A Haven for Vendors

It seemed Raul Morales’ dream of running his own business had come to a painful end last year when a group of men robbed and beat him as he sold tacos and burritos on the streets of South Los Angeles.

His father, a restaurant owner in Mexico, had always told Morales: “It’s better to own a bad business than to have a good job.”

But it was Morales’ third robbery in two years and he couldn’t put himself at risk anymore. He reluctantly put away his portable grill and got work at a meat plant by day and as a janitor by night.

However, Morales’ dream and that of about 30 other immigrants with aspirations to run their own businesses are coming closer to reality.

Construction starts today on Mercado La Paloma, a $5.5-million effort to transform an empty garment warehouse near Exposition Park into an indoor bazaar where vendors like Morales can rent stalls to sell everything from hot food to fresh flowers to shoe repairs.

Many of the vendors will be Mexican or Central American immigrants who learned cooking and other skills in their home countries but have been unable to start businesses here because of high costs and confusing red tape.

Esperanza Community Housing Corp., the Los Angeles-based nonprofit group that is developing the marketplace, is providing the vendors an eight-week business training program to help them manage the new enterprises.

Esperanza, which has built seven housing projects south of downtown, plans to include office space on the market’s second floor where nonprofit groups can offer social services such as health care information. Local artists also will get space to display their work.

“It’s really about creating a neighborhood gathering place that combines opportunities that are economic, social, educational and artistic,” said Melanie Stephens, Esperanza’s community development director.

Construction of the 34,000-square-foot project is expected to be completed by July. The project was designed by architect Brenda Levin, who helped renovate the Grand Central Market on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

The new mercado will be a “festive marketplace . . . in the tradition of open air markets that one finds around the world,” Levin said.

Unlike Grand Central Market, which is a commercial operation, Mercado La Paloma will be a nonprofit project primarily to help vendors move from low-wage factory jobs to owning a business. The customer base is expected to be more local than the regional draw of Grand Central.

During a recent business training class, several vendors displayed the homemade foods and handmade crafts they plan to sell in the mercado.

Leonardo Madueno, who operates heavy equipment at a Torrance factory, plans to sell food in the style of his home state of Yucatan, Mexico, such as spicy pork wrapped in banana leaves. He cooks such dishes for church events and decided to open a stall with a friend to make extra money. If the business takes off, Madueno said he may give up his factory job.

“I think the mercado is a fabulous idea,” he said.

Maria Rodriguez, a garment worker who lives in an Esperanza housing project, said her stall will specialize in red mole, the thick chili sauce that is usually served over pork, chicken or beef.

Rodriguez has perfected her mole by catering parties and family gatherings out of her home.

Morales, the former street vendor who was robbed, plans to offer fresh Mexican food with handmade tortillas and up to 11 types of salsa. His tacos and burritos, he said, will be made to order with fresh ingredients such as onions and radishes.

Morales has already picked a name for his business, “Taqueria Vista Hermosa,” or “Beautiful View Tacos.”

Esperanza has raised $2.1 million to build the mercado, largely through federal and local grants and contributions from local banks, religious institutions and foundations, including the Arco and Merrill Lynch foundations. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles) and Los Angeles Councilwoman Rita Walters helped secure the government funding.

Esperanza still needs to raise $3.5 million, which the group hopes will come from other grants and donations. But Stephens said the group can still move forward with construction. Until the shortfall is raised, she said, the group can lease the property instead of buying it and can put off building the second-story offices.

The idea for the mercado came in response to suggestions by residents of Esperanza’s housing projects who wanted a local version of bustling markets that immigrants left behind in their home countries.

Vendors will pay a monthly rent starting at $375, which includes access to a large commercial kitchen to cater outside events. Administrators plan to operate a loan program so vendors can buy refrigerators, stoves and display cases for the stalls. Administrators also want to create a Web site to allow customers to order food and products from vendors over the Internet.

The mercado will be built in a largely quiet warehouse district in the 3600 block of Grand Avenue. Esperanza officials hope vendors will benefit from foot traffic at a nearby Department of Motor Vehicles office on Hope Street, one of the busiest in the state. It serves up to 2,500 people per day.

DMV customers and others who visit the mercado can look forward to buying cakes, pastries and candies from a stall that Elena Cubillo, another garment worker who emigrated from Ecuador, hopes to run.

During a recent vendor training class, Cubillo showed off a lime-green cake she made without eggs. The cake was adorned by a dove in flight made of white icing in honor of Mercado La Paloma, which is Spanish for “the dove market.”

She can’t wait to open her business, Cubillo said.

“It is the opportunity that I’ve been waiting for because it’s hard for foreigners to start a business here,” she said.