An Alamo Square Produce Stand?

Joe Eskenazi

Too pretty to eat, apparently

​Alamo Square is one of the most photographed places in the city, if not on God's green earth. But precious few photos of Alamo Square have a gorgeous produce stand in the background. Simply put, that's because Alamo Square doesn't have a produce stand. Getting the permitting to hawk vegetables in the midst of a well-heeled tourist Mecca would require hurdles that even Jesse Owens could have cleared.

From the way the woman caught in this photograph was lovingly placing the zucchinis just so, it soon became apparent that selling the lovely vegetables wasn't the stated goal today. It turns out the produce was part of a backdrop for a forthcoming set of advertisements featuring attractive people frolicking in the grass, the ubiquitous Painted Ladies, and, for some reason, a produce stand. "They said they wanted a vegetable stand," said one of the small army of employees working the shoot.

Several workers on the scene noted that they were bound to keep their employer secret -- but they noted it wasn't the city noted we'd see the fruits of their labor in a forthcoming magazine advertisement.

The permits taken out with the Recreation and Park Department for today's shoot mentioned the produce stand -- but did not mention who hired a local photography company to shoot up Alamo Square.

Fair enough -- we have no need to get anyone in trouble for talking too much. We were just curious about the produce stand. We're content to wait for the magazine ad, like everyone else.

As for the gorgeous, shiny vegetables used as props today, we're told they're all headed to local food banks after their 15 minutes of fame is up.

Joe Eskenazi

The fruits -- and vegetables -- of the day's labor are all headed to local food banks

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