Sheffield Flea Market/UNA Expansion

From the Midnight Rider:

Recently there was an article in the Times Daily Newspaper about a Sheffield resident, Tracey Southern, that was at odds with the City of Sheffield about selling items in front of her home/business. If you didn’t read the article, basically it said that she wanted to sell items but the City wouldn’t or couldn’t issue the appropriate License or Permit. Would this not be some type of Yard Sale Permit?

However, also mentioned in the article was the fact that there had been complaints from business owners about the Sheffield Flea Market. For you that don’t know, the Sheffield Flea Market is held in the parking lot of the Town Plaza. Town Plaza is where the Foodland Supermarket is located. This takes place on Friday and Saturday.

We hear that a certain business owner close to the Plaza is complaining because vendors are selling the same flower arrangements at the Flea Market as he sells at his business. We have only been through the Sheffield Flea Market once or twice and have seen vendors selling these flower arrangements. Does this hurt the Flower Arrangement Business Owner’s business? I guess it could. But let’s go one step further. We have seen a gentleman selling guns out of his vehicle. Does this hurt the Gun Shop located in Town Plaza? Furthermore, if someone is selling drugs at the Flea Market does that hurt the Pharmacy located in the Plaza? Well, we are talking about Sheffield.

Another complaint we read about is that the City of Sheffield is not collecting any money off the Flea Market. Okay, let’s break that down. The City may not get tax money off the Flea Market but what about the money that visitors spend at the other businesses and restaurants while they are in the City of Sheffield. That should be a plus. We don’t know if the owner of the Plaza charges by spot, day or hour to the vendors but maybe there could be a “donation” to the City of Sheffield to help with the compliant.

So going back to the original point of this article, why can’t Tracey Southern sell her stuff at her place? Beats me. Kinda seems like Double Standards. Maybe if she paid tax money on the items she sold, she would be allowed.


I am and always will be, the Midnight Rider.

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Selling guns out of vehicles? My, my! So if it could be proved one of these guns was used in a crime, would the owners of Town Plaza be held accountable? How about the City of Sheffield itself?

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We see the University of North Alabama is being careful to state it doesn't want to tear down a stately Wood Avenue Victorian home it plans to purchase. The university will be paving the back garden to create 40 new parking spaces. 

However, we have to wonder when the university became so caring about the "integrity of the neighborhood?" It's been only 15 years or so since the university purchased the stockbroker Tudor at the corner of Pine and Irvine to tear down for a parking lot. 

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Knight-Humphries Donut

The Tennessee Street improvements continue...and continue. We recommend avoiding the area if possible. We did place our life and radial tires on the line last week to drive down the area under construction. It would appear to stop just before the Knight-Humphries realty corner. In other words, the ugly donut is still standing.

And the small eatery next door on South Poplar remains vacant. We've lost count of the restaurants which have come and gone there over the years. Perhaps it's the curse of the donut?