Fun-Lan Drive-In and Flea Market closes with little warning for employees, faithful customers

TAMPA - A piece of Tampa history is falling by the wayside. The Fun-Lan Drive-In and Flea Market on East Hillsborough Avenue has permanently closed.

"I love it. Anything you want, you find it here," said Iris Rodriguez, who says she shopped Fun-Lan every Saturday for years.

Employees say the news of the closing came out of the blue. They were notified last Thursday.

"The first three days, I cried," former manager Candy Snell told FOX 13. "My eyes are just starting to get un-puffy from it. It was rough."

Snell says they were told that the property has been sold to an undisclosed buyer. She and other employees wondered if it was purchased by the city of Tampa, however, in a written statement, a spokesman says the city did not buy Fun-Lan and is willing to work with whoever has.

Phone calls to the company that sold the property, Florida Swap Shops in Fort Lauderdale, were not returned.

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Fun-Lan was one of the last remaining drive-ins and flea markets in Tampa Bay.

They have come under increasing financial pressure as more people turn to streaming services and online shopping.