Fear not, organic produce lovers: The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market will be open as usual during the Super Bowl City action on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. But don't expect everything at the Ferry Building—or downtown in general—to be business as usual.
The market is open from 10am–2pm Tuesdays and Thursdays and 8am–2pm Saturdays, and we're told they're expecting nearly the usual number of vendors, despite the inevitable traffic tie-ups. SFMTA has announced the Embarcadero and foot of Market Street will be closed from Jan. 23rd–Feb. 12th for setup and takedown of Super Bowl City on both sides of the actual events scheduled for Jan. 30th-Feb. 7th.
Brie Mazurek, marketing and communications manager for the Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), which runs the markets, told us in an email, "Our farmers have regular restaurant customers, and we're hopeful that the increased foot traffic will bring business for our fruit farmers and ready-to-eat food vendors. During Super Bowl City, we're encouraging our local shoppers to arrive early and do their shopping before events start at 11am."
CUESA even has a special page on its site with links to web pages on BART, SFMTA and Super Bowl 50 websites for details on road closures, detours and more. We've reported all of these previously, but it bears repeating that things could change, so check back for the most up-to-date information.
And even though chefs will still be shopping at the markets, you might not be able to get into your favorite bar or restaurant during Super Bowl week. We've been told by sources in the know that upwards of 100 downtown bars and restaurants have had buyouts for corporate parties during the week, though no one we've contacted has been willing to go on the record to confirm.
So, if you have a favorite haunt anywhere from Moscone Center (which is hosting the NFL Experience) to the foot of Market Street (home to Super Bowl City), as well as in Union Square, be sure to call ahead, because venues don't necessarily publicize which days they'll be closed to their regular customers in advance.
Not to mention, some events will be on hiatus entirely. Book Passage in the Ferry Building sent out an email saying, "Due to downtown Super Bowl madness, there are no author events at our Ferry Bldg. store during the week of Feb. 1–7, 2016."
