The Brooklyn Flea says goodbye to Philly (forever)

Brooklyn Flea Philly tweeted an angst-ridden goodbye on Friday, disclosing that Sunday, Oct. 27 will be the last time the sprawling market takes over The Piazza at Schmidt's in Northern Liberties.

But Philadelphia might not be losing a flea market concept. The Flea's Philadelphia manager, Mark Vevle, said he is negotiating to open a holiday-season market of his own on the ground floor of the former Strawbridge's department store at Eighth and Market Streets. Vevle said he would call it Franklin Flea, and he would curate a mix of vendors selling antiques and vintage items, as well as handmade items that make for good gifts and food.

The Brooklyn Flea, which started in 2008 in such neighborhoods as Fort Greene, Williamsburg and Park Slope, made its Philadelphia debut in the late spring of this year.

But, as Vevle told Philly.com, the owners had hoped it would be "bigger, faster. I know that they were proud of it. It was their first experiment outside of Brooklyn. They were proud of the quality of the vendors and their following."

Commenters on Brooklyn Flea Philly's facebook wall blieve that prices were too high, or the weekly market wasn't promoted well enough.

Vevle, a New York transplant who fell in love with the city, said that Brooklyn Flea and the Piazza had a good relationship and that the parting was amicable. A representative of the Piazza decliined to comment before Monday.