Vendors at the long-running Berkeley Flea Market said they received flyers on Saturday from the market's staff stating the market "will cease all operations as of June 28, 2025."
The market, located at the Ashby BART station on weekends, has been operating for five decades. However, the market told vendors that since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has struggled to make ends meet.
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WATCH HEREIn the flyer given to vendors, the market staff said the market has been losing money almost every weekend since before the pandemic, and that it "will be completely out of funds by the end of July 2025."
Market leadership said business has been slow and that there has been a decline in the number of vendors.
Vendors grappled with the news on Saturday after getting the notices from staff. Vendor Anna Jackson, who has been selling cannabis topicals at the Berkeley Flea Market since 2014, said another vendor filled her in on the flyer.
"I sat in my car and read it, and I’m like -- I was in shock. I’m like 'What? Are you kidding me?” Jackson recalled.
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Jackson, who is 66-years-old, said she has memories of coming to the flea market as a kid with her parents.
"A lot of the vendors here, this is how they put food on the table," she noted. "This is history. This is culture."
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SIGN UP Ivy Yan, who said she has been selling wares at the flea market for 25 years, said she loves this particular market at doesn't sell anywhere else.
"We don’t want to lose this flea market, we want it to stay here," she emphasized.
Despite the notes sent to vendors on Saturday, a manager for the market on Sunday said that vendors and the community should wait to see what happens after the market's board meeting on Thursday. The manager said more updates would be available after the board meeting. He also noted that the market doesn't have the number of vendors it needs yet, and it would help if more vendors enrolled to sell at the market.
Funding is one of several areas where the market faces uncertainty. The market may be forced to relocate due to a proposal to build housing in what is now the Ashby Bart Station parking lot. Public information on the development project from earlier this year shows the flea market being relocated to another side of the plaza.
Vendors say they like the current location that allows them space to display all their wares and have some separation from the car traffic on surrounding streets.
Robby Roberts, who was selling sports apparel at the market on Sunday, said that compared to other Bay Area flea markets he's been to, he prefers selling in Berkeley.
"Here, they do spend money, there’s not a lot of people coming, but the ones that come are serious buyers," Roberts said.
Vendors admit that their numbers are much smaller than they used to be. But they each expressed a desire to see the community work out a way to keep the market going.
"I’m hoping we can get more vendors out here, because if you have vendors, you have customers," Jackson noted.
Vendors said they are urging customers and other businesses to continue showing up at the market. They plan to have their own meeting to discuss the future of the market on Saturday.
