Allapattah Market Launches Labor Day Weekend Pop-Up Under New Owners

Gone are the days of going to the mall with your mom to buy three more handbags you don’t need. This Saturday and Sunday, head north to Allapattah Market Miami for the Opening Pop-Up Event, a free two-day open-air market offering more than 10,000 square feet of local vendors, artists, craft beverages, and artisanal eats to introduce its permanent market concept worthy of the seasoned Miami shopper.

Earlier this year, the location closed shortly after it opened without the proper permits to operate. Now Allapattah Market is back under the new ownership of siblings Gustavo and Valentina Osuna. Gustavo, the famed mixologist and creator of Blind Pig in Wynwood, and Valentina, owner of the Style Keeper Shop, came up with the idea together to create a permanent market that caters to the neighborhood’s largely working-class population better than the quickly gentrifying Wynwood.

Unlike other market concepts in Miami that cater to weekend tourism or special events, the owners say, Allapattah Market Miami will be a local destination. Once the market gets off the ground, vendors and artists from the area will be able to set up stable shops in the building’s large floor plan, stimulating the region’s creative economy more organically than the largely upscale shops of Wynwood that are designed to look artisanal but come with much higher price tags. Vendor goods at the Allapattah Market will run the gamut of “fruits, flowers, crafts, decor, clothing” and other exquisite Miami treasures, Valentina says.

Allapattah, she continues, is the “gate of Wynwood.” The Osunas hope their market will bridge the two regions as gentrification of the arts district spreads west. They plan to share some features of this new local blueprint at the market’s opening.

The weekend market will also offer a “park for kids,” with a bounce house and kid-friendly programming such as storytelling with representatives from the Allapattah library branch. “Most places only have entertainment for adults,” she says.

There will be plenty of fun for adults too. Pop-up tents and trucks will serve street food and craft drinks. Local blues and jazz musicians will perform, and you can even try a quick yoga session to work off all of that food. As a bonus, all attendees of this weekend’s opening event will be given a $10 market currency coupon with which to buy goods Saturday and Sunday. Plus, vendors will hand out plenty of free samples.

The full market will debut in October, when the entire building will be open for day and night attractions. It will offer nine restaurants serving a range of cuisines, including Italian, Japanese, Mexican, and Latin; a French bakery; and a full craft bar that promises to impress under Gustavo’s curation.

Miami is developing at an alarming rate. Amid so much change, for better or worse, it’s comforting to see a project like the Osunas’ Allapattah Market create new destinations for all locals.

Allapattah Market Miami Opening Pop-Up Event. Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, September 2, and Sunday, September 3, at Allapattah Market, 728 NW 29th St., Miami; allapattahmarket.com. Admission is free. RSVP and information at eventbrite.com.