KIVA Zip Supports the Backbone of the Mercado, its Micro-entrepreneurs

There is no question that the backbone of the Portland Mercado project is our vendors, who are using the time between now and when the Mercado opens up shop to grow the viability of their businesses. It is our job to insure that vendors have access to resources, technical assistance and opportunities to grow and launch a successful microenterprise that can be self-sufficient when the Mercado is underway.

For these reasons, we see our partnership with KIVA Zip, an online crowd-funding platform for micro-loans, as a crucial tool to providing some of our aspiring Mercado businesses with the capital and resources they need. Two businesses are currently being endorsed by Hacienda CDC  to be the recipient of a 0% interest loan, which will help them grow their business in Portland. The process to give is simple. The impact is HUGE.

Las caras de Tierra del Sol, one of Micro Mercantes primary catering businesses

Business #1: Amalia Vazquez and her Mexican food business, Tierra del Sol.  Let’s help this aspiring Portland Mercado vendor get to her $5,000 goal before the end of the year! She is currently at 72%!

Amalia would like you to know…

My family business  really appreciates the support that the Portland community has given us so far.  From the warming atmosphere at the King farmers market to the practical knowledge gained through the services of Micro Mercantes, we are now able to realistically expand our business. This KIVA loan will be used to expand my business into catering services and to improve the functions and look of my food cart. I hope that this loan will even allow me to provide food for your own personal event! Please click to read more about my story and to lend to my family business! Gracias! You can now order food from us online at www.micromercantes.com

Hilda Leyva showcases her handmade jewelry. Craft vendors like Hilda will have the opportunity to sell at day tables and small stalls at the Mercado

Business #2: Hilda Leyva and her handmade jewelry business, Divina! Hilda only needs $600 to reach her $2,000 goal!

Hilda would like you to know…

I have been fascinated with the power and beauty of natural gems since childhood and find great inspiration in being able to offer and share my creations with the community. It has long been my dream to sell my handmade pieces and I am currently receiving support with Hacienda to formalize my business. I plan to use the loan to be able to sell my jewelry online through a site like Etsy and to be able to reach more people by selling at artisan shows, craft fairs and farmers markets. Thank you in advance for supporting my dream and please click here to view my full story and to contribute!

Click here to register for a KIVA account. You can then lend a minimum of $25 to one or both loans. Once the loans are fulfilled, you will be repaid your $25 (costing you $0) or, you can choose to re-invest your $25 by endorsing another entrepreneur! Note: Hacienda has endorsed 6 entrepreneurs since April, 2013, totally $22,575 in 0% interest micro-loans.

Additional note: Thanks to The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation, loans to our entrepreneurs will be matched (up to $500 per lender!) 

Congrats to Mixteca Catering who successfully fund-raised a $5,000 loan in just under 3 weeks! They will use the capital to purchase a mobile food truck, allowing stability and versatility within their business operations.  ¡Felicidades Mixteca y Gracias a todos!

Future Mercado Business Owners Participate in Learning Tour

Business owners at the end of the Mississippi Food Cart tour. Photo: Daniel Ronan.

This past Friday, 12 of the Mercado’s future tenants spent three hours learning about the vibrant world of food carts and the relationship between indoor and outdoor eating spaces along N. Mississippi Street. Later, the business owners and Hacienda staff visited Portland Food Trailers in SE Portland to get a better sense of the purchasing and outfitting of food carts – now set to be a central feature of the indoor-outdoor Portland Mercado. Led by project consultant, Michele Reeves, the group met with the owners of Prost and ¿Por qué no? on N. Mississippi St. for an afternoon of learning and conversation.

The first stop on N. Mississippi St. included a visit with Dan Hart of Prost, a German restaurant and bar. With a spacious patio and a vibrant food cart pod abutting the restaurant, Dan made the decision to invite food cart customers onto Prost’s patio. This has been a classic “win-win” for the food cart operators and Prost. By allowing food cart customers to buy beer while they eat on the patio, Prost has created more seating for accompanying food carts and he has increased Prost’s sales.

Business owners eating lunch at the Prost food cart pod. Photo: Valentina Orantes.

The last stop on the tour included a conversation with Bryan Steelman, the owner of ¿Por qué no? Having started his business 8 years ago, Bryan was excited to tell the tenants of the future Mercado his story as a small business owner. Starting in the basement of an old craftsman house, Bryan opened his business when N. Mississippi was less commercially vibrant than it is today. Winters were difficult and required specialized business plans. With additional catering and a strong work ethic, Bryan grew his business by opening another location on SE Hawthorne.

The last visit of the day included a trip to Portland Food Trailers. There Mercado business owners saw food carts being made up close. Everyone was excited to see how vibrant and clean food carts could be, and ended the tour energized to getting ready for the Mercado opening in 2014.

Hacienda CDC chooses Construction Manager/General Contractor for Portland Mercado

 

 

 

This week Hacienda, with input from Scott Edwards Archictecture and Monica Moreno from the Mercado Asamblea, selected Bremik Construction to be the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) for the Mercado’s development.  Bremik was selected after a very competitive process that included several other high quality firms from the Portland area. Bremik’s expertise in adaptive re-use projects, its strong record in completing projects on-time and on-budget and its strong relationship with the Portland Development Commission were all points in Bremik’s favor.

“We’re very pleased to have been selected by Hacienda to work on this signature project for the Latino community,” said Brent Parry, President of Bremik Construction, “and we look forward to helping to build a landmark that the whole community will recognize as the Portland Mercado.”

Everyone working on the Mercado is thrilled to have taken this step and to move forward quickly to complete design and construction estimates for the Mercado soon. We plan to break ground this fall, with Bremik’s team of sub-contractors on board.  Stay tuned as we start planning for both a groundbreaking event in the fall.