Bargain Town

For decades, Mexican migrant farm workers have come to toil in the fields of southern Miami-Dade County. Many settled in the area, creating a community as distinctive in its own way as Little Havana and Little Haiti in Miami. More than 17,000 Mexicans now dwell within the Homestead city limits, and thousands more live in unincorporated areas outside the city.

The hot and humid core of Bargain Town, located 22 miles south of Miami in Princeton, is a former tomato packing plant that later was used to manufacture windows. Now it houses merchants’ stalls. It encompasses a flea market, a pet shop, a plant shop, a produce barn, and a food court.

“This place is a bargainer’s paradise,” said Claudia Ramos, a local shopper. “It’s huge but definitely cramped with all sorts of tiny shops and stuff.”

Upon entering the shopper will be greeted by friendly smiles and Spanish phrases. Although many of the merchants do not speak the language, they speak enough to explain their products and negotiate prices.

The flea market can offer shopper a wide array of different consumer goods. From fresh Mexican and Central American food to adult and children’s clothing, cooking implements, appliances, CDs and DVDs, musical instruments, tools.


“Many of the vendors sell merchandise from Mexico and Latin America. I have strived to build a good relationship with them. This is their home and mine,” said Rene F. Infante, who grew up watching his father develop and run Bargain Town.

Bargain Town arose from the ruins left by Hurricane Andrew on August 24, 1992.
After Hurricane Andrew destroyed ReneInfante’s father flea market, he inquired about using the window plant, which had been abandoned.

“The Infante family has operated markets for generations. My great-grandfather, Don Carlos Nuñez, had a market in Holguin, Cuba,” says Rene F. Infante.

Many locals continue to make their way to Bargain Town in search of new deals, food, and fun.