C.J.: Hennepin Avenue Farmers Market a dirty deal for Dehn's Garden

On Thursdays when heavy rain is predicted, don't look for Dehn's Garden at the temporary Farmers Market location on Hennepin Avenue.

The Farmers Market on Nicollet Mall, a fixture there since 1986, has moved for two seasons to Hennepin while Nicollet undergoes a $50 million face-lift.

"If it's a forecast for heavy rain, no," Bob Dehn told me. He and wife, Bonnie Dehn, won't open their stand on Hennepin. Dehn tried to be upbeat at the weekend Farmers Market location Sunday. But Hennepin is not good.

"On a rainy day if you go and set up, [it's] horrible because as soon as the traffic goes by, you have road spray all over you because you are right on the curb," he said. "It's difficult. Very difficult. It is an economic thing, too," Dehn said. "We're not going to make the returns that we previously did on Nicollet Mall. The best day we had wasn't even half of what we would normally make."

And Dehn, who has so far skipped three rainy Thursdays, said his stand has one of the better locations.

"We're really fortunate. We are right in front of the new Mayo Clinic. We've got a nice building, nice sidewalk, but we still have the heavy traffic. Even when it's dry, you get the blast from the buses and trucks going by.

"The automobile traffic is very heavy, real bad — extreme compared to the mall. Also you're not going to get the public down there. They don't like the street, the crossings and all of that they have to go through in order to go [to] the different vendors," he said. "We have a very loyal following of customers and we like to be able to be there for them and at the same time it's tough. Many of the other growers are facing some real challenges because they are relying on [Thursday business] much more than we do. We're trying to be positive because this is what we have to do, this is part of our business to do the Nicollet Mall."

And now for a little Thursday morning MEdia quarterbacking:

The Nicollet Mall construction project has not even begun (unless crews are working underground), so the inconvenience of the relocation seems unnecessarily premature.

Hennepin Avenue is like many New York City streets — which is to say filthy, even before buses and cars start spraying rain water. I don't want my parsley doused with street slop. Having been inside the Dehn's greenhouses in Andover, I can tell you their facilities are so pristine this germ freak doesn't wash produce from Dehn's Garden.

When the construction work is done on LaSalle Avenue, wouldn't that street be a more appetizing, temporary location for the Thursday Farmers Market?

That was Minneapolis attorney Lee Hutton III on the phone last week with former NFLer Hank Baskett during a scene from "Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars" featuring his wife, Kendra, having another regularly scheduled meltdown.

Viewers of the WE tv show didn't get to hear Hutton's voice. A boot camp staffer in the scene explained that Hank was talking to his attorney. Hutton said his voice is scheduled to be heard in an upcoming episode.

As you may know, Kendra and Hank are having marital problems because of his interactions with transsexual model Ava Sabrina London, who has told the Enquirer many colorful tidbits. I suspect the transsexual story line that precipitated this trip to marriage boot camp is manufactured for ratings.

Something in my tone tipped off Hutton, who remarked before I could start my question: "That was real. Hank is not only a client, he's a good friend and so is Kendra. Like every married couple, you go through these situations where there's an issue for the husband and wife to deal with in their marriage.

"There is no sexual involvement" between Hank Baskett and Ava London, said Hutton, who said he has been unable to find London to, say, serve her with legal papers. "At this time I am a Legal Crusader," said Hutton, "trying to remove an obstacle so Hank and Kendra can work on their marriage." Uh-huh.

Here's video of this tired tantrum by Kendra: http://tinyurl.com/o7eluvv.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on Fox 9's "Buzz." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.