Farmers Market’s Marketer Retires

On May 29, Mark Panatier, who has been in charge of the marketing team, media and community relations and the construction development for the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles — officially retired —just shy of 30 years working for owner A.F. Gilmore Co. Originally from New York and raised in Arcadia, Panatier has been commuting from the Van Nuys home he shares with his wife Gail since 1991, when he joined A.F. Gilmore Co. Panatier recalled when Gilmore hired developer Rick Caruso in the 1990s to redevelop acreage abutting the Farmers Market. “He had passion and he had a long-term perspective,” he said. “What you see today was 90 percent-plus of what we saw when we met Rick.” The development became the Grove, a template for Caruso’s sister retail center, the Americana at Brand in Glendale.