Food vendors, street artists feel kicked out by Super Bowl City

At the corner of Sacramento and Battery streets the other day, Waheguru Khalsa parked his food cart and began spreading Indian crepes on the grill. He warmed viscous kitcheree and stacked to-go containers.

But the wafting chutney, cumin and turmeric barely deterred the passing trickle of businessmen and women in crisp suits. Gone were the regulars who spent their lunch breaks at the Dosa Brothers food cart and the residents who had come to expect seeing Khalsa at the corner of California and Market streets.

With Super Bowl City, to be held Saturday through Feb. 7 along the Embarcadero and Market Street, came the news that, for security reasons, street artists and food venders, like Khalsa, had to go. More than 100 small business owners who hawk their wares in Justin Herman Plaza have been displaced by the festivities.

Huge numbers of football fans are expected to stream into the free fan zone in their wake. Inside the secure perimeter are a 40-foot dome with interactive games played via an avatar, a 50-by-15-foot-tall video wall and two stages where, among others, Alicia Keys, Chris Isaak, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and DJs will perform. Organizers have called the zone a “premier fan experience.”

But vendors — with their carts and crates of goods — are not allowed in.

Preparing for protesters

Customers wait for dosas at The Dosa Brothers food cart outside One Embarcadero Center on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, in San Francisco. Usually located on Market St., the cart plans to use an alternate location during Super Bowl City activities. less Customers wait for dosas at The Dosa Brothers food cart outside One Embarcadero Center on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, in San Francisco. Usually located on Market St., the cart plans to use an alternate location ... more Photo: NOAH BERGER / SAN FRANCISCO CHRO Photo: NOAH BERGER / SAN FRANCISCO CHRO Image 1 of / 69 Caption Close Food vendors, street artists feel kicked out by Super Bowl City 1 / 69 Back to Gallery

And it’s not just the merchants who are upset. Waves of protesters are expected to filter into the Embarcadero in the next week to take advantage of the media attention. A march is planned Saturday to protest the fatal police shooting of stabbing suspect Mario Woods last month. Others will address urban farming and African American rights.

The Super Bowl, while well-intentioned, has snarled city functions, like traffic, and local business, said Stanley Roth, Khalsa’s business partner.

“I think everyone assumed that this was an open public party,” Roth said. “The whole point of bringing the Super Bowl to San Francisco was to benefit small business and merchants. We were counting on that extra income. Instead, we have had to vacate our spot for three weeks.”

Roth and Khalsa, who runs a second cart with brother Avatar Khalsa at Montgomery and Market streets, said sales at their new site in the Financial District are down by one-third from their usual location. They were unable to negotiate a closer location with the city Department of Public Works because of security reasons, he said.

Local artists who depend on foot traffic near the Ferry Building are also scrambling to find alternative locations. This month, the San Francisco Arts Commission sent an e-mail notifying street artist license holders that Justin Herman Plaza would be closing. Less than two weeks later, the vendors had to vacate the area.

Notifying artists

The commission has known since November that the artists would have to move, said Tom DeCaigny, the city’s director of cultural affairs. But the first notice was not sent until January, though he noted that Arts Commission meetings were open to the public. He estimated that about 20 artists were at the Nov. 4 meeting.

“It’s not like it was being kept from them,” he said of the artists. “Everyone can go online and see what is going on the agenda. And with a million visitors downtown and people staying in San Francisco, we know visitors will be up around Fisherman’s Wharf and the Embarcadero. They might not be exactly in their old spots, but the visiting tourists are ideal for business.”

The commission encouraged artists to apply for a lottery, in which 90 vendors would vie for 10 spots along Market Street between Third and Fourth streets, also called the 50th Mile. It’s not inside the Super Bowl City perimeter, but it is nearby. But that, too, came with strings — artists would be eligible only if they had a black or white linen-covered table underneath a black or white 10-by-10-foot pop-up tent.

Michael Trachiotis, a T-shirt designer and artist with a permit, said the memo came too late for most artists and that the other lottery locations offered at places such as Fisherman’s Wharf and Union Square were inadequate. The artists should receive financial compensation for being displaced, he said, or an 18-day permit extension for the days they are unable to sell in the plaza.

The only time artists are paid to leave the plaza is for private film shoots, said Kate Patterson, a spokeswoman for the Arts Commission. Artists receive $200 daily per space, which is distributed based on which artists would have gotten real estate in Justin Herman Plaza in the daily lottery held to allocate spaces. The difference, she noted, is that Super Bowl City is a free, public event.

There are 300 other operable spots during the Super Bowl festivities, she said, including 100 spots between First and Fifth Streets.

‘It really hurts a lot’

The commission also does not have the authority to extend artist permits, Street Artists Program Director Howard Lazar said in an e-mail.

“There’s still something not right about this,” Trachiotis said. “We have been squashed and kicked to the side of the curb, literally and figuratively. The artists have no say in anything that happens. When something like the Super Bowl comes through, they’re not considered part of the city and are easily disposed of.”

Wanda Werner, a jewelry artist, said she makes $200 to $650 most weekends selling art at Justin Herman Plaza. But at her new location, near Fourth and Market streets, that income has dropped off.

“It really hurts a lot,” Werner said. “I’m still selling on the street and trying to keep it together. But I made zero dollars yesterday and, the day before, $15.”

Super Bowl City shaping up on a misty Friday morning in San Francisco #SB50 pic.twitter.com/SftR0Ysach — Al Saracevic (@AlSaracevic) January 29, 2016

Khalsa and Roth said they’ll make do in the new location, even if it means less money. They’ve laid off a few employees and are cooking less food. When Super Bowl City is torn down, they’ll move back to their spot at California and Market streets.

“I do think the Super Bowl is a good thing,” Roth said. “Anything that gets the name of San Francisco out helps. The caveat: I would just like to be where the people in Super Bowl City are.”

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn