Mebane City Council approves annex of truck facility to replace flea market

MEBANE, N.C. (WGHP) — Hundreds of small business owners packed into a Mebane City Council meeting to voice their opinion on the annexation and closure of a place where they make a living.

The Buckhorn Flea Market located off exit 157 on Interstate-40 closed on Sunday after 40 years of serving the community.

R+L Carriers, a family-owned transportation company based in Greensboro, replaced the market with a trucking terminal,

It would bring more than 130 new jobs to the area, but the closure of the flea market would result in the relocation of 600 business owners, according to those who work there.

During the meeting, a spokesperson for R+L Carriers and the property owner who was not named ​provided renderings of the facility that would take over more than 80 acres of land, including where the Buckhorn Flea Market has stood for four decades.

It would include a maintenance building and a fueling island for truckers.

While presenting plans for the project, a company spokesperson said they gave vendors a heads-up about annexation meetings in May by placing flyers around the flea market.

Less than a dozen people showed up.

On June 14, vendors received a notice on their phones the flea market would close, and they’d be forced to leave on June 30.

On Monday night, many of those vendors spoke before the city council to ask for more time to prepare for such a sudden transition.

Many of them spoke Spanish, and a translator helped get their message across.

City council members voted 3-2 in favor of annexing the more than 80 acres of land where the Buckhorn Flea Market stands.

Now vendors have until Aug. 14 to move their stuff, and they can not sell during that time period.

Construction dates for the R+L Carriers facility will be determined at a later date.

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