to stay on their land, and which kills our market.

Again, you support this unfair situation?

January 23, 2009 10:38 PM
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I leave you, the reader to make any conclusions you want to make. My conclusions are that Glenn Thompson has too much time on his hands, insists on having the final word - and usually totally wrong at that, is probably not getting laid at all - or has severe constipation - you choose your own theory, and that he refuses to be a real American and air all points of view.

The Cheater Vendors From Hellville Strike Again !!

The CHEATERS known as vendors Carol Vena and Denise Brock still operate freely at the Ann Arbor Public Market, although they violate a cardinal Market Operating Rule that allows a single business entity to maintain only up to 3 stalls. The management of the Public Market, despite numerous attempts at informing them of such violations of Market Rules, continues to let these CHEATERS get away with it. These two vendors, Carol Vena and Denise Brock, also make a ton of money at the Northville Farmers Market, but can only operate there as a single business entity. At the Ann Arbor Public Market, Denise Brock gets 3 annual stalls, and Carol Vena gets 3 annual stalls. They are allowed by the market management in Ann Arbor to operate as 2 separate businesses, when clearly, from the screen capture above, they are ONE BUSINESS!!

This unfair situation that has been allowed to continue year after year at the Ann Arbor Public Market disadvantages all of the other vendors at the market. Carol Vena and Denise Brock are essentially doubling their income at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market on the backs of other vendors, many who have to wait years and years on a waiting list to obtain annual stall space. Now that the Public Market Advisory Commission is in the midst of revising rules at the Public Market, perhaps they can influence Jayne Miller, who supervises the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Department, to change her tune, and correct this long-standing market atrocity. Come on Jayne!! Stand up for what is fair!! Come on PMAC, DO THE RIGHT THING!! Cut these cheaters down to size!! Mollie Notarianni, Market Manager, are you going to let these cheaters push you around?? Glenn Thompson, self professed Arbor Market Czar, why do you defend and promote these creeps, don't you believe in fairness?

Oh, and another thing: the Gracia clan's greenhouse in Bellville should be inspected in February, March, and April. This should be done because there are indications they don't grow all of their seedlings from seed, they most likely purchase their flats from a larger distributor and then sell them with minimum inputs at the Ann Arbor Public Market, and claim that they are their own production. The 5 vendors who operate off the Gracia greenhouse (Delores Gracia, Tina Koski, T Gracia, Denise Brock and Carol Vena) are able to obtain 16 stall spaces at the market, monopolizing a public space for private benefit. Ann Arborites deserve better.

Fuzzbollah urges You, the consumer, to BOYCOTT CAROL VENA and DENISE BROCK!

Cheaters at the Market - The Biggest and Fattest Ones: Part 2 - Robertello/Kapnick or whatever it is they call themselves today

The screen capture shown here comes from the Tecumseh Herald, in Tecumseh, Michigan. The article from the paper shows a photo of the owner of Kapnick Orchards, Sharon Shaffer. The caption underneath the photo says: Pictured above - Sharon Shaffer owner of Kapnick Orchards. An excerpt of the text from the article follows: Kapnicks are making the best of a bad situation by selling #2 peaches that are just as delicious as #1’s at rock bottom prices. The #2’s show the spots where the hail struck, like those pictured above held by owner Sharon Shaffer.

Scott Robertello, who claims he is the owner of Kapnick Orchards, has been allowed by the City of Ann Arbor Parks and Rec Department, to rent stalls at the Ann Arbor Public Market without going through the proper procedures required under the Market Operating Rules at the time he made application to vend under a different business entity.

Scott Robertello wasted the time and energy of the Market Commission. Here is a quote from the former Market Commission Chair, found on the blog www.arborupdate.com,
"The issue about Mr Robertello not transferring seniority rights from Kapnick Orchards to the store known as Kapnick Farm Market Inc. came up at that time (2002). I asked Mr Robertello after a Commission meeting if he had ever followed Market Operating Rule 7, and made a legal transfer of seniority rights, and he replied that he did not, "because Maxine (Rosasco) said I didn't have to". My reply was that Mrs Rosasco didn't have the authority to make that decision. The market's inspector at the time found that paperwork in Mr Robertello's file was a bit out of order, and he could not make a definite determination of Mr Robertello's status. My questions to the City's Legal Department, including attorney Mary Fales, went unanswered."

Instead of filing the proper paperwork required of all other vendors at the market, Mr Robertello essentially lied to City officials by saying he was the owner of Kapnick Orchards and circumvented the process in place. Yet Mr Robertello was one of the first to file complaints against other vendors (like Erie Orchards and Renaissance Acres Organic Herb Farm), and was allowed to maintain a seat on the Market Commission - in violation of criteria the City has for those who wish to be on Boards and Commissions.

Fraudulent business practices should not be rewarded, so Fuzzbollah says boycott Kapnick's!! or whatever they are calling themselves today.

Cheaters at the Market - The Biggest and Fattest Ones: A Series

Why the market management lets cheaters get away with it is anybody's guess.

It could be that they're friends with each other, or maybe kissin' cousins, or lovers perhaps.

It could be that somebody is being 'paid off' in some way.

It could be that nobody has ever really cared enough to deal with the issues even though they have been pointed out and complained about.

The CHEATER known as Denise Brock is a champion at it. Fuzzbollah believes she obtained seniority at the market illegitimately, and the City staff let her get away with it. Rules in place have not been followed, and Denise has the gall to make statements to the press about it. Any reform efforts have been thwarted because people like Denise Brock gang up with people like Glenn Thompson and make it seem like they have 'public' support.

