Growing St. Petersburg market hosts first Juneteenth event

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Saturday Shoppe’s Juneteenth event was a first for the popular market in St. Pete this past Saturday.

"It was really, really awesome," Renee Perry, founder of Saturday Shoppes, said. "The entertainment, the energy, the people coming out to participate in support."

That energy each month has helped the market grow to cities across the state and the country like Clearwater, Atlanta and soon, Washington, D.C. and Miami. 

The first Juneteenth event for the market was a success. 

READ: New mural unveiled in front of Woodson African American Museum of Florida in honor of Juneteenth

"We focus on minority and women-owned businesses because those are the businesses that do not have a platform. They do not have a place to practice in their city. So, we started out with that just for this city. I mean, now I've grown to multiple cities because it's such a great need," she said.

Perry started the Shoppes in 2021 after she kept hitting dead ends trying to sell her skin care line at local markets.

The founder of Saturday Shoppe said there's at least 100 vendors.

"The reason I didn't give up is because I knew people wanted it. That's the reason I wanted to get in some of those other markets, but because of my skin tone, we're not always accepted," Perry explained.

Perry started the Shoppe at a church in St. Pete, and within two months, they outgrew it and relocated to Lot Four at Tropicana Field. Now, she said there’s at least 100 vendors per event.

"That’s the stuff that I live for, to see the success stories, to know that what we do works," she shared.

Willhelmina Elijah is one of Perry's success stories.

"Mrs. Renee gives you all the tips and tools to make it into a recognizable business, because there's a lot of little things that we didn't know that we were missing to legitimize our businesses," Elijah said.

READ: Sweet Mama’s Ice Cream opens new, permanent location in downtown Tampa

Elijah recently graduated from the Shoppes’ Vendor Academy, where business owners learn about pricing, marketing and skills to increase their profits. Perry said business owners in the six-week training have to have been a vendor at the Shoppes at least three times.

Renee Perry founded Saturday Shoppe two years ago.

"My goal is to build the vendors up, so they can definitely go attend other events," Perry explained.

She said everyone who has graduated from the program has seen an increase in their profits.

To sell products at the market, click here.

The next Saturday Shoppe is the Barbeque and Jazz Festival on July first.