Hundreds of Arlington residents crowded into a parking lot on West Abram Street on Aug. 22 for the Small Business Mercado, jumping in lines for tacos, pupusas, bunny-shaped cotton candy and more.
At a particularly busy booth, Mima’s Aguas Frescas y Mas owner Marisela Garcia’s daughter and grandkids were ladling horchata and agua de jamaica (hibiscus tea) into plastic cups as fast as they could, but the line of customers kept getting longer, wrapping around the entire right side of the market.
One of Garcia’s grandkids is Cristian Berumen, founder of the Small Business Mercado. Berumen said that since he began the night markets, the numbers of customers and vendors have continued to grow.
The Small Business Mercado is a monthly night market featuring small local businesses from around DFW. Berumen said his goal is to uplift small-business owners and create a community where they can connect and help one another.
Worker Nevaeh Carreon fills an agua fresca at Mima’s Aguas Frescas y Mas during the Small Business Mercado on Aug. 22, 2026, in Arlington. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)
Berumen said he got the idea for the market about five years ago, from his experience as the owner of a small business, Cristian’s Customs.
Watching his mother and other family members motivated him to open up his own shop, Berumen said. But after seeing how the COVID-19 pandemic affected businesses, particularly small ones, he felt he had to step in and help.
“I am basically in their shoes. There have been times when the market doesn’t go too good, and it definitely does affect me.” Berumen said. “I know there’s a family, there’s a person behind that vendor booth.”
The first market included fewer than 20 vendors, but the community each small business would bring was always there. Berumen eventually moved the market to Vandergriff Park, but changes to vendor permits caused him to jump the market around to different business parking lots, including that of Marquez Bakery. Once Berumen was able to purchase a space for his small business, he began holding the market in his own storefront parking lot.
However, the fast-growing interest from vendors and the increase in foot traffic soon meant he needed to find a bigger space. Attendees were struggling to find parking and access the market, and Berumen didn’t want to continue to limit capacity for vendors. He approached the Downtown Arlington organization, which was enthusiastic about hosting the market in the heart of downtown.
“They had already known about the markets, and some of them had even visited the markets,” Berumen said. “They were very excited for us to come in and bring our audience.”
Since the move, the Small Business Mercado has been drawing an estimated 2,000 people per market, he said, with a high thus far of about 4,000 attendees.
Cristian Berumen, host of Small Business Mercado, creates custom stickers for each event Aug. 22, 2026, in Arlington. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)
Vendors that have been a part of the mercado for years say that foot traffic had never been an issue for the event.
Hope Lara, co-owner of Mr. Stache’s Kitchen, said that the Small Business Mercado was their first-ever vendor event two years ago. She and her husband worried about their lack of experience, but Berumen and his team’s level of organization and support made them want to keep coming back, she said.
“I mean, he laid out everything for us. He told us where the trash cans were at the end of the night. He was even helping us because we were one of the last ones to leave,” Lara said. “He’s been very supportive throughout the whole journey of this.”
Another vendor, Z Cortez, owner of So Freshy which sells specialty virgin piña coladas, agreed that the level of support shown by Berumen and the team have kept them coming back to the mercado. He hasn’t seen that at other markets, he said.
Cortez said the mercado team makes sure vendors have the supplies and permits they need to succeed for the evening and checks food booths for proper sanitization materials. At the last mercado, Berumen and his team provided sunblock due to the intense heat. For Cortez, these small gestures showed the level of care they had for their vendors.
“It really improves the overall quality of the market. I feel like if your vendors are stressed out even before the event starts, that just adds onto their plate,” Cortez said. “We just feel, like, taken care of. We feel like these people have our backs. That’s huge as a small business.”
Lara also emphasized that the organization allows for vendors to have a community mindset, rather than a competitive one.
“It’s more like a family thing,” Lara said. “Obviously it is work, but it doesn’t feel like you’re actually working. It’s more like just laughing all the time, having fun while you’re working.”
The family aspect expands beyond just a feeling. Berumen helps his grandmother grow her own aguas frescas business.
Prior to becoming a regular vendor at the market, Garcia said, she had been laid off from a previous job. Berumen suggested she begin selling the beverages that she made for every family event, and she hasn’t looked back since.
“Every pop-up I do with him, I sell out. It’s a sellout,” Garcia said.
“She found something that she loves to do. She loves to see people love her aguas,” Margarita Alvarez, Berumen’s mother, added.
Berumen’s grandmother isn’t the only family member selling at the market. His sister runs a coffee booth and his brother operates a Crocs charm booth just steps away from his grandmother’s.
“He’s a person that loves to help people, you know?” Garcia said. “If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t shine.”
Laura Cui, owner of Sugar Rush Magic, puts on the finishing touches of her cotton candy duck during the Small Business Mercado on Aug. 22, 2026, in Arlington. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)
As the Aug. 22 market comes to a close, the foot traffic does not. The line at Garcia’s booth is still long even though they only have three aguas flavors left. Garcia’s granddaughters joke with one another. The lights from the booths illuminate the lot, and attendees laugh and dance near the live DJ booth. Some grab a last few bites before calling it a night.
Karina Nuñez, a co-host of the Small Business Mercado, said she joined in on planning the event after leaving her corporate job. Nuñez attributes a lot of the market’s success to the Arlington community and how it has embraced their event.
“We show up, and we show out here in Arlington,” Nuñez said. “We’ve tried other locations, but Arlington accepts us. We love Arlington and Arlington loves us.”
Bianca Rodriguez-Mora is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at bianca@fortworthreport.org.
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