Big swap meet aims to widen customer base as lean times force frugality!

Artisan bread, locally made hot sauces and martini glasses may not sound like typical swap meet fare, and that's the idea.

New owners took over the 31 year old Mile High Flea Market last year and they're ushering in changes to attract a wider breadth of customers at a time when white and blue collar workers alike are pinching pennies in the face of higher gas and food prices.

Among the new moves are a local farmers' market, which debuted last week, and a shift to yearly rather than monthly leases for vendors located in buildings. Also in the works are the market's first ever coffee house and stores with sleeker fixtures and permanent dressing rooms.

"We're trying to become more of a marketplace than a flea market," said Jim Hurrell, the flea market's new owner and president.

The market, located in Henderson near the intersection of I 76 and 88th Avenue, spreads across 80 acres of blacktop. The front half features an assortment of brightly painted wooden stalls selling everything from sofas to Quincenera dresses while the back is home to a yard sale atmosphere of open air vendors.

Hurrell, who served as the market's marketing director for nearly 20 years, purchased the Mile High market last year from longtime owner Andy Hermes for an undisclosed price. At the time, Hurrell didn't plan any changes, but then business plummeted last fall something he blames in part on rumors that he planned to shutter the site and he began scrambling for a new direction.

Hurrell hopes the market's upscale shift comes at a time when shoppers who once wouldn't have considered stepping foot into a flea market might think again if they can save money.

"He's trying to get the yuppies to come out here," said Oran Wallace, who has sold tools at the market for nearly 20 years in an open space before moving into a permanent building earlier this year. "But that's OK. They're good customers."

Not all vendors are pleased with the changes. The market, which is open on weekends, dropped its longtime Wednesday hours this year to be open Friday instead.