October 30, 2026
Provided Image/Visit Philadelphia
Immigrant Marché, a pop-up market run by the Welcoming Center to support immigrant-owned businesses, is open in the Center for Architecture and Design at 1218 Arch St. through the end of December.
A new shop selling art, toys, bouquets and books opened this month in the Center for Architecture and Design. The makers of these goods are likely unknown to the average shopper, and that's the point. The pop-up storefront is a space for immigrants starting small businesses to show off their wares and gain valuable exposure in their new home — with the help of the city itself.
The Immigrant Marché isn't new. The nonprofit project of the Welcoming Center has been helping "micro entrepreneurs" develop business plans, work through logistics, find lenders and scale their ideas since 2024. But its pop-up storefront concept is a more recent invention. The first effort launched this summer, when Comcast and the Sixers paused demolition work on vacant properties in Center City to allow for temporary shops. The Immigrant Marché took up space at 11th and Ludlow streets.
MORE: Philly considers new tax on Uber Eats robots and Waymo driverless taxis
This time, the Welcoming Center partnered with Making Worlds bookshop, which closed its West Philly storefront in late 2025, to open a market through the holiday season. This retail hub, located at 1218 Arch St., will welcome customers Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through the end of the December.
Layla El Tamir, the director of entrepreneurship for the Welcoming Center, said the Immigrant Marché is designed to provide a "safe stepping stone" that doesn't exist for new residents looking to start a venture.
"The risk on that is huge, and the reward is never guaranteed," she said. "And that can really make or break the opportunity for the entrepreneur, but moreover, can put you in major debt. And that's a life-changing circumstance for people. So many of our entrepreneurs, they're working full-time jobs. They usually have families. They might be working more than one full-time job. And then they're also trying to launch this on the side."
The Immigrant Marché helps lessen that burden. Though the storefronts are unique in their singular focus, the Welcoming Center also has placed its small business owners among many vendors at the Christmas Village, Reading Terminal Market and one-day-only pop-ups in the Bok Building and Triple Bottom Brewing. El Tamir and her team work to get their products stocked at the Pennsylvania General Store and Weavers Way Co-op, too.
"That's the beauty of Immigrant Marché," she said. "We can mold it whatever way we want."
El Tamir, a Lebanese and Pakistani transplant, said the Immigrant Marché "learned a lot" from its first run at Ludlow Street. The location was more of a challenge than the nonprofit anticipated, being "tucked away" in a quieter part of the Market East corridor, she said. El Tamir believes the Immigrant Marché will have more success at the Center for Architecture and Design, where it is positioned closer to the Pennsylvania Convention Center and primed to accommodate both tourists and officer workers.
The Immigrant Marché also expanded its offerings. Making Worlds will curate a wide selection of buzzy banned books ranging from classics like "1984" to young adult hits like "The Hunger Games." Vendors like Superlight, a floral design studio from an Italian immigrant, will host seasonal activities such as "Boo-quet" and bracelet making. Lazy Beam Arte, the company of Cuban-Salvadorian illustrator Manuela Guillén, has expanded the small selection of prints offered at the Market East pop-up. ArtesinA, a wearable art boutique from a Colombian husband-and-wife team, will be debuting its new collections of upcycled handbags and digital prints. The Mexican entrepreneur behind Variedades Ágata is stocking stuffed animals and wooden toys, to be paired with children's books.
Even entrepreneurs without a dedicated floor space will be there in spirit. El Tamir has bundled gift boxes of the products they're trying to stock in grocery stores, including coffee beans, embroidered bookmarks and Argentinian pastries.
Both this and the previous pop-up storefront are building blocks to the ultimate goal: a permanent Immigrant Marché space. El Tamir is aiming to secure one by next year. But for now, she hopes holiday shoppers will simply take a chance on the the latest pop-up.
"I'm hoping that Immigrant Marché becomes more of a household name in Philadelphia," she said. "That's the hope. And that we're able to shine a big light on immigrant-made product, because it's high quality and it's just so unique. It's different. You don't find it on the shelves everywhere you go."
Follow Kristin & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @kristin_hunt
| @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Have a news tip? Let us know.
