Wes Kazmarck, owner of the Birdcage boutique, talks with a customer.
By Donald Wittkowski
Kristen McHale was busy browsing through racks of clothing while her 3-year-old daughter, Molly, tugged on her pants and her 13-month-old daughter, Annie, was catching a nap in a baby stroller.
Although her kids didn’t seem particularly interested in their surroundings, McHale was determined to get in some serious shopping at an indoor flea market in Sea Isle City that offered upscale clothes and shoes for bargain prices.
“I’m looking at the high-end stores. They’re having some amazing sales,” said McHale, who lives in Upper Township. “I’m looking for some dresses and shoes.”
On Saturday, 17 of Sea Isle’s retail shops banded together for the very first Flea by the Sea, a pop-up flea market inside Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House bar and restaurant on Landis Avenue in the Townsends Inlet section.
Liz Essick, right, owner of Sunsations boutique, jokes around with customers Lisa Evans and Pat Keller.
The event, promoted through social media, resulted in a surprisingly big turnout. The banquet room inside Doc Magrogan’s was packed with largely female shoppers who were buying clothes, shoes, jewelry and other merchandise at deep-discount prices.
“At these prices, everything must go. We’re having a little spring clearance,” said Liz Essick, owner of the Sunsations boutique on John F. Kennedy Boulevard.
Essick noted that shoppers were getting great deals. She was selling one $300 dress for just $30. Other prices were slashed, too.
“You can’t beat that,” Essick said of the $30 price tag on a $300 dress.
Alluding to the high-end goods that were up for sale, Essick characterized the event as a “fashionable flea market.”
Shoppers were attracted by bargain prices on upscale clothing, shoes and other merchandise sold by local shops.
She came to the flea market looking to buy a dress. She ended up getting a sundress for herself and some sweatshirts for her daughter.
“They were very reasonable prices,” said Flick, who lives in Glen Mills, Pa., and has a summer home in Sea Isle.
While the retail shops were the centerpiece of the flea market, the Sea Isle City Historical Museum was also able to make some money by selling books, vintage postcards, old beach tags and other items.
Abby Powell, president of the museum, showed off a commemorative beach tag that celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Sea Isle Beach Patrol’s Island Run. The beach tag was selling for $5 – another bargain among hundreds of items changing hands at the flea market.
Abby Powell, president of the Sea Isle City Historical Museum, holds up a display of vintage beach tags for sale.
