Founded by former makeup and fashion industry veterans Carmen Dianne and Kara Still, the idea for Prosperity Market was planted in 2020, on the same day that Dianne was admitted into a competitive makeup artist mentorship program. <\/p>\n
\u201cI found out that I was accepted the day \u2014 the literal day after George Floyd was murdered \u2014 and this thing that I was so excited about, I instantly stopped caring about it,\u201d she says. \u201cIn the back of my mind, I was just like, \u2018We need Black-owned grocery stores.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
After many discussions, the two longtime friends decided to jump into a new industry with lofty goals, even though they didn\u2019t have traditional food business experience. The new mobile farmers market, which debuted Saturday with a pop-up party outside of Earle\u2019s on Crenshaw restaurant in Leimert Park, is the tangible embodiment of more than five years of work.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775624053_627_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Share via Close extra sharing options <\/p>\n
\u201cWe would have never guessed that the process of getting the trailer on the road would have taken as long as it did, or have gone this way,\u201d says Still. <\/p>\n
Black business owners were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, with the National Bureau of Economic Research reporting<\/a> that 41% suffered business losses in 2020. A Yelp report<\/a> from that same year found L.A.\u2019s metropolitan area to be the hardest hit for business closures in the country.<\/p>\n Since the pair held their first Prosperity Market event<\/a> in 2021, Los Angeles residents and businesses have faced additional financial struggles<\/a> due to entertainment-industry strikes, devastating fires, ICE raids and rising living costs. <\/p>\n \u201cThe craziest part is now feels just like then in the sense that businesses are closing and everything that\u2019s happening with SNAP<\/a> and food, like all of the same issues are even more exacerbated now,\u201d says Dianne. \u201cI hate that that\u2019s a reality, but it really does show how important what we\u2019re doing is, and I\u2019m glad we started when we did.\u201d<\/p>\n After years of crowdfunding and engaging locals with farmers market pop-ups, an online store that delivers vendors\u2019 products locally and an annual Black Business Scavenger Hunt<\/a> held every August, the solar-powered and electric-run trailer will begin traveling around L.A. County this spring.<\/p>\n To start, the trailer will appear at local events for in-person shopping, but the plan is to eventually ramp up to a regular weekly schedule with more predictable neighborhood stops. The goal is to keep featuring the same vendors\u2019 products \u2014 save for seasonal items and newly added brands \u2014 so that customers can expect their favorite items every time they shop.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a new phase and a new chapter for us,\u201d says Still. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like starting a new business even though it\u2019s been the original plan.\u201d<\/p>\n A new kind of market<\/p>\n Outside of the iconic Earle\u2019s on Crenshaw<\/a>, the street was blocked off as shoppers milled around sampling stalls from 20 vendors, many of whose products were sold inside the trailer. In the trailer\u2019s attached food truck, chef John Cleveland of Post & Beam<\/a> \u2014 a James Beard award-nominated Crenshaw District restaurant that closed last year<\/a> but now operates through pop-ups<\/a> \u2014 whipped up shrimp and grits and braised oxtail hash.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I found out that they were launching Prosperity Market with the truck, I desperately wanted to be a part of it,\u201d says Cleveland. \u201cIt\u2019s something that the neighborhood needs so much.\u201d<\/p>\n Chef Sharon Graves from BLVD Kitchen<\/a> performed a cooking demonstration making fresh hummus and lemonade using vendor products. From the back of Earle\u2019s black pickup truck, Myah Stone (who performs as Myah Moves) spun R&B hits while KJLH-FM radio personality Tammi Mac got on the microphone as the master of ceremonies.<\/p>\n Shanta Smith, a neighborhood local, found out about the event on social media. She purchased a bottle of Plush Ginger Beer<\/a>, mushroom and jackfruit jerk tacos from My Daddy\u2019s Recipes<\/a> and ice cream from All Chill<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m always looking to give to local businesses to build up the economy of L.A.,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n Nikkia Johnson of Traquilitea<\/a> herbal teas says she\u2019s seen her business grow since she began selling at Prosperity Market\u2019s pop-ups in 2022, including a feature on \u201cGood Morning America<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a small Black business owner,\u201d says Johnson, \u201cit\u2019s a special feeling to have the support of another Black business that\u2019s doing something on a grander scale, to take me along with them and feature and support me, and bring my products to places that I never thought it could go.\u201d <\/p>\n An ever-expanding business<\/p>\n For now, Dianne and Still are focused on getting the trailer on the road, and will be announcing stops on their website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. On April 18, Prosperity Market will be open to the public at Array Creative Campus, founded by director Ava DuVernay, in Historic Filipinotown as part of a series of film screenings. Every Sunday in June, the trailer will be at Smorgasburg L.A.\u2019s outdoor food market<\/a> in downtown L.A. For people unable to shop in person, they can support Prosperity Market through its online marketplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n The pair can\u2019t help but dream big. Once they amass a fleet of trailers in L.A., they plan to expand throughout California and then to their native Maryland. \u201cProsperity Market should be in every city,\u201d says Dianne.<\/p>\n The community support fuels them to keep moving forward. \u201cIf people are willing to give their time or spend their money with us, I think that says a lot about how they value us, see us, and respect the work that we\u2019re doing,\u201d says Dianne. \u201cI really want to honor that, so I want to make sure that we show up even stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n