The first marketplace for local and diverse small businesses opened on Pico Blvd in a ribbon cutting ceremony that attracted the attention of local television news media, along with local residents and members of City Council.
Called Pico Roots, the retail space is on the ground floor of a mixed use building called Brunson Terrace. Developed by the Community Corporation of Santa Monica, together with Brooks + Scarpa, it is the non-profit organization’s latest affordable housing complex in the Pico community.
"The marketplace will be open starting out Thursday through Sunday and then once it’s wildly successful, which hopefully will be next week, we can start to open it more," Tara Barauskas, Executive Director of the Community Corp, said.
"This is a unique and new idea for Santa Monica. We wanted to create an affordable business space and this is a request that came directly from the community. When we were doing outreach for the affordable housing that is up above, people said, ‘Well, it’s great to have affordable housing, but what we really need is affordable small business space.’ So that is where this idea came about," she added.
Located at 1819 Pico Blvd, directly opposite Santa Monica College, it’s built on the former site of Mount Hermon Baptist Church. The project consists of a four-story building featuring 48 apartments above approximately 4,200 sq ft of ground-floor commercial space and basement parking for 49 vehicles.
Offering events and workshops for all ages, the aim of Pico Roots is to become a vibrant hub celebrating diversity, inclusion and connection.
"This is an amazing opportunity. I mean, as a small business owner myself, council has discussed many opportunities to be able to bring affordable small business so combining affordable housing with affordable small business opportunities is what Santa Monica is. And I hope we have more of this," Vice Mayor Lana Negrete told the Daily Press.
Currently, a total of seven small businesses have set up home at the site, but there’s still room for more. Vendors include Adey Gojo Coffee & Catering, a source for authentic Ethiopian food and coffee; Tiny Bee Cards, your one-stop shop for colorful greetings cards and stationary; Lucky Bug Clothing, a local company that baby clothing and accessories that are ethically produced in the USA; Youthful Savings Marketplace, that offers hand-crafted products created by the next generation of youthful entrepreneurs; Santa Monica to Senegal is where you need to shop for authentic African women’s clothing; Queens and Kings Hair Love It is a beauty supplies store and parlor and Soleil Satnam offers handcrafted Mala beads and gemstone jewelry.
"Pico Roots is giving small businesses a real opportunity to grow in a sustainable and community-forward way," said Negin Singh, Pico Roots marketplace curator. "Community Corp. and the Pico neighborhood have poured their heart and soul into this project. These small businesses are going to become household names within the community and beyond."
"We’ve been waiting a long time for this to open, and I’m so excited to see it come to fruition. We worked for a long time, long and hard for this to be open in our pico neighborhood [and] we need it for our economic recovery," said Ericka Lesley, Chair of the Rent Control Board.
"Residents are super happy," Councilmemeber Oscar de la Torre said. "This is exactly the type of creative project that we need in the Pico neighborhood to not just provide affordable housing, but also to provide economic opportunity for the residents of this city."
For the next few days, the marketplace will feature family-friendly festivities including collage making, children’s interactive play and a family portrait studio. In the upcoming weeks, there will be more events and pop-up artists to activate the space. To find out more, visit picoroots.com.
