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'This is their livelihood' | Traders Village forced to stay closed after city cites governor's order

The flea market said they are a retail establishment and should be treated the same as other retailers.

SAN ANTONIO — As retailers across the state opened their doors on Friday, one massive San Antonio retailer is not being allowed to open at all this weekend.

Traders Village General Manager Rudy Escamilla said they found out late Friday afternoon after contacting contacting city officials that the flea market would not be able to open.

Escamilla said it was a shocking blow to his staff and all the vendors not able to set up shop this weekend after being closed for over a month.

“They were gearing up to get ready to open this weekend. They spend what little money they had left to get inventory in so they can try to make some money," he said.

Escamilla said they have close to 500 vendors who sell their wares out of Traders Village, most of whom where looking forward to finally opening back up.

“This is their livelihood,” said Escamilla. “The sad part is we still had some that showed up this morning expecting to do business, and we had to tell him that we're not open and we're sorry.”

On Friday, San Antonio City Attorney Elizabeth Provencio said outdoor flea markets are not clearly covered in the Governor Greg Abbott’s order nor in the city’s order.

Provencio said city officials made the decision based on guidance from the city’s Health Transition Team, citing outdoor markets pose a risk of spreading coronavirus.

“They are discouraging outdoor gatherings for the community until phase three,” said Provencio.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg supported the team’s decision on Friday.

“If it’s not expressly listed as an essential service or activity or what the governor now deems as a re-opened service or activity, then it’s prohibited, because we’re still under a stay home, work safe order,” said Nirenberg.

Escamilla said that in anticipation of opening this weekend, Traders Village had plans in place to protect the public,  including additional sanitation stations throughout the property.

“We actually had it set up to where we can count all the cars and the people coming in and all the cars exiting,” said Escamilla. 

He said people are naturally spread out on the 50-plus acre property.

Escamilla said they were planning to operate at 20 percent capacity, less than Governor Abbott’s order requiring 25 percent.

He said all the vendors are small businesses and should be considered retailers.

“We were excited based on a governor's ruling on Monday that retail shops could open up, which all our permits say that we're classified as a retail facility,” Escamilla said.

He said Traders Village would comply with the city’s orders, but they will take another hit financially.

“There's no telling how big an impact this is for us,” said Escamilla.

Traders Village will still be hosting the San Antonio Food Bank’s upcoming food distribution event on Tuesday. The last food drive a few weeks ago drew in 10,000 people.

“Anything we can do to help,” said Escamilla. “There’s a lot of people in need.”

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