Farmstand 67, a Ramona venue that offered a wide selection of plants and garden decor, craft classes and farm-to-table dinners, has closed.
Ryan Montour, who purchased the rights to the business and leased the land about a year ago, said he has been unable to continue to run the business in lieu of numerous zoning violations.
He also received a notice of eviction from the property owners in May, he said.
Since buying the business, Montour has been holding an increasing number of events at the facility, ranging from workshops on tabletop fire pits and painting to free homeschool classes. The venue was also available to rent for weddings, corporate events and catering, according to the farmstand’s website.
Montour ran his own landscape construction business in Escondido prior to purchasing the Farmstand 67 business.
“I saw the potential and the love that went into the creation of the place, and it’s always been the plan to increase event rentals and push for more crafting workshops,” he said about the venue at 16827 Highway 67.
With its high visibility and easy access, the farmstand has been popular with locals and visitors who enjoyed being able to purchase items on their way into and out of Ramona.
Montour blames the property owner, Carolina Leap, for the closing of the business, partly because he cannot hold many of his planned events due to the zoning restrictions, he said.
Leap, who started Farmstand 67 with her husband, Kevin Leap, disagreed. She said the restrictions on activities that are allowed at the venue are clearly spelled out in the original lease.
Montour is not the person they originally sold the business to, she said. The couple sold the business to a retired man, who unexpectedly had to move to Florida and sold it to Montour.
“The lease specified that the buyer was to focus on the agricultural side of the business,” Leap said. “Unless they were ag-related, public events were prohibited in the lease.”
Leap said the 5-acre property was a homestead for her and her husband. They planted 150 fruit trees and grew succulents and waterwise plants.
“We opened in 2018, closed in 2020 because of COVID, opened back up in 2021 and sold it in 2023,” she said. “And we were building until we sold it.”
In addition to selling fruits, vegetables, succulents and cacti, the couple hosted garden-related events. Rock painting, mounting staghorn ferns, wreath making and mosaics were just a few of the classes listed in 2022 on the business’ Facebook page. Leap said they were all ag-related and allowed to be held.
“We also started growing proteas on two acres of the property, and we wanted to focus on that,” Leap said, explaining why the couple decided to sell the farmstand in 2023.
Montour said he believed the eviction notice was in retaliation after he ed San Diego County’s Department of Planning and Development Services, which is responsible for zoning issues. He said he phoned the department in May to learn what events he was allowed to hold on the property.
“I told them what I was doing on the property, and asked them if it was legal,” he said, referring to the numerous events at Farmstand 67.
The answer was “no,” he said.
Leap said she read the lease agreement to Montour, and that renting out the venue for events was prohibited in the lease.
It took Planning and Development Services about two weeks to compile an official writeup, including the actions and corrections necessary to bring things up to code, along with a timeline of the deadlines, according to Montour.
Montour said only one of the six buildings that make up the business are permitted, but the Leaps dispute that.
“The farmstand is permitted,” Leap said. “The shaded structures are questionable, and we will be correcting that by either permitting them or taking them down.”
The Leaps also said the eviction came after Montour refused to sign a new lease agreement after the original lease expired.
Since the eviction notice, Montour said he has posted nearly everything in the store for sale on the farmstand’s social media sites to recoup some of his investment.
Despite the eviction notice, he is still on the property.
“I stayed because I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” he said. “And I just couldn’t physically sell and move it all in the time I had.”
Leap is unsure about the future of the farmstand.
“My husband and I worked on the place for years,” she said. “I am deeply saddened to see what it has come to, and to see the end of my dreams that we built from scratch.”
