OCEANSIDE: Swap meet to open under new management, developer says

By CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 29, 2008 3:08 PM PST ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- A popular weekend swap meet at a defunct drive-in movie theater near Highway 76 has at least temporarily closed, following the city's recent approval of a large shopping center at the site.

Joe Crowder, longtime operator of the bazaar, said last week that he shut down the Oceanside event to concentrate on a similar outdoor market he runs in Escondido.

He said Nov. 23 was the coastal swap meet's last day.

But the sprawling flea market may not be closed for long.

Plans are to reopen with a new manager in December, said Mel Kuhnel, a vice president of Thomas Enterprises, the company that will eventually develop the property.

He declined to name the new manager or estimate when construction of the shopping center will begin.

Thomas Enterprises had originally hoped to break ground on the project in December, but recently acknowledged that its plans have been delayed by the faltering economy.

Kuhnel said the swap meet is a good use of the property in the meantime.

"We just think it's important that those vendors have an opportunity to stay in business, given the economic situation," he said.

For Vista resident Brian Burge, 46, a vendor who arrived hours before sunrise Sunday to secure his favorite spot, the swap meet's reopening is welcome news.

"This is how we put food in our mouths, gas in our vehicles, everything," Burge said at the event's Nov. 23 swan song.

He leaned against his sun-bleached minivan as shoppers sifted through his curios, including a stained-glass lampshade.

"Thirty dollars for that," Burge shouted over the din. "There's no cracks, no chips, no nothing."

Thousands of North County residents make weekend trips to the swap meet to socialize or haggle over odds and ends.

"Every week you see the same people," seller Peter Giangiulio, 38, said, adding that he brings in about $300 a day selling items he picks up at garage sales.

"A lot of us, we count on the swap meet," said John Rincon, an Oceanside retiree who stopped by every few weekends to pick up sundries and inexpensive clothes.

"You save all kinds of money, and you get some quality stuff," he said.

When the shopping center proposal surfaced, most swap meet regulars realized the event was on borrowed time.

The 92-acre property in the San Luis Rey River Valley north of Highway 76 is one of Oceanside's last chunks of prime commercial land.

The shopping center is designed to include a movie theater, health club, restaurants, big-box stores and a central plaza.

Jane McVey, the city's economic development director, said it is hoped that construction will begin as soon as possible.

McVey said last week that she was unaware of plans for a new manager to run the swap meet. City Planner Jerry Hittleman did not return calls for comment.

Crowder, meanwhile, has said he will accommodate as many Oceanside vendors as he can in Escondido, where his swap meet runs five days a week.

"We knew that it was time to combine Escondido and Oceanside together and just make it one supergreat swap meet," Crowder said.

Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.