Portland Mercado: Travel to Latin America Without Leaving the City ⋆ Portland Early Learning Project

Portland Mercado was designed to be a community meeting place—a place to come together and experience Latin American culture through food, celebration, and entertainment. Whether you’re a student of Spanish language and cultures, or just enjoy experiencing great food and fun times, Portland Mercado is not to be missed.

In October, food carts at Portland Mercado were vandalized, leaving vendors with over $25,000 worth of damage. This was a devastating blow to the small businesses that operate at the Mercado. In other places, this amount might have been enough to shut business down. But the community has rallied around the Mercado to support their efforts to repair and recover.

Pip’s Donuts, the Portland Trailblazers, city council members and many from the community stopped by to show their support and eat some delicious food.

If you’ve ever thought about visiting the Mercado, now’s the time to go.  The fall and winter months are traditionally slower for the merchants, so come out and enjoy the energy and vibrancy the Mercado has to offer.

Stepping into the Mercado is like traveling to South America without leaving Portland. The colors are bright and the vibe is both energetic and inviting. Transplants from Mexico will appreciate the Mexican grocery, meat and pastry sections.

Visit Fiesta Tradicional if you’re thinking of throwing a Latino party. They carry handmade piñatas, candies and snacks, and will even make custom piñatas on special order to go

Outside, there is a rainbow of food carts ready to serve you anything from churros, authentic Columbian or Cuban food, tacos, tamales, mole and more. Covered seating lets you find a dry place to eat regardless of the weather.

You can host an event of your own at the Mercado. Portland Mercado is located at 7238 SE Foster Road. Stop by for a visit and you might find lots of reasons to go back, again and again. with your party theme.