After years of wondering when they will have to pack up and take their business elsewhere, vendors at San Jose’s Berryessa Flea Market now have at least until Jan. 1, 2026 to sell their goods on a site planned for future residential development, the Mercury News has learned.
First opened in 1960 by George Bumb Sr., the flea market features hundreds of stalls selling a variety of products and is a staple of the East San Jose neighborhood.
Redevelopment of the 61.5-acre site has been in the works since 2007 because of San Jose’s BART extension project, putting into limbo the future of thousands of flea market sellers. More recently, the city has moved ahead with plans for a large-scale apartment complex with thousands of units, though last month developers signaled they wanted to scale down the project in response to market pressures.
In a decision announced Friday by the Bumb family, the flea market vendors will be given a one-year warning about the site’s closure no sooner than Jan. 1, 2025 — giving the hawkers a little over two years to plan for their future. The city is currently working on plans for where the flea market vendors can relocate, though no final agreement has been made.
“I’m very happy that we’ve got more time and more certainty,” said District 4 Councilmember David Cohen about Friday’s announcement. “There was a threat of (the closure) hanging over (the vendors’) heads that made them anxious.”
Erik Schoennauer, a land use consultant for the Berryessa residential development, said he had worked with the councilmember on trying to offer more time for the vendors to relocate.
“We’re hoping that it comforts the vendors and that flea market operations can continue for quite some time,” he said. “And that they have more time to plan for the future.”
The market is currently open four days a week — Wednesday, Friday and during the weekend — and features around 400 vendors with thousands of customers, according to Roberto Gonzalez, president of the Berryessa Flea Market Association.
