Something special is waiting for those visiting a new southeast Minnesota marketplace. Colorful textiles, intricate jewelry, original artwork, and other handmade items are in abundance at Mercado Local in Northfield. Shoppers who step inside can enjoy the work of artisans from 20 different Latin American and Hispanic backgrounds. Each exchange is a connection, representing a single thread in the market’s evolving tapestry.
Mercado Local launched in 2021 under the umbrella of Rice County Neighbors United, a nonprofit working to empower immigrant and low-income communities. What began as a pop-up shop for a patchwork group of artisans, evolved into a permanent fixture in late 2023. That’s when Mercado Local opened its doors in downtown Northfield. Thus transforming a vacant brick and mortar retail space into a vibrant community hub. More than a market, the location serves as a venue for community gatherings, art shows, music, poetry readings and business classes.
As the market's initial sketch takes shape, a pivotal partnership is helping craft the bigger picture.
Community crafted
The vision behind Northfield’s Mercado Local was initially brought to life by a collection of Latin American and Hispanic community locals. The champion of this group is the director of Rice County Neighbors United, Mar Valdecantos. Originally from Spain, Valdecantos found herself in southeast Minnesota after her husband accepted a professor role at Carleton College.
“When we first decided to move here, I was going through my map and thought, ‘Oh my, this is basically Canada. Where are we going?’” she recalls with a laugh. Years later, Valdecantos is confident about where she stands in Northfield. Her presence has been etched into the area by way of her many professional roles, including: artist, writer, professor, translator, and community organizer.
Long before Mercado Local, when Valdecantos originally moved to the region, she recalls seeking out a greater sense of home. Soon she found herself embraced by members of Northfield’s Hispanic community, who make-up around 12% of the town’s population. Despite Valdecantos being European-born, they found commonality among their language, immigrant experience, and other cultural elements.
As Valdecantos became woven into the close knit community, she began to understand how different her immigrant experience was from many of her Northfield neighbors’.
“I became friends with people and started learning more…I realized that many of the people go through things that most of us can’t even fathom happening to a person.”
Driven to help paint a brighter future, Valdecantos’ role in community organizing took shape. Today she’s known by Northfield neighbors for her no-nonsense approach to local advocacy; relentlessly pursuing solutions around equitable housing, economic opportunities, and creating cultural visibility for immigrants.
The threads of Valdecantos’ community work led her to become a catalyst for Mercado Local. She sees the market as a means to address pressing challenges faced by the immigrant community; including housing discrimination, limited opportunities, and income inequality. By providing a space for Hispanic entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services, Mercado Local can support economic empowerment while also shaping a sense of community pride and unity.
“We humans have different areas of action. We want to live in a house, to grow as a family, to have resources, equity, and engage with our community. The market is about those things,” she says. “It's about the urge to create something out of nothing, to share yourself with the community, and have people appreciate the things that you do.”
Drawing on the University
From the very start, leaders at Rice County Neighbors United could see the potential in Mercado Local. Yet before they could bring the creative vision to life, they needed potential funders to see it too. They decided to call in some reinforcements.
In the summer of 2023, the University of Minnesota Extension Southeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership (SERSDP) partnered up with Mercado Local. Together, they brought on Jesus Valdez Soto, a graduate student at the U of M Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
“Supported by funding from the Freeman Fellowship, Jesus developed a bilingual, research-informed business plan for Mercado Local,” says Danielle Piraino, Outreach Specialist for SERSDP. “This work included financial projections and fundraising guidance, which led to funding and ultimately the launch of the market’s brick-and-mortar community space.”
More recently, SERSDP helped connect Mercado Local with a group of three graduate students enrolled in the Master of Development Practice at the Humphrey School, Disha Mehta, Efrain Gerena & Mridul Debnath. Led by advisor David Wilsey, the team built off of Valdez Soto’s work to develop a series of visual business models and tools for their capstone program.
Piraino highlights that even with a strong focus on business development, the final resources still capture the spirit of the market.
“They interviewed vendors to understand the real value here. The major themes that arose were really around community, feeling at-home and welcomed in this space,” she shares. “It’s essentially a community center.”
Valdecantos says the results of this partnership are helping paint a picture that resonates with funders.
“The market is quite innovative and many people have a hard time understanding how it operates. But RSDP is very hands-on, and they help you succeed. By connecting us with graduate students to make the business plan and tools, we’ve been expanding,” shares Valdecantos. "When I speak to donors or go back into the community, I can take these documents with me.”
SERSDP executive director Andi Sutton is thrilled to witness the outcome of multiple efforts uniting to support the market.
“This project really exemplifies how UMN can support a community project via various pathways,” says Sutton. “Each contribution building off of the other, across departments and programs.”
Valdecantos says “At the market, we have a framed piece of art that shows our logo and our partners. Of course, the University of Minnesota RSDP is there, and I’m very proud to show that.”
Promoting ambition in lower Minnesota
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