San Jose Flea Market, Flea market in San Jose, California.
San Jose Flea Market is a large outdoor marketplace in California where hundreds of vendors sell antiques, collectibles, fresh produce, and international food items. The grounds span across a sprawling area with multiple entrances, extensive parking, and distinct sections organized by merchandise type.
The San Jose Flea Market was founded in March 1960 by George Bumb Sr., who ran a waste and landfill business and saw valuable goods being thrown away. After visiting markets in Los Angeles and Paris, he bought 120 acres of a former meat-processing plant on Berryessa Road and opened with about 20 vendors and 100 customers a day. A 2006 fire destroyed 24 Produce Row stands.
Two stages host weekend entertainment, one of them regularly reserved for a Mexican mariachi band. Food stalls run by The Flea Market, Inc. sell American and Mexican dishes, and traveling carts offer beer, soda and churros. The market also appears as a key setting in Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner.
The site is split by Berryessa Road: the stalls and shops sit on the southern triangular section, while the northern part became housing and a retail center with Safeway and CVS. Since June 2020 the Berryessa/North San José BART station has served the area. The market's eight miles of aisles mean plenty of walking, so wear comfortable shoes.
Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner uses the market as a key setting. The site also holds a vintage carousel, an arcade and three playgrounds, and one of its two stages is regularly reserved for a Mexican mariachi band.
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