Despite the fact that the Brooklyn Flea couldn’t work their curated magic in Philadelphia, things seemed to be going a little bit better in the outpost in the nation’s capital. Or so we though, since we don’t bother paying attention to DC except for the imaginary DC of Veep. As it turns out, things weren’t so hot at the District Flea though, because it just abruptly pulled up stakes this week. And in a familiar refrain, a resident claimed carpetbagging did the Flea in.
The Washington City Paper had the story, noting that vendors got a letter on Tuesday saying that the District Flea would be going “on hiatus,” with the Washington Post placing the blame for the hiatus on a lack of interest from vendors. The problem, according to Michael Sussman, who runs a competing flea market in DC, was the District Flea’s focus on food as opposed to vendors who sold antiques and collectibles. Sussman told the Post that the Flea “didn’t understand the D.C. market, because they weren’t from D.C.”
We suppose the Flea could lick their wounds and try to restart as a Smorgasburg-like option in the space where the District Flea was, but we don’t know of any DC neighborhoods that could make a good portmanteau like Smorgasburg. On the other hand, the Flea could take a lesson from the popularity of Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas and open an outpost somewhere with a little less hometown pride and little more willingness to just accept something labeled “Brooklyn” landing on top of them.