In January of 2024, a fire broke out in the indoor market of the Portland Mercado. Since then, Hacienda Community Development Corporation (CDC), the management company that oversees the community space, has raised over $1 million for the rebuilding of the Mercado. Since its opening in April 2015, the Portland Mercado has been a pillar in Portland’s Latino-American community. The Mercado holds six food carts offering Latin American cuisine with a plethora of options, including Colombian, Mexican, Cuban, Peruvian, Mayan, and Oaxacan cuisine. Besides the food carts outside, the Mercado includes Barrio, a bar; Xŏcotl, a juice bar; and a commissary kitchen.
“I found out about [the fire] like everyone else did [and] it was pretty heartbreaking to see,” says Patrick Quinton, the former executive director of Prosper Portland, a City of Portland government agency that helped oversee the original establishment of the Mercado. “When these things happen, there [are] two ways to look at it,” Quinton explains. “One is, how do we restore what we had? The second part of it is [asking if] there [is] an opportunity to do even more.”
Support for the space has come in abundance, with fundraising and donations coming in steadily from community members excited for the market’s return. “The Portland Mercado has been a community gathering place for a decade,” says Chief Executive Officer of Hacienda CDC Dr. Ernesto Fonseca. “[It] was conceived to give space and capacity building to Latinas to prepare and sell their food.” In addition to bringing back what the Mercado once was, Fonseca and Hacienda have extensive plans for the improved space.
“Our goal is to bring the Mercado back with new and updated amenities,” Fonseca states. The first phase of the rebuild is currently in the works: “We will include a renovated kitchen with new top-of-the-line appliances, a new terrace bar on [the] second floor and … accommodate a greater dining area and gathering event space.” He continues, explaining that, “The lower floor will remain, and connect with [the] upstairs terrace through an indoor stairway and an additional outdoor stairway.” Fonseca finishes by saying that the remodel “might include Latino and other culture’s fusion food.”
“I’m sure there were [things] they had probably talked about before the fire, [like] ‘Could we expand? … [or] ‘Can we provide more space for businesses?’” Quinton states. Now, Hacienda CDC and others working on the project are using this opportunity to explore new ideas and hopes for the space.
Hacienda CDC hopes to open the renovated Mercado by the beginning of 2026. “The Mercado’s rebirth sometime [in] the first quarter of 2026 will bring so much joy to the community,” Fonseca says. He hopes that the Mercado won’t become “Hacienda’s project” and will continue to be its own entity outside of Hacienda CDC for the community.
This rebuild has not been easy for Hacienda. Some challenges have included providing support for businesses located within the Mercado after the fire; remediation; working with insurance companies to assess the damage, which took around five months; and waiting for construction permits. Because of this, “[Time] has [also] been a huge challenge,” Fonseca admits.
Still, Hacienda remains optimistic and committed to the project. The Mercado is important to Portland’s cultural development, and the current rebuild is something for the community to look forward to after the fire. The Mercado is a model of Portland’s commitment to diversity and supporting small businesses from underrepresented communities. Community members can support the project at www.portlandmercado.org. Fonseca states, “[Hacienda] want[s] this project to be a community asset, a place of hope, gathering and social activism. Our commitment to bringing the same diverse food and people from across Latin America is stronger than ever.”
