Essential Southeast Seattle Collective’s New Online Marketplace

Contact: Maria Vargas, maria@homesightwa.org

The Essential Southeast Seattle Collective was formed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. After Sarah Valenta from HomeSight saw a need for uplifting voices of Southeast Seattle businesses, she reached out to other business district advocates. Quickly the Essential Southeast Seattle Collective was formed between five Southeast Seattle Neighborhood Organizations. They all pooled resources together to create an online directory of local businesses that remained open during the pandemic. The pilot program was funded by a $50,000 Comcast grant and is made possible to execute with additional support from HomeSight, DEI Creative, and the Seattle Office of Economic Development. 

 Fast forward to June 2021, the Essential SE Seattle Collective is proud to announce its newest launch of the Essential Southeast Seattle Marketplace. The Marketplace is an e-commerce platform that connects the community, small business owners, and resources without a cost to small business owners. The website now, allows customers to place orders online and it allows business owners to have access and control over their business profile. The Essential Southeast Seattle Collective is encouraging business owners in Southeast Seattle to claim their free business profile. For more information on claiming your free business account please go here essentialseseattle.com/sign-up or contact Maria Vargas at maria@homesightwa.org. The marketplace is open to independent entrepreneurs, cultural artisans, performers, brick and mortar retailers, and food and service-based organizations.

 Historically, Southeast Seattle neighborhood businesses have been underrepresented and under-resourced. This is why Essential SE Seattle Marketplace strives to provide a one-stop virtual Main Street for our community. Whether you are a business owner, neighbor, or visitor, we work to ensure that you can connect with businesses, customers, and resources.  We envision this site as a vital tool for our community to use in the long term to stay connected in an increasingly digital world.