‘It’s my second home’: Broadacres Marketplace reopens weeks after unexpected closure

A singer belted a regional Mexican tune to the backing sound of snare cracks, cymbal splashes and brass instrument melodies at Broadacres Marketplace on Sunday afternoon.

Braving triple-digits heat, hundreds of visitors took refuge underneath a mammoth canopy, where couples danced to the live music. A man watching the band from afar joyously slammed his feet on the ground in a zapateado dance.

Broadacres, the North Las Vegas swap meet popular with the valley’s Latino community, was back in business over the weekend after unexpectedly shuttering its doors on June 21. The operator cited fear of possible immigration enforcement as the reason for the closure.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said at the time that federal agents hadn’t been present at the market before it closed. But images of Border Patrol agents raiding a Southern California swap meet days before may have put vendors and their clientele on edge.

Foot traffic along vendor booths was scarce Sunday and business owners told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that while they were pleased to be back, questions remained about a return to normalcy.

Vendors said that attendance varies, noting that hot months tend to be slower anyway. They said, however, that business slowed down significantly amid talk of ICE activity in the valley weeks before Broadacres closed its doors.

“It affected us thoroughly,” vendor Luis Villagran said in Spanish about the closure. “Mainly our pockets.”

Business impact

Villagran said he’s sold a variety of items at the market for about 15 years. It’s not his family’s only source of income, but it’s the main one, he said.

Being back, Villagran said he feels “happier and better.”

He noted that not everyone, including fellow vendors, had returned.

“It’s slow and there are fewer clients, too,” Villagran said.

Esther Vitela, who has run a Broadacres booth for 18 years, said she had similar observations. On Sunday, she sold natural products such as shampoo and skin treatments.

She said she had found a second source of income since the closure. Still, she said that returning to the market meant she again “felt alive.”

Vitela wants clients and vendors who decided to stay home this weekend to feel safe again, she said.

Asked if he had a message for those who hadn’t returned yet, Villagran said: “We’re waiting to see your faces again. We’d like for more people to come and support us.”

Mirna Diaz sells leather boots, hats, belts and other attire popular with Latinos. Her husband, Jaime Castañeda, helps her. They said business was down and that they were concerned about making rent. Diaz said she had to pick up a second job.

Diaz said that Broadacres was unusually slow on Saturday, the couple’s first day back.

“There are no sales, and the lower they go, the more we’re in the hole,” Diaz said in Spanish.

Closure for a greater good

Castañeda said the slowdown began with talk about possible immigration raids.

“On the other hand,” he said, the closure offered relief because they didn’t have to pay Broadacres rent for the lost weeks.

The couple said they hope outside help is on the way. Diaz said she applied for a portion of a $500,000 grant fund announced by Clark County for the district of Commissioner William McCurdy II, which encompasses Broadacres.

Hortencia Ocampo has sold a variety of snacks and refreshments at Broadacres, including dry fruit and Mexican candy, for about 17 years. It’s a family affair in which her siblings and father operate other booths within the market.

“It’s my second home,” she said in Spanish. “It’s our second family. When you sell here for so many years, your neighbors and your clients become your second family, even if it’s not through blood.”

Ocampo said they had to cycle their merchandise so it didn’t go bad. They resorted to selling elsewhere, including Facebook marketplace, she added.

The visibility online was challenging because it’s much easier having a stand where their clientele knows where to go, or where passersby can discover them and drop by, she said.

Ocampo said she agreed with Broadacres’ temporary closure.

“Yes, it affected us economically,” she said.

But if it meant that it was done for a greater good — in which everybody was kept safe — it was worth it, Ocampo added.

Safety was on many vendors’ minds the first weekend back. To try to mitigate those concerns, Broadacres announced a collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and community advocates “to make sure vendors return to a space that’s safer, stronger and informed.”

The market said it established an alert system with “real-time updates on visible law enforcement activity — fully within legal guidelines.”

“Know-Your-Rights” pamphlets were distributed, and training on the subject was ongoing, Broadacres said.

An ACLU graphic informing attendees about their rights was displayed on a large screen next to the performance stage.

“We’re reopening because our vendors are ready — and they deserve a marketplace that has their back,” marketplace officials said.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.