South Phoenix

South Central Mercado a creative hub of local businesses

PHOENIX — In December 2020, Raza Development Fund announced it was moving its headquarters to south Phoenix. For Tommy Espinoza, president and CEO of the fund, it was a way to return to the community where the organization began and work directly with small businesses, artists and entrepreneurs.

One year later, Raza Development Fund’s parking lot on Southern Avenue provides space and sponsorship for one of the community’s most beloved events: the South Central Mercado.

The outdoor pop-up was created in October 2019 as a “collective consciousness of creatives,” according to Sam Gomez, curator of the Sagrado gallery on South Central Avenue and co-founder of the mercado.

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