Swap Meet Operator Has Proved It Belongs Here

Re “Fair Board Ponders Switching Swap Meet Operators,” July 7:

My family and I have been frequent patrons of the Orange County Market Place for more than 25 years. We’ve watched it grow from a garage sale-type swap meet to the sophisticated outdoor mall that it is today.

Over the years, constant improvements have been made. From new bathrooms to the new snack bar to the permanent kiosk-like stores, Tel Phil Enterprises has always focused on keeping the customers happy and giving them great value. The food is much better than at most indoor malls, and the value is better. Even though the swap meet has grown into the Market Place, it still has a fun, intimate feel.

It would be a shame for the management of the Market Place to change hands. The present management lives in the local area and really understands the desires of the patrons. It is also my understanding that the company trying to replace Tel Phil opened a swap meet in Los Alamitos and closed after only 10 months.

Does it make good business sense to bring an entity with a short but poor track record into the area to replace a known entity with a tremendously successful track record just because the new company claims it will bring in more revenue?

M. L. Jungh

Irvine

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Your recent article about the Orange County Market Place highlights a disturbing trend in the way we as a nation have begun to do business, with a local business at risk of being squeezed out to make way for a large New York-based firm.

Small businesses are the backbone of our country, providing a strong and diverse economic base and equal opportunity for entrepreneurs.

I fear we are entering an era where small businesses won’t survive and where our children will have limited ownership opportunities.

The Orange County Market Place has been an institution in our community for more than 30 years.

With each year there have been growth, renovation and positive changes, resulting in the highly successful, up-to-date outdoor market, not a flea market by any stretch of the imagination.

In an age of chain stores and strip malls, these changes also reflect individual small-business growth and stability for the vendors with benefits to our local community through revenues, employment and diverse outdoor shopping and entertainment opportunities.

A. Rzepnick

Costa Mesa