Mercado Villa Coapa

The Mercado Villa Coapa is likely the biggest public market in Tlalpan. It’s also something of a thumb in the eye to the area’s considerable commercial real estate development community. The Coapa area is well known for the giant shopping complexes, and attendant traffic. The market, though, relies on pedestrian traffic, although there is space for a lot of parking, at least sometimes.

This parking gives way, during the holidays, to a giant Christmas Bazar. It’s one of the biggest and best-known in the City. The Christmas bazar also explains just why the market is as famous as it is. Other months of the year see similar crowds of merchants and vendors crowd out the parked cars. The other reason the market is so famous is the food.

With all of the surrounding franchise and monopoly food-vendors, the Mercado Villa Coapa makes a living for itself selling fresher, better produce and meals. Many food sellers, on site, offer sit-down service and more. Travelers get a break from over-priced, genetically-questionable food in ownerless restaurants. And they do it while supporting local farms and small businesses.

The market makes much of its living from local customers, especially those from the neighboring (surrounding) Villa Narciso Mendoza. But that means area merchants are that much happier to get guests from abroad.