This local market has a new location on the U of A campus

Dozens of tents filled the main plaza of the University of Arizona College of Medicine on Friday, Feb.13, with vendors selling everything from Egyptian and Salvadorian cuisine to baked goods to jewelry. 

Popular upbeat music played, the smell of food wafted through the air and vendors waited at their booths, letting guests know they were in the right spot. 

This is the third and most recent location of the Foothills Community Market, which launched at the College of Medicine in January. 

“It’s been really nice. It’s a nice climate and the people are very friendly. They’re coming hungry,” vendor Marianna Garcia said. 

New College of Medicine location

The new location includes both new and longtime vendors, like Garcia, who was already selling homemade toffee and baked goods at the market’s first location on Ina Road.

Garcia and her husband got into markets by distributing a dry-mix salsa from a vendor in California. Four years later, they run R Food Shop. 

“Just a lot of variety of different baked goods,” she said. “It’s just to provide all the students and doctors that are working there something different than what they’re used to going to around campus.”

They sell a variety of toffee flavors, including several specific to the southwest, such as Mexican Coco, Cayenne Crunch and Jalapeño Mint.

Shelley Patterson, who runs The Plaid Buffalo, is new to the scene.

During the week, she is an EMT, and on her days off she joins the community of vendors selling homemade candles and car fresheners. 

She started selling her non-toxic candles to the public about a year ago after her products gained popularity among coworkers, family and friends, she said. 

“I did research and learned how to make them without all the phthalates and parabens,” she said. 

The atmosphere at the market is lively, with vendors talking to each other and their customers.

Around midday on a recent Friday, customers lined up for pupusas, lemonade and churros and gathered in the plaza center as they ate their food and conversed.

Those not in line for food browsed soaps, candles and plants at the many booths.

History of Foothills Community Market

The Foothills Community Market started in September 2021 in the Foothills Mall on Ina Road. 

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Before starting the Foothills market, owners Darcy and Joe Myers were vendors, selling kombucha and breakfast burritos at various markets. 

In 2021, they said they saw a need for a market focused on helping vendors succeed and grow their businesses, Darcy Myers said. She tries to give vendors the confidence to put their products in markets and encourage them to grow and expand to retail spaces. 

“I just got a text message last night from a vendor that said thank you so much for helping me get in front of people and giving me confidence,” Darcy Myers said. 

In October 2025, the market expanded to a second location in Saddlebrook, just north of Catalina. 

Now, it’s added a spot closer to the UA.

“We’re trying to be very specific on the types of products that we’re bringing,” Darcy Myers said. 

Their products also look different in each location. 

The Saddlebrook location offers lots of fresh produce and fresh fish for a community looking for a more traditional farmers’ market. The new location at the College of Medicine includes more ready-to-eat food and merchandise.

“We know that we have the starving college students or the busy professors that are running in between classes,” she added. “They have a limited amount of time, but they still need to get some shopping done. They still want to eat something that is different, that is not from a vending machine.”

Reviving the UA market

The idea to expand to the UA came from Jose Luis Munoz, director of the Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships for the College of Medicine. 

He reached out to the Myerses last summer with the idea to bring a market back to the plaza at the College of Medicine, where a similar market operated for years until the COVID-19 pandemic. He wanted help getting it up and running again.

“We went through our entire vendor list and decided who would be a good fit, who we thought would work based on their products, their personalities,” Darcy Myers said regarding the new location. 

Markets are now her full-time job, she said. 

“This is my business. So we can go ahead, and we can expand,” she said.

The Foothills Community Market at the UA College of Medicine is open every other Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the College of Medicine Main Plaza located at 1501 N. Campbell Ave. Parking is available at the Health Sciences Garage nearby.  

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.