Denise Brock apparently cheats even now. A search of the Michigan Department of Agriculture's website on this date showed she has no grower's license from the Michigan Department of Agriculture. A Grower's License must be obtained by vendors at Farmer's Markets in order to vend perennials. Both Denise and Carol Vena have been told by past Market Commissions that they must maintain separate businesses, and function that way at the Ann Arbor Market, yet they continue to operate closely together. The City won't enforce its own rules, so the cheaters get away with it, and put other vendors at a disadvantage.

Get a load of Denise's statement to the Michigan Daily (October 10, 1996):
"The booths here are assigned according to seniority," Denise Brock said. She vends mainly plants, candle settings and painted pumpkins. Of the 144 booths, 66 people have permanent booths and 70 come to the Market and set up their booths randomly.

Myla Snyder, a vendor of polar fleece hats, collectively sums up the opinions of the vendors when she said, "It's like we're family."

In Denise Brock's case, this may actually be true. Smiling and gesturing toward 50 or so booths with a large sweeping motion of her hand, she said, "One half of them are family, we're really related to each other."

Such monopolizing of a public space has continued long enough!!

Fuzzbollah says Boycott Denise Brock!!

Glenn Thompson rears his ugly head in public - again

Get this bullshit from Glenn Thompson, self-appointed market czar: "For many years the vendors at the Farmers Market have requested the Market be cleaned and painted, better lighting installed and the water and electric utilities improved. Jeff Dehring, a parks designer, has expanded this into a $1,500,000 renovation. More has been spent on consultants than would be required to do the work the vendors want. A simple maintenance task has been delayed years as the project keeps expanding."

As usual, Glenn neglects most of the story, and embellishes other parts of it to suit his own deluded purpose.

Firstly, Glenn does NOT speak for all of the vendors at the Public Market, there are many vendors who have wanted the market to be expanded, renovated, built upon in order to have more stall spaces to sell from. The destruction of the Kokinakis house on the market property presented a golden opportunity to construct what could be a premier showcase of a multi-use market space, not just some dingy parking lot with depression-era sheds.

Secondly, the current cost for a council-approved, market commission approved construction plan comes in at around $1 Million, with 1/3 paid by the DDA, 1/3 by Parks and Rec of Ann Arbor, and 1/3 paid by the Market Operating Fund, all of whom have the cash set aside to do the project. The delays that Glenn talks about are of his own making, he has rallied a few vendors to his cause, who have badmouthed ANY capital improvements proposed for the market, and showed up at hearings and council meetings to make it look like there is significant opposition to what is really a worthwhile project. Perhaps Glenn is predicting the future cost of completing the project, because his resistance has led to the delays, and the delays of construction have led to increased costs for construction. Any renovation MUST be accompanied by installation of water management systems, and improvements like that don't get any cheaper the more one waits. Glenn, stop blaming Jeff Dehring, he isn't at fault, YOU ARE.

Thirdly, Glenn Thompson does NOT speak for the citizens of Ann Arbor, maybe just a few. Over $90,000 was spent on consultants to come up with a vibrant proposal that Thompson didn't like, so he started up a phony interest group, put up a blog that makes it seem like he has an army of Ann Arborites supporting him, and he regularly communicates to City Council and the Market Commission that he doesn't want the market to be improved unless he agrees with the design. That $90,000 was literally pissed down the drain, forcing a market commission composed of volunteers to go back to the drawing board, and drawing out a process that could have been a completed by now, with a totally renovated, beautiful market structure, public space and surroundings that would have benefitted all Ann Arborites, vendors, and the Kerrytown business community.

Glenn Thompson is alot like the Bush administration - assume everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie until you can prove otherwise.

Market Gals Gone Wild

OK, so nothing is really changing at the market. The Market Mafia (aka the Growers Association members: Carol Vena, Denise Brock, Delores Gracia, Toni Gracia, Tina Koski, Krapnick Orchards, Sparr Greenhouse, Wasem's, and a few other vendors who have dominated the market operations) are still in control, probably giving Jayne Miller (uber management of Parks and Rec) her marching orders. The deck has been shuffled once again, with the "new" Market Manager Molly Notarianni installed to keep business as usual going, and to continue the cover up of past misdeeds.

So what do we do? Continue the cultural attack with Fuzzbollah's song MARKET GALS GONE WILD!!!

Market Gals Gone Wild
Original Lyrics by Fuzzbollah
All Rights Reserved

A commissioner, name of Carol Scott
Thinks she’s hot, when she’s not
A tattooed lady with big hoo-boobs
She wants ‘em posted onto you tube

Ain’t gonna throw you no beads
It’s Ann Arbor, not New Orleans
You want to show us your bra
Get your ass on down to Mardi Gras

We’re fightin’ for market equality
For fair rules and diversity
We’re fightin’ corruption
And here you go havin’ a boob eruption

Intimidation and threat
Its how you got what you get
Why don’t you point out the lies
Like the guy who thaws and bakes those apple pies

Market gals gone wild!! Market gals gone wild!!
You know the world don’t smile, on market gals gone wild!!

Workin’ hard to defeat
That bunch of vendors who cheat
Commissioner Scott you’re a fool
For letting some vendors break the rules

It really looks absurd
When you’re flipping your bird
Take your finger and park it
In the dark side of the Farmers Market

Its gotta be for the best
That you cover your breasts
It would only be right
To keep those twins out of sight

You give Ann Arbor a scare
When you show ‘em your pair
I guess it should be spoken
For this I got my camera broken

Market gals gone wild!! Market gals gone wild!!
You know the world don’t smile, on market gals gone wild!!