New Market Answers Immigrant Vendors’ Dreams

With a Mardi Gras-style parade and the music of a Thai band, about 100 people Tuesday celebrated the completion of a new indoor market that houses vendors, artisans and social service groups in a former garment warehouse near Exposition Park.

The enthusiastic immigrant vendors and neighborhood activists braved overcast skies and light rain to march several blocks along Figueroa Street to formally open and attend a blessing ceremony for El Mercado la Paloma, which is Spanish for “the dove market.”

“This is a dream of five years come true,” said Sister Diane Donoghue, executive director of Esperanza Community Housing Corp., the Los Angeles-based nonprofit group that developed the $5.5-million project largely through federal and city grants and contributions from banks, religious institutions and foundations.

For several weeks, vendors and social service agencies have been operating at the mercado on weekends while construction was completed. Tuesday’s celebration marked the start of full-time operations.

Inside the colorful two-story mercado, the smell of freshly baked Ecuadorean pies mixed with that of spicy Thai curry dishes and sizzling hot Mexican carnitas. A group of children sat with books in a carpeted reading corner next to a jewelry repair stall.

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

But the primary goal of the mercado, which is at 3655 S. Grand Avenue, just east of the Harbor Freeway, is to give street vendors and other immigrant entrepreneurs a chance to fulfill their dreams of operating full-fledged businesses.

The 34,000-square-foot mercado houses 16 full-time vendors, including Mexican, Asian and Central American restaurateurs, florists and bakers. They pay monthly rent, ranging from $200 to $450, which includes access to a large commercial kitchen to cater outside events.

Raul Morales sold tacos and burritos on the streets of South Los Angeles until he was robbed and beaten two years ago.

When he heard that he could sell his food at a stall at the mercado, he jumped at the opportunity. Today he operates Taqueria Vista Hermosa, a Mexican food stall, with the help of his wife, daughter, brother and a family friend.

“I’m living the American dream,” he said as his wife served a customer a taco heaped with guacamole and carne asada, which he seasons with 18 spices.

“My father always told me that it is better to own a bad business than to have a good job,” he said proudly.

In a nearby stall, Dora Flores recounted how she and her husband ran a bakery in Ecuador before moving to the United States several years ago. Her husband now works in construction. But the couple never gave up hope of someday running their own business again.

Three weeks ago, Flores and her husband opened a brightly lit stall dubbed La Empanada, “the pie,” where they serve authentic Ecuadorean food, including small, meat-filled pies.

“Little by little, the people are coming,” Flores said.

Unlike Grand Central Market on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, which is a commercial operation, Mercado la Paloma is a nonprofit project built primarily to help vendors move out of low-wage factory jobs.

The mercado, which will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., is expected to become the hub for downtown immigrant social service agencies.

Four social services groups operate on the second floor. Three more groups are expected to join them in the next few weeks, providing computer training classes, language courses and a support group for Central American victims of military torture.

Already, the mercado is home to such groups as the Assn. of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which offers homeownership classes to new homeowners, among other services. A few doors away, the Coalition for Community Health provides health care referrals and organizes health fairs.

The managers of several agencies said they moved into the mercado because the rents in buildings near USC and Staples Center have begun to skyrocket because of downtown renewal efforts. The nonprofit groups report that rents at the mercado are 30% to 40% cheaper than at the downtown buildings they left.

By operating under one roof, the nonprofit managers hope to make it easier for immigrants and low-income residents to receive an assortment of social services.

“It’s nice that different agencies are here together,” said Cecilia Vasquez, health promoter for the Coalition for Community Health. “We know there will be a lot of access to the community.”