The Portland Mercado is holding an anniversary celebration June 18 to mark seven years for the East Portland outpost that nurtures a new generation of entrepreneurs.
The Mercado houses 19 permanent businesses and has a fully licensed commercial kitchen, offered on a sliding scale, to incubate new food and beverage businesses. The site and its programs are part of Hacienda Community Development Corp.
“As we enter into our seventh year of building community and supporting Latinx entrepreneurs at the Portland Mercado we invite all Portlanders to join us for an all-day anniversary festival,” the group said in a written statement. “This year’s event honors our community’s accomplishments and unstoppable drive towards supporting the Latinx community and beyond.”
The event is open to all ages and is slated for noon to 6 p.m. with music and other activities.
The Mercado opened in 2015 and is an outgrowth of Hacienda’s business advising program that started in 2006. The group works with Black, Indigenous and people of color entrepreneurs to access resources and education to build businesses.
The commercial kitchen incubator supports more than 60 food businesses. During the Covid-19 pandemic the group has doubled down on the support it can offer its clients.
In addition to helping people start and grow businesses, Hacienda serves roughly 3,000 people a year. It provides housing through six low-income, multifamily properties, as well as education and economic development services to low-income residents in the predominantly Latino Cully neighborhood in Northeast Portland.
