PDX unveils first local business joining pop-up shop program
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland International Airport announced the first small business participating in their new retail pop-up program taking off in 2024.
PDX visitors can find Orox Leather Goods in the new main terminal in May.
Initially, Orox Founder Martín Martinez was not planning on applying for the program, until the Port of Portland told him one of his customers nominated the business for the program.
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Now, Martinez looks ahead to selling his family’s leather goods and other products made by Latino American and Oaxacan artisans in two retail spaces at the airport.
“A lot of the businesses in U.S. airports are impersonal,” Martín says. “Our goal is to transmit the soul of the melting pot we have here in Oregon, and the diversity that happens through craft.”
He adds, “The hope is to have a place where we can tell stories and connect with people … we’re reimagining our business as we speak.”
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Under the pop-up program, PDX will host retail tenants for one year in an effort to break barriers small businesses face when trying to open a business at the airport.
“We’re hoping this gives businesses like Orox the ability to grow brand awareness, experience, and capital to springboard into future opportunities at PDX or elsewhere in the region,” PDX Concessions Development Manager Abby Carey said.
PDX hopes the project will bring “uniquely Portland products and businesses to the millions of travelers who pass through PDX,” noting that PDX visitors spend $115 million on food and other goods at the airport annually.
PDX describes the pop-up program as the “next generation” of their food cart program, which ended after the Oregon Marketplace closed in 2019.
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