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On Saturday, May 3, the Selma Flea and Farmers Market had their official grand opening after weeks of being under construction for repairs. The market’s D-wing, C-wing including the A-wing received damage during a severe windstorm that came overnight on Tuesday, March 4.

Flea Market owner Gabe Dean said the grand opening held Saturday was a way to showcase the market’s newest improvements since the storm, while giving back to those in the community who always patronized, supported and welcomed their efforts since they initially opened in 1986.

The market also gave free booths to their vendors on their big day, as a way of saying “Thank you”, according to Dean, while giving patrons a bunch of food trucks to enjoy during their time at the market that day.

Dean also said vendors were able to comfortably have full access to the market like they once did, right before the storm.

“The D-wing area and the C-wing area of the market were repaired,” Dean said. “The C-wing has a new roof and there are two new storage buildings in the D-wing area that are back up and running with vendors moving right back into them, which we are really excited about.”

Dean said the vendors who received the opportunity to rent the new storage unit sheds can now have access to more space for their things, including creating an additional shop if they wanted to.

But, he said the size of the new sheds are about the same.

“They are a little bit longer,” Dean said. “They were 10 x 30 and now they are 10 x 35 and there’s also new electrical work including new lighting installed in them.”

Dean said with the new changes, he believes that vendors at the Selma Flea and Farmers Market can now effectively sale their stuff.

Longtime vendor Tammy Johnson, known as “The Cake Lady” of the market said that her sales during the grand opening Saturday turned out “really good”. She said that more people were out that day supporting not only her, but the flea market as a whole.

There were many other neighboring vendors selling stuff and Johnson’s table featured a multitude of cakes with different flavors such as caramel, coconut, lemon, chocolate including oatmeal raisin. She also said she had peanut butter cookies and a container full of chicken salad as well.

Like Johnson, there were two other vendors eager about their shops’ turnout on Saturday named Kayla and Kiara Elmore of Montgomery. Including two other vendor owners that sold flowers.

“This is actually our first day [selling] since they started back,” said Kayla Elmore, Owner of House of Curves, a wholesale plus-size clothing vendor. “I came a few years ago, but today is the first time, we have come out here together.”

Kayla said on Saturday, several people stopped by her table. But she feels with the reopening efforts of the market, that it might take time for people to realize that the market is officially open again.

Alongside Kayla, Kiara, owner of Perfect Pieces by Kiara, shared her thoughts about the market’s grand opening as well. Through her shop catered to handmade clothing, Kiara said she thought the event provided great exposure and that the market has a lot of potential for sales.

“I’m really excited for what’s to come,” Kiara said, “because once it starts to get hot and everybody wants to get outside and do stuff, they are probably not going to want to shop at stores. If they want to look for a deal, especially now, this would be the place for them to come and to shop. You never know what you are going to find, and I think it’s a definitely a treasure.”

Flower shop owners Evelyn Smith and Tepy Nhek felt the same as Kiara but said through their booth, they are dedicated to make others feel special with flowers.

“People love flowers,” Smith said. “And, we try to help those who shop with us out and give a nice price and everything. When they buy flowers from us, we appreciate that.”

Smith said people who are interested in getting flowers, should learn how to take of them and said the most important rose you should get, if you are thinking about buying one, is the double knockout rose because it’s a rose that lasts forever.

Dean said he hopes the people that attended the market on Saturday can see just how much the owners of the establishment care about the wellbeing of the market, given that it took them only 30 days to get things back in order.

He said not only do they care about the preservation of the market, but he said they also care about the wellbeing of the citizens because they built a mobile home community that features 32 homes, catering to the needs of those seeking affordable housing as well.

“We put 32 new homes that are all leased to residents and family members around the Selma area and we have just invested so much money into the property to try to make it something that Selma is proud of,” Dean said.

Even though parts of the market are new, Dean said the market hours will remain the same on Saturdays from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.