Hosting Monster Market in Crosstown Concourse was a dream— the traffic was good, there were bathrooms (a very important upgrade from 2017’s location), a half dozen good restaurants in the building, real HVAC, parking, accessibility, coffee, and an address people recognized.

But with perks come hurdles. The space in Crosstown Concourse was my opportunity to work with a raw space— a very raw space. It was fun planning the shop layout from scratch for sure, but it was also very challenging to handle basics like lighting, sound, walls, and shelving on my own!

Monster Market’s humble beginnings lie at the north end of the Main Street Mall in Downtown Memphis.

I put together a super abstract proposal and applied for a big space, with lots of floor space, big windows, a bathroom, and working AC down on a high-traffic area of Main.

I didn’t get that space. But soon after, a second round of spaces opened up. They were smaller, uglier, less accessible, and farther away from the good foot traffic—but when I saw this squat little storefront, I knew it was the one! I was suddenly a lot more confident I could make this work.