SAN DIEGO — A San Diego woman has created a place for Black entrepreneurs to thrive.

What You Need To Know

  • Soul Swapmeet is an event that promotes Black entrepreneurs and other local businesses

  • Vendors come to San Diego from as far away as Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix

  • The goal is for the vendors to leave the swap meet and expand their own businesses

  • Soul Swapmeet is every third Thursday at North Park Community Park in San Diego

When Shala Waines thinks about what feeds her soul, she doesn’t have to look further than her community.

She’s the founder of Soul Swapmeet, an event that promotes Black entrepreneurs and other local businesses. The swap meet features everything from massage therapy, custom clothing, food and handmade luxury bags.

“I wanted to see Black people grow in a way that they are making their own way,” Waines said. “It promotes generational wealth, it promotes stability.”

This is her third year running Soul Swapmeet. She started with 45 vendors and has had as many as 120; now she has vendors coming to San Diego from as far away as Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

“Bring Black tourism to San Diego. Don’t skip over us and go to LA,” Waines said with a laugh. “San Diego, we do have Black people here and we know how to do it right.”

As great as the atmosphere is at Soul Swapmeet, Waines said the goal is for her vendors to leave and go off on their own.

Nobody embodies that success more than Paula Tarrant and her wife Raquel Rogers, the owners of Southern Basics Kitchen. They started cooking soul food at the swap meet as a small pop-up. Now they have their own kitchen in downtown San Diego at VYBZ Kitchen and Lounge. Paula said she never would have been brave enough to expand without her experience at the swap meet.

“Once I realized people actually loved my food, I felt better. So it was easier for me to transition from one spot to another spot and to have confidence enough to come here to serve food at a nightclub,” Tarrant said. “We’ve been going strong ever since then and it all started with the Soul Swapmeet.”

Waines said she will continue to create a space for Black-owned businesses to thrive, as well as a place where everyone is welcome.

“It’s so exciting to see these people grow and interact with their potential clients and customers,” she said. “It’s just a foundation, it’s a platform, it’s the start. It’s the bricks to building everything up.”

Soul Swapmeet is held every third Thursday at North Park Community Park in San Diego.