Broadacres vendors left without answers after community event

By Jeniffer Solis

Nevada Current

Nearly three weeks after Broadacres Market abruptly shut down, it’s unclear how long the closure will last, leaving hundreds of vendors without a source of income and desperate for answers.

Word of mouth brought several vendors to the Centro Christiano El Shaddai, a church in North Las Vegas, where a private community discussion led by U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford Tuesday was scheduled for a select few.

The Tuesday event was promptly moved to another location after increased public interest attracted media and more vendors than anticipated to the church. The move left several vendors who expected to hear from lawmakers without a clear explanation about the change in venue.

“The meeting was always intended to be an intimate conversation to allow participants to speak freely about their concerns,” said a spokesperson from Horsford’s office.

“The event drew significant public interest — more than anticipated. Out of concerns for safety, and to ensure an honest conversation, Rep. Horsford’s office moved the meeting to a setting that allowed for the intimate conversation to proceed as planned,” the spokesperson continued.

Horsford’s office said they are now organizing “a public-facing community-wide event” to address the closure and work towards a solution after Tuesday’s event drew strong interest.

But the sudden venue change and the ongoing closure have left many vendors without answers or support.

Vendors like Maria Flores, who sells religious items at the open-air market, said she feels abandoned by Broadacres management and lawmakers after a lack of clear communication.

“I feel a little frustrated because I don’t see anyone with answers coming out,” said Flores in her native Spanish. “Today was canceled, and we don’t know why it was canceled.”

Flores said when she heard about Tuesday’s community discussion she was hopeful the event would provide more information on the closure of Broadacres, including when vendors could expect to return. Without a clear return date, she’ll be forced to look for other work in order to cover her expenses.

“There’s a lot of us vendors, and we’re all distressed,” she said.

Flores, who has been selling goods at Broadacres for about 20 years, said management and local lawmakers could do more to support vendors impacted by the market’s closure.

Broadacres Marketplace is the largest open-air market in Nevada, attracting more than 15,000 people every weekend. It houses a variety of vendors, particularly those catering to the Latino population.

The collective number of people working as and for vendors also effectively makes Broadacres one of the largest employers in the City of North Las Vegas, according to data from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation.

The open-air market has been closed since June 21, when management for the market told vendors to close their shops until further notice due to concerns over potential immigration raids. The closure left hundreds of vendors and employees with a significant loss of income, and no set date for a return.

The market said the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution and concern” for its vendors, customers, and staff.

“We don’t want any of our customers, vendors, or employees to be detained at our business or for us to be a beacon of shopping and entertainment while our federal government is raiding businesses and detaining its people,” the Broadacres Marketplace Management team wrote on social media.

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Jeniffer Solis was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada where she attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before graduating in 2017 with a B.A in Journalism and Media Studies.