Ana Bernal Hernandez’s family business has flourished thanks to the Broadacres Marketplace, a North Las Vegas flea market that has become a vital cultural hub for the Latino community.
Starting a decade ago, her family ventured into the culinary world selling gorditas—thick tortillas stuffed with cheese and meats—at this vibrant marketplace. Their recipes reflect the rich flavors of Sinaloa, Mexico, where Bernal Hernandez’s parents, Mariela Hernandez and Alfredo Bernal, hail from.
Over the years, the family has expanded their presence, now operating two food stalls at Broadacres: Gorditas El Fogón and Chilorio’s, a Sinaloa-style taco stand. They also have a standalone location situated across the street from Craig Ranch Regional Park, just under five miles from the swap meet.
“My dad used to work in construction, so we never imagined that we would become restaurant owners,” Bernal Hernandez shared.
Broadacres Marketplace, which opened approximately 50 years ago in North Las Vegas, has transformed from a simple flea market to a thriving cultural center attracting families on weekends. Here, visitors can dance to live banda music, enjoy refreshing micheladas—a mixture of beer, tomato juice, and lime seasoning—and shop for products from their native countries.
As one of the largest employers in North Las Vegas, Broadacres supports hundreds of vendors across its 45 acres, serving as a launchpad for families like Bernal Hernandez’s to initiate their business ventures.
Recently, the family celebrated their 10th anniversary at Broadacres, surrounded by loyal customers and a mariachi band, which serenaded them with “Las Mañanitas,” a traditional Mexican birthday song.
However, just two weeks following their anniversary, Broadacres announced its temporary closure “out of an abundance of caution and concern for its community” in response to the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
“We don’t want any of our customers, vendors, or employees to be detained at our business or for us to be a beacon of shopping and entertainment while our federal government is raiding businesses and detaining its people,” the marketplace stated in a social media post on June 21.
This announcement came shortly after an ICE raid occurred at a comparable swap meet near Los Angeles. The climate of fear stems from President Donald Trump’s pledge of mass deportation and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s recent collaboration with ICE. These actions have heightened anxiety among the Latino community in Nevada, which possesses significant economic influence.
With nearly 200,000 undocumented individuals—about 6 percent of Nevada’s total population—the fears of the Latino community are now manifesting into economic impacts.
Management at Broadacres Marketplace has not responded to requests for interviews regarding the situation. As of Wednesday, no reopening date has been announced, although the marketplace has promised updates soon.
In the short term, some customers have started visiting the Bernal Hernandez family’s standalone location, but many express that it lacks the same vibrancy and atmosphere found at the swap meet.
“The hustle and bustle are missing; the life is missing because Broadacres is all about the people, the culture,” Bernal Hernandez asserted. “It’s such a beautiful place when it’s full.”
Economic struggles have become evident among various businesses due to the unrest surrounding immigration policies.
Bernal Hernandez noticed a marked decrease in foot traffic a few weeks prior to Broadacres’ closure announcement. She mentioned that the market was nearly desolate the night before they closed.
She has observed an increase in to-go orders across all their locations, attributing this shift to the heightened fears surrounding deportation in light of the Trump administration’s intensified enforcement measures.
“Many of our customers who work in construction used to come and take their breaks here, but now they prefer to eat on the go for fear that something might happen to them,” she explained.
Peter Guzman, president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas, noted that several Latino restaurants are experiencing similar slowdowns. Although he cannot pinpoint the exact cause of these changes, he acknowledges the importance of the Latino community to Nevada’s economy.
In 2022 alone, Latinos generated $46 billion worth of goods and services within the state, contributing to a nationwide total of $3.6 trillion, according to a report from the Latino Donor Collaborative. Additionally, a report from the American Immigration Council revealed that Latinos in Nevada hold a total spending power of $19.1 billion as of 2023.
“The community will begin to feel the impact if people choose to stay home,” Guzman warned.
The situation escalated when the Nevada Republican Party issued a controversial social media post stating that if the swap meet “can’t stay open without illegal aliens, it doesn’t deserve to be open at all.”
This statement drew immediate backlash from Democratic state lawmakers, including state Sen. Fabian Doñate and Assemblywoman Cecelia Gonzalez, sparking a political firestorm. The GOP’s actions prompted further controversy when officials tagged ICE in a post, effectively inviting federal authorities to investigate Doñate’s family, some of whom are undocumented.
While Republican Governor Joe Lombardo publicly distanced himself from the GOP’s statement, urging that attacking individuals’ families should be off-limits in politics, the GOP did not comment further.
“It’s interesting that Republicans claim to be pro-business, yet when a business faces challenges, they either remain silent or resort to mockery,” Doñate remarked in an interview.
The political divide has infiltrated the Latino community; even Trump supporters are expressing unease over the heightened immigration enforcement. Javier Barajas, a restaurant owner who operates several locations including Lindo Michoacan in Las Vegas, continues to support the president, yet shares concerns about the consequences of increased enforcement measures.
He remarked, “I agree with him taking out those who come to live off the government, who don’t come to work. But now they’re messing with people who are working, who are doing good for this country.”
Though business has remained steady for Barajas, he worries that the enforcement actions could impact the spending habits of his Latino clientele.
“If those individuals who worked at the swap meet can’t dine out anymore, they won’t visit restaurants, shops, or even the movies,” he pointed out. “It creates a ripple effect that concerns everyone.”
While the Bernal Hernandez family has a fallback location during Broadacres’ closure, their standalone restaurant has not escaped the repercussions that many businesses are experiencing, jeopardizing the livelihoods of their nine employees across their three establishments.
“People are spending less, they are going out less, and unfortunately one of the first things people do when they start to save is cut down on eating out,” Bernal Hernandez noted.
Looking towards the future, Bernal Hernandez and her family have been offering shifts from their Broadacres employees at their Craig Road location to cushion the hit to their financial stability during the closure.
Hernandez expressed hope that lawmakers will recognize the significance of the Latino community and their contributions to the economy, advocating for measures to safeguard vendors rather than penalizing them for their entrepreneurial spirit.
“Lawmakers need to see that we put a lot of money back into the economy, and they have to find ways to protect vendors, not criminalize us for having hustles,” she urged.
Doñate and fellow lawmakers indicated that preliminary discussions with Metro are underway regarding immigration enforcement. Although formulating policy is challenging outside of legislative session, Doñate emphasized the need for accountability from elected officials.
“When some individuals in Nevada are afraid to call it their home, or even to step outside, that’s a problem—not only economically, but concerning quality of life,” Doñate concluded.
image source from：thenevadaindependent
