Farewell, Berkeley Flea

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The Berkeley Flea market has officially closed after 50 years. These photos commemorate some of the vendors who made it a staple of East Bay life for decades—many of whom continue to show up and sell their wares.

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A vendor sits among their wares at the Berkeley Flea Market. Photos by Jean-Michel Arraki.

Editor’s note: About a month after publication of this story, the Berkeley Flea Market re-opened under a revamped leadership team, thanks to a deal with BART.

The Berkeley Flea Market recently announced its closure after 50 years of operating at the Ashby BART Station, with its final official day being June 28, 2025. 

The market first opened in 1973, and over the decades, has been home to dozens of vendors selling goods that range from antiques to art, in addition to specialties such as physical media, cosmetics, and jewelry. For half a century, the market served as a weekend activity for residents and was a way to provide access to discounted goods. 

AJ, vendor.
Glenn, vendor of vinyl records and physical media.

Its owner, Community Services United of Berkeley (CSU), decided to close the market because of financial losses, a shrinking number of vendors, and uncertainty wrought by a planned housing development near the Ashby BART Station.

Vendors were informed of the market’s imminent closure in November, 2024, with a hard date set for June 28 the following year. They weren’t sure what to make of the closure notice, saying they had received similar warnings in the past, and those closures ultimately did not come to pass. 

But this time, closure did come. 

Derek Mooney, vendor. Derek sells succulents and electronic goods and hopes that the market continues to stay open.
Obie, vendor.

“There is hope that the market will return, that’s what we’re hoping for. But for right now it is officially closed,” Artrenia Harris, President of the Board of Directors for CSU, told Street Spirit. “We are having conversations, but we’re not sure if it will go forward or not.”

On the final official day of the market, Christopher Smith, a drummer at the flea market who is leading the effort to keep it open, passed out a notice reading, “ATTN: Vendors and Drummers and Berkeley Flea Market comminity. We will be having a press release at 3PM requesting that the CSU board step down or turn the leadership over to the vendors and the drummers.” Harris says she is not aware of any plans for a transfer of the market’s leadership.

Cadence and Colin.
Swiss is a vendor, musician, and charity organizer who runs a no-questions-asked charity that helps veterans in need.

Despite the official closure, some vendors are still showing up to the parking lot of the Ashby BART Station to sell their wares, as they have been doing for decades. Derek Mooney, who sells succulents and electronics, says there are currently about 30 vendors showing up on Saturdays and 20 on Sundays. He says the market is still going strong in the number of vendors and attendees, compared to the turnouts before the closure.

Jean-Michel Arraki is a Bay Area portrait and documentary photographer.