San Jose Flea Market

by Andy Ciordia

The San Jose Flea Market, a vibrant landmark, proudly continues its legacy as a family-owned and operated institution. Despite growing to include a staff of 500 service employees, its foundational management principles remain deeply rooted.

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Family Feud

In the late 1970, problems began when George Bumb Sr.’s wife began having an affair with a man she met at a square dancing class. Felony charges faced George Bumb Sr. when he and an accomplice beat the man for 90 minutes. He offered him 0,000 to leave town. Bumb pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.

Throughout his career George Bumb Sr. included his eight children in the family business. He managed his businesses and family similarly with strict policies and fired his family members frequently. A more secretive family feud began when one of his sons, Brian Bumb Sr., did not send his children to the family school, St. Thomas More. Brian told his father the world was bigger than the Flea Market, and his children would explore it.

The Bumbs continue to have business and family difficulties. In the late 1990, George Bumb Sr.’s son Jeff spent .5 million to open up Bay 101, a card room in San Jose. But Jeff was unsuccessful in getting a gaming license from the state because of a loan that he never paid off. His two brothers, George Jr. and Tim Bumb, never planned to get involved but obtained the gaming license for Bay 101. Therefore Jeff originally did not receive any money from the Bay 101 profits. As a result, he asked his father for a bigger share of the Flea Market so all of the Bumb brothers’ profits would be equal. George Bumb Sr. refused and Jeff consequently sued his family. The case settled for .8 million in 1996. George Bumb Sr. died shortly after, never reconciling with his son Jeff.
Fire

On Tuesday, November 29, 2006, a fire burned down 24 stands of Produce Row at the San Jose Flea Market. At 6:02 p.m, a 911 call was made and dozens of fire crews and a helicopter arrived to put out the flames. Although the fire was contained at 7:15 p.m, 0,000 worth of merchandise was destroyed. Burnt nuts, fruit, plants, and plastic were strewn all over the ground. Teresa Bumb, daughter of Brian Bumb Sr., stated that they would do their best to help those who were affected by the fire by offering free or reduced rent.

Future Developments

On August 14, 2007, the San Jose City Council approved the proposal to reconstruct the 120-acre (0.49 km2) property on Berryessa Road to allow for a 2,800-home development. The Council took suggestions from the public and discussed it among themselves for about two hours that concluded in an approval of the motion by a 10 to 1 vote. The lone disapproving vote was cast because the Council member felt the requirements the city gave the Bumb family were excessive. The motion approved the Bumb Family plan to develop the 120-acre (0.49 km2) lot that is the current home of the San Jose Flea Market. The flea market will remain open until 2010, but in the meantime, a joint effort between the Bumb family and the city will take place to find a new venue to host the vendors. The approval of the project would have a few more benefits aside from an increase in housing. The Flea Market location is also a future BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit, station site. The upside to building 2,000+ low-income homes around that station would be a positive effect on San Jose commuters.

The challenge is to find a replacement site for the Flea Market. Some potential sites are the Singleton Road landfill, the south end of Coyote Valley, the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds and Morgan Hill. Whichever site is chosen will need to be at least 80 acres (320,000 m2) to host the thousands of Flea Market vendors. With a recent increase in land value, finding such a spot will be an expensive task.

Notes

^ Vazquez, Daniel. “George Bumb Sr., Began Fleamarket”. “San Jose Mercury News”. 2000-8-21.

^ a b c *San Jose Flea Market History

^ Hendrickson, Steve. emorandum: Bay 101 Conditional Approval of Stock Transfer. 2007-9-13
^ Eunjung Cha, Ariana. nternet Threatens Old-Fashioned Sales Venues Washington Post. 2005-8-2.
^ Rodriguez, Joe. roduce Row Packs Them In. San Jose Mercury News. 2006-6-26.

^ *California Business Portal Corporations

^ Mercury News Staff Report. “San Jose Police Arrest 8 In Bogus Cassette Case.” “San Jose Mercury News”. 1986-11-6.

