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If you’re looking to spice up your shopping experience by finding unique items while supporting local makers and small businesses, pop-up markets (temporary retail spaces and showcases) may be your perfect match. Read on to learn about a neighborhood pop-up series in Pacifica spearheaded by local merchants on a mission to bring more foot traffic to their part of town, along with some other cool pop-up markets to check out on the Peninsula this summer and beyond.
Pacifica merchants like Caitlyn Cuadra, the owner of Malt + Stone boutique on Palmetto Avenue, love their Sharp Park neighborhood but have a vision of creating a more vibrant atmosphere there, something more akin to downtown Half Moon Bay.
“We have all of the pieces to make it a really bustling downtown area but sadly we have not had much help from the city side of things,” Cuadra said.
She and her fellow business owners wanted to increase foot traffic and, as Malt + Stone has the largest parking area on the main street, she realized it could be a great space for a pop-up market.
“I was really trying to create a family-friendly, pet-friendly, free event,” she said of the origins of The Neighborhood Market, held on the second Saturday of each month.
It’s a scene Cuadra knows well. Before opening her storefront, she grew her own jewelry business in the pop-up world and built relationships with other small businesses along the way, making the project feel like a natural fit. The series started in February and includes vendors, food trucks and live music (Cuadra named her parking area the “Palmetto Pop Up Lot.”)
It’s also a neighborhood-wide affair, with many other local businesses also participating each month.
“We all are working together,” she said, adding that she’s also helping organize a local merchant’s association.
Golden Sol Wellness Bar, which opened in January, took part in The Neighborhood Market series for the first time in June, with vendors offering plants, crystals, medicinal herbs, clothing, jewelry, dog treats and more. Founder and co-owner Raquel Payne said she too started out doing pop-ups, including in the space that now houses Golden Sol (it was formerly Saltwater Bakery) and sees hosting other vendors as a way to “pay it forward” as well as draw more potential customers to Golden Sol and the neighborhood in general.
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” she said.
Jennifer Christiansen runs Art Space on the Coast, an art gallery and pottery studio. She said her space participates in the pop-ups by offering a special all-day art activity on market days, which in the past has included indigo dyeing and mandala art painting on rocks, with a glass-cutting project planned for the future.
Going into the endeavor, Cuadra felt strongly that the community would be behind the idea.
“The people here will support small businesses like their life depends on it,” she said.
Mindful of the sometimes high cost to participate in pop-ups as a vendor, she tries to keep any fees low and carefully curates the events to ensure a range of offerings. Her permit from the city allows her to keep it going all year.
“The response has been really great,” she said. “It’s been definitely an adventure.”
The Neighborhood Market, second Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Palmetto Avenue and Francisco Boulevard, Pacifica; Instagram: @maltandstone.
More Peninsula pop-ups
Over in Pacifica’s Rockaway Beach area, boutique Pedro Point Sirens has launched a monthly Mermaid Market pop-up, showcasing a variety of local artists in front of the shop – around four to six each time.
“Mermaid Markets are our way of adding to the scene and not taking from the scene,” owner Grace Kavanaugh said in an email. “We want all the wonderful businesses in town to thrive and we try to make it so our Market Day is not the same as the others around town, like the Second Saturdays in Sharp Park.”
Kavanaugh said the market started in March as a way of showcasing some local artists who are new to or lesser known on the pop-up scene.
“We’re just getting started and I can feel the momentum building for future events,” she said. “It’s been a great way for new faces to be discovered in our sweet little town and also for me to see if any vendors would be a good fit to carry their goods inside the shop as well.”
Mermaid Market, monthly (check website for dates) at Pedro Point Sirens, 235 Rockaway Beach Ave. #1, Pacifica; Instagram: @sirens_boutique.
Redwood City’s Little Green – A Plant Bar is always home to a bounty of artisan items for sale (along with coffee and, of course, plants), but it’s also become quite the event venue and an active pop-up hot spot, with various pop-up events including free clothing swaps, piercing pop-ups and more. And a regular (monthly or so) pop-up artist market brings together a diverse array of offerings, from work by local artists to vintage fashion and decor to tarot readings.
Little Green, Sundays monthly (check website for dates) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1101 Main St., Redwood City; Instagram: @littlegreenaplantbar.
Downtown Redwood City’s Art on the Square juried art show event is heading into its 18th summer at Courthouse Square. Find arts and crafts vendors out and about on select Friday evenings from mid-June to the end of August (remaining dates are July 12, July 26 and Aug. 30) alongside the weekly Music on the Square concerts. Attendees can also enter a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate to spend with any artist at the event. Friday, July 12, has a specific focus: Jewelry on the Square.
Art on the Square, Fridays through Aug. 30 from 5-8:30 p.m., Courthouse Square, Redwood City; Instagram: @artonthesquare.
Downtown Half Moon Bay’s Make It Main Street on first Thursdays showcases Coastside makers selling their unique wares and also sharing insights into how they’re made, with demonstrations of skills such as glass blowing, plein air painting and weaving. The market also features live music, activities for kids and a speakers’ space for local poets and storytellers to share their words. Surrounding art galleries and businesses tend to stay open later than usual in conjunction with the market.
Make It Main Street, first Thursdays from 3-7 p.m., downtown Half Moon Bay; Instagram: @makeitmainstreet.
The Harvard Neighborhood Market brings artisan vendors, live music, tasty bites and beverages and more to Princeton Harbor on the second Saturday of the month.
Harvard Neighborhood Market, 100 block of Harvard Ave., Princeton-by-the-Sea; Instagram: @harvardneighborhoodmarket.
Head West Marketplace has a curated pop-up market in downtown Los Altos on the fourth Sunday of each month, March through October. In addition to goods by local artists, makers and merchants (past iterations have included jewelry, plants, candles, ceramics and much more), attendees can catch live music and purchase wine by the glass.
Head West Marketplace, fourth Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., State and Main streets, Los Altos; Instagram: @headwestmarketplace.
We covered MOMENT Marketplace, the pop-up shop housed at Google’s visitor center that sells work by local makers, earlier this spring. The theme of the pop-up changes every three months and the current iteration, running until July, is “Rooted Renewal,” featuring local small businesses with sustainable practices and eco-friendly goods. The pop-up is curated and operated by the team behind San Jose Made (SJMADE), which hosts ongoing pop-up markets in the South Bay.
MOMENT Marketplace (at Google Visitor Experience), 2000 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View; Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Instagram: @momentpopup.
Sunnyvale’s TETRA Hotel hosts a quarterly Oasis Makers Fair (launched in the fall of 2023), featuring a diverse lineup of around 20 small businesses each time and open to both hotel guests and the community. Past events have included Filipino popsicles by Auntie’s Ice Candy, pet bakery goodies from Treats by Rumi, “all things cute” by Mochie Mochic and more. The next fair will be held Aug. 21.
Oasis Makers Fair, TETRA Hotel, Autograph Collection, 400 West Java Drive, Sunnyvale; Instagram: @tetrahotelsv.
South Bay Makers is a community of Bay Area makers and artists that pops up at local businesses, with monthly Summer Series markets scheduled at Off the Rails Brewing Company in downtown Sunnyvale and Ludwig’s Biergarten in Mountain View. Their next market, scheduled for Sunday, June 30, at Ludwig’s, will feature vendors selling plants, candles, home decor, jewelry and more.
Summer Series markets, second Saturdays through Sept. 14 at Off the Rails Brewing Company (check Instagram for times), 111 S Murphy Ave., Sunnyvale; last Sunday of the month through Oct. 27 at Ludwig’s Biergarten, 383 Castro St., Mountain View; Instagram: @southbay_makers.