City of Melrose Presents Holiday Shopping Pop-Up Downtown, Expanding Project: Pop-Up

The City of Melrose has launched a downtown holiday Pop-Up shopping experience for the Melrose community. Located temporarily now through December 23 in the Melrose Family YMCA courtyard, the Pop-Up is an expansion of the City’s successful Project: Pop-Up program. 

Emerging brands including Ugly Baby Soap and local favorites such as Yara’s Chocolate will take week-long turns popping up outside of the Melrose Family YMCA located at 497 Main Street. To help ensure their success, the brands are being provided the opportunity at a subsidized rate and will receive access to a suite of resources provided by Up-Next, LLC.

“This program allows smaller businesses without a traditional brick-and-mortar location to introduce their products to a wider audience during peak holiday shopping season in a way they would not be able to otherwise,” says Lauren Grymek, the City’s Director of Economic Development, who is managing the City’s Project: Pop-Up program.  

“The Melrose Family YMCA is happy to support the City’s Project: Pop-Up. As a long-standing downtown business and community organization, we understand how important it is for residents to shop and do business locally,” said Bernadette Farrell, Senior Program/Health and Wellness Director of YMCA Metro North, Melrose Branch.

“We are grateful to the Melrose Family YMCA for their partnership and support of this small business initiative,” said Mayor Paul Brodeur. “Their continued commitment to making Melrose’s downtown a thriving place is a testament to the organization’s mission to build a strong community. 

Melrose’s Project: Pop-Up is made possible through a collaboration with UpNext, a Newton-based, woman-owned business that connects emerging brands to available spaces. Project: Pop-Up is a program to fill vacant storefronts and spaces with small retailers, artists, and makers at a significantly reduced cost. The retailers “pop-up” for a limited amount of time to bring their products and services to a larger market, while having access to a range of support services such as marketing and PR opportunities, and event stipends to help ensure their success. 

The schedule for the holiday pop-up is as follows: 

The City’s current year-long Pop-Up, Paper & Clay, is the second such initiative led by Mayor Paul Brodeur and funded through a state economic development earmark secured by Representative Kate-Lipper Garabedian and Senator Jason Lewis.  

“Paper & Clay continues to be a welcome addition to West Emerson Street, generating new economic activity by completing a block that is already home to several thriving businesses,” said Grymek. 

Melrose is one of several communities participating in Project: Pop-Up, an economic development initiative powered by UpNext, having initially received a Regional Pilot Project grant from the Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD). The program aims to revitalize village centers and commercial centers by attracting patrons to new and existing local businesses.  

To learn more about Melrose’s Project: Pop-Up, visit https://www.cityofmelrose.org/economic-development/pages/project-pop