From a modest start in September 2020 intended to reconnect the community and support 11 young small-business owners, SoCo Market is entering its seventh year with a full slate of more than 90 vendors. The market runs monthly from April through August in Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square, and its founder, Mercedes Hernandez, is a powerhouse of Sonoma County entrepreneurship and event planning.
Hernandez launched her first retail business in 2014 while a student at Santa Rosa Junior College. Since then, she’s opened (and closed) one more retail shop, created the Fork’n Good Food Festival and the Michelada-Mimosa Festival, and managed The Trade, an open-air marketplace at The Barlow in Sebastopol.
These days, the SoCo Market and its growing family of gatherings get all of her attention. “Highlighting the creative small business and local talent that we have here in Sonoma County, that’s the heart of all of the events that I put on,” Hernandez says.
Curating the SoCo Market
It definitely is more of a feel. We highlight unique businesses that are millennial-owned and -run. We’re looking for people who want to do more with their business, versus just a hobby. That’s what we look for, and just the creativity behind it as well. We’re all about diversity at our events; we love supporting BIPOC-owned businesses. And we don’t want to oversaturate each category. So it’s a really strategic process when approving applications.
By Millennials for Millennials
That is our target audience. So we’re making sure that we are picking small businesses that cater to that audience. That’s something we’re always transparent with. And I’ve been on both sides. When I opened my first boutique, I wanted to make it affordable for college students, because I was a student at the time. I offered those prices because I knew who my customer was, and that’s what it all comes down to, knowing who your customer is.
Success Stories
Some of our longtime vendors have expanded into brick and mortars. Many have quit their part-time job to do their small business full time. One example would be Falling for Dainty, a jewelry shop in Healdsburg. Brooke has been with us from the beginning. And then Omar, with Galvan’s Eatery, they just opened their first restaurant. They’ve been with us for a long time as well.
Future Plans
A new project is a permanent food truck location and a community hub in Santa Rosa. I’ve always been inspired by larger cities, and San Francisco has an amazing food-truck park called Spark Social SF. I love bringing the community together, and having a permanent spot where we can do that and have live entertainment is a dream of mine, and something that I’m working towards.
The next SoCo Market will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 12 at Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa. thesocomarket.com