Abandon all restraint, ye who enter here: New York’s colorful, design-savvy pop-up market hits L.A. next weekend with every kind of artisan olive oil, granola butter and collagen-packed energy bar your millennial heart could want.
The popular Pop Up Grocer, founded by marketing vet Emily Schildt, reimagines the corner store and for a limited time only, will appear in Venice this February to fill its ethereal shelves with the kinds of items we wish we could stock our pantries with forever—many of them organic, and many of them by independent, women-owned companies.
There will be small-batch nut butters. There will be sparkling teas in adorable cans. There will be noodles made from cauliflower. There will be vanilla chamomile organic coconut yogurt. And if you start to feel a little self-conscious about how much you love bougie snacks and home goods, there will be sustainable, reusable cotton-and-beeswax food containers and other products that help limit waste. There’s also the thousands of dollars in donations that Schildt has made to charities, all thanks to a portion of the pop-ups’ proceeds.
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Pop Up Grocer first hit SoHo last April, then cropped up on the Bowery in September. During L.A.’s first iteration, which kicks off February 7 and runs the rest of the month, expect more than 150 brands with items ranging between $2 and $120, and spread across food, drink, home, pet and body-care stock; at the higher end of that price spectrum, expect cookware curated by culinary-lifestyle website Food52.
“L.A. has always been at the forefront of emerging trends in health [and] wellness,” Schildt says in a news release, “and as such, has been a part of the vision for us since day one.”
Much like in the NYC editions, our Pop Up Grocer is getting its fresh pastries and coffees from a local vendor: West Adams’s Highly Likely will be opening up a little counter in the shop, selling cold brew and fresh, daily-rotating pastries to keep you fed and energized as you browse. When all that browsing wears you out, there’ll be a little living-room–inspired lounge area for you to rest and relax in.
The L.A. turn will also involve a free vegan ice cream bar (courtesy of West Hollywood's Craig's) and after-hours community talks; New York’s events included a talk on food and culture with Indian-ish author Priya Krishna, to give you an idea.
For Angelenos who don’t dare cross the 405, Pop Up Grocer is launching an online shop, too—with a special focus on nonperishable items—starting the first day of the pop-up, so you won’t even have to brave traffic in order to find your new favorite food company or 10.
Pop Up Grocer runs from February 7 to March 1, from 10am to 7pm, at 62 Windward Ave in Venice.