TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) \u2014 Former Flea Market Tallahassee vendors transform loss into opportunity, opening shops in Southwest Tallahassee to serve their community again.<\/p>\n
After Flea Market Tallahassee closed in July, dozens of vendors lost their main source of income, forcing families to scramble for work and stability.
Some vendors refused to give up, relocating to Crossway Shops on Crawfordville Road and turning a major setback into a new beginning for their businesses.
Watch the video to see how Flea Market Tallahassee’s closure took a finacial toll on vendors and how they bounced back.<\/p>\n
From setback to storefront: Vendors rebuild after Flea Market Tallahassee closed<\/p>\n
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:<\/p>\n
What started as a loss for dozens of Flea Market Tallahassee vendors has become a new beginning on Crawfordville road. <\/p>\n
I’m Lyric Sloan, your Southwest Tallahassee neighborhood reporter. I found two vendors who refused to give up, opening up shops, right here in Crossway Shops, that are now a lifeline for their families and possibly yours. <\/p>\n
That sound means business is open, but not long ago, for dozens of Flea Market Tallahassee vendors that sound went silent.<\/p>\n
When Flea Market Tallahassee shut down, many small vendors lost their main source of income overnight. One of them Morales Market.<\/p>\n
“It was a really big impact. My parents had to go find other jobs for like, a few months. So they actually worked in the fields, and it was like a big toll on my family, because they weren’t used to, I guess, being in the sun every day,” Michelle Morales, cashier at Morales Market, said.<\/p>\n
Morales Market was a vendor at Flea Market Tallahassee for 17 years. <\/p>\n
So, when the news broke that the market was closing, emotions ran high.<\/p>\n
“A sense of panic, because I’ve been at the Flea Market since I was four. I was in college at the time, so I felt like I needed to help my parents, but I really didn’t know how I could do that,” Morales said.<\/p>\n
Some former vendors have managed to relocate for now, operating out of Crossway Shops on Crawfordville Road, turning a setback into a storefront.<\/p>\n
“I think that was a good change that we found ourselves a new place,” Omar Faruk, Seafood and Retail Market Owner, said.<\/p>\n
“What happened at the flea market was I guess, a blessing in disguise, because I think if that didn’t happen, my parents would have never done I guess the next step to opening up a store,” Morales said.<\/p>\n
The Flea market’s closure didn’t just affect vendors. It changed a community.<\/p>\n
“Well, when they closed, the convenience of getting seafood was very inconvenient,” Sylnovia Jones, Tallahassee Resident, said.<\/p>\n
“I would no longer had nowhere to go to come do our local shopping,” John Harris, Tallahassee Resident, said. <\/p>\n
When the flea market closed, Faruk said he worried most about the neighbors who would have to travel farther or walk to higher priced corporate stores.<\/p>\n
Now he’s glad he can offer that convenience again.<\/p>\n
“A lot of the folks, they don’t have a car, they rely on busses. I see these people almost every day for the last four months in a row, and they’ve been thanking me every single moment that they can walk here,” Faruk said.<\/p>\n
While Flea Market Tallahassee may be gone, many vendors hope the sense of community and security the Flea Market Tallahassee provided can still survive even in a new place.<\/p>\n
In Southwest Tallahassee, Lyric Sloan ABC 27.<\/p>\n
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