^ Barnacle, Betty. “5 Seized In Theft of Tucks Pickups Taken At Flea Market”. “San Jose Mercury News”. 1990-1-31.

^ Barnacle, Betty. “10 Arrested in Flea- Market Raid On Fakes”. “San Jose Mercury News”. 1990-12-18.

^ Barnacle, Betty. “Counterfeit Sports Wear Seized at Two S.J. FleaMarket Raids”. “San Jose Mercury News”. 1993-5-3.

^ Levander, Michelle. “Child Labor Exposed Employers Fined for Hours, Task Violation”. “San Jose Mercury News”. 1992-6-17.

^ Sulek, Julia. “Card Club Problems The Bay 101 Card Club in San Jose Has Been a Source of Controversy Within the Bumb Family”. “San Jose Mercury News”. 2000-12-31.

^ Gonzales, Sandra. ire Damages Flea Market. San Jose Mercury News. 2006-11-29.

^ Sherbert,Erin. he Waiting Game. The Metro Silicon Valley. 2007-9-12.

^ Gomez, Mark. lea-Market Future at Issue- ransit Village Planned for Property. San Jose Mercury News. 2007-8-13.

References

San Jose Flea Market History

ublic Eye The Metro Silicon Valley. 2000-8-24.

amily Feud The Metro Silicon Valley. 1999-7-1.

igh Class Joints The Metro Silicon Valley. 2000-9-7.

California Business Portal Corporations

Bailey, Brandon. airgrounds Floated as New Flea Market Site. San Jose Mercury News. 2007-4-15.

Bailey, Brandon. endors Rally to Save Flea Market. San Jose Mercury News. 2007-4-25.

Barnacle, Betty. “5 Seized In Theft of Tucks Pickups Taken At Flea Market”. San Jose Mercury News. 1990-1-31.

Barnacle, Betty. “10 Arrested in Flea- Market Raid On Fakes”. San Jose Mercury News. 1990-12-18.

Barnacle, Betty. “Counterfeit Sports Wear Seized at Two S.J. FleaMarket Raids”. San Jose Mercury News. 1993-5-3.

Gomez, Mark. lea-Market Future at Issue- ransit Village Planned for Property. San Jose Mercury News. 2007-8-13.

Gonzales, Sandra. ire Damages Flea Market. San Jose Mercury News. 2006-11-29.

Gore, Robert J. he Bazaar Growth of Swap Meets. Los Angeles Times. 1982-6-18.

Eunjung Cha, Ariana. nternet Threatens Old-Fashioned Sales Venues Washington Post. 2005-8-2.
Hall, Christopher. hat Doing In San Jose. New York Times. 1998-4-12.

Hendrickson, Steve. emorandum: Bay 101 Conditional Approval of Stock Transfer. 2007-9-13
Levander, Michelle. “Child Labor Exposed Employers Fined for Hours, Task Violation”. San Jose Mercury News. 1992-6-17.

Mercury News Staff Report. “San Jose Police Arrest 8 In Bogus Cassette Case.” San Jose Mercury News. 1986-11-6.

Rodriguez, Joe. iscovering a World of Fruits and Vegetables. San Jose Mercury News. 2007-5-24.

Rodriguez, Joe. roduce Row Packs Them In. San Jose Mercury News. 2006-6-26.

Sherbert,Erin. he Waiting Game. The Metro Silicon Valley. 2007-9-12.

Sherbert,Erin. wilight Zoning. The Metro Silicon Valley. 2007-11-14.

Stein, Loren. ave Goodbye To the Train. The Metro Silicon Valley. 2002-12-26.

Sulek, Julia. “Card Club Problems The Bay 101 Card Club in San Jose Has Been a Source of Controversy Within the Bumb Family”. San Jose Mercury News. 2000-12-31.

Vazquez, Daniel. “George Bumb Sr., Began Fleamarket”. San Jose Mercury News. 2000-8-21.

Witt, Barry. lea-Market Rezoning Approved- Venue to be Open Until Early 2010. San Jose Mercury News. 2007-8-16.

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San Jose and Silicon Valley attractions

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