By Jonathan Turner, Hola America
One of the many things that makes the Quad Cities special is Mercado on Fifth in Moline, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Its first 2026 Friday open-air market (on 5th Avenue between 11th and 12th Street) will be May 22.
Mercado is every Friday, from to 5 to 10 p.m., through October, with food trucks, kids’ activities, retail & produce vendors, cultural performances, nonprofit & learning resources
Since being founded in 2016 by Robert Ontiveros and his granddaughter Maria Ontiveros (longtime board president), Mercado fosters social interaction by drawing a diverse crowd, nurtures and defines a sense of community and cultural pride, connects the Floreciente neighborhood and Moline’s downtown, promotes a sense of belonging by advancing social inclusion, and builds an equitable local economy by supporting small-scale entrepreneurship.
“Maria in particular, getting that off the ground. She’s done it all,” Frances Williams, Mercado’s executive director since February 2024, said recently. “This is where my background in working with family businesses really helps me in the Mercado organization. Because I love and honor the fact that Maria looks at Mercado like that was her first child. You know, she really created something and brought the community together. She and her grandfather there, kind of with the vision and the idea, but she was the one who really brought it to life.”
Williams is the daughter of a Colombian mother and Irish father, graduated from Alleman High School in Rock Island, raised in both cultures and speaks Spanish. Now 49, she worked in financial services in Denver for 24 years before moving back to the Quad Cities in 2023.
“We’ve always had a very strong Hispanic community in the Quad Cities, so I always felt like I have some friends that are in Hispanic community like me, but we never had a place like Mercado to really celebrate that cultural side of our heritage,” she said.
She had never been to the Friday night market before joining as director. Williams had driven by the 6,300-square-foot community center at 423 12th St., Moline, admiring the colorful exterior murals.
“I remember that first time driving past it and being like, wow, what is that? Look at that. Incredible. I mean, it’s a public art piece,” she said. While Mercado has grown, it’s withstood challenging times the past two years. In 2025, it saw a drop in attendance of 37% compared to the year prior (partly from cancelling four dates due to weather).
In 2023, Mercado first instituted a $5 admission charge, partly to deter negative behavior from unaccompanied minors. It requires all attendees 13+ to pay $5 cash. Children 12 and under can enter free with a paying parent or guardian, and seniors (65+) also get in free. Those 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
“It was out of necessity and for safety. So we still had fencing and entrances, but what was happening was with the free admission, we’d get a lot of younger people with a lot of energy that were starting fights and you know, it’s a multi-generational space and event,” Williams said. “Having the fights break out really caused a lot of concern. And the $5 fee started, and really helped to minimize a lot of that.”
Mercado works with Moline police to patrol the markets, and employs a 19-person private security team, led by a retired Moline officer.
“We had more of a police presence from Moline Police Department. And once we had the $5 charge, then that changed things dramatically,” Williams said.
Historically, Mercado has 40 to 50 food and retail vendors every week, but attendance also has been hurt by more strict immigration enforcement, and fears from local families, she noted.
“I think what changed was just immigration policies and what was going on, with ICE activity, particularly in Chicago,” Williams said. “There were a lot of families that would prefer and still continue to just stay at home. They don’t go out for fear. And then the economy, like everybody’s tightening up.”
Virginia Castro, co-owner of El Mariachi restaurant (1317 15th St., Moline), was Mercado’s first food vendor. She and her husband Alfredo operated their food truck 12 years before starting the restaurant in 2002.
“The biggest benefit is getting our name out there,” she said recently. “Sometimes we don’t make very much money, but it’s advertising, to keep the business going. At least we’re getting the word out.”
“When they started Mercado, Bob Ontiveros asked me, he wanted us to be first, he said we were known in the community,” she recalled. “I was very honored he chose me out of other restaurants. It’s helped so many entrepreneurs, new businesses. It’s gotten the community together; it’s a nice place to gather, see old friends, and make new ones.
Mercado focuses on live entertainment and a family-friendly atmosphere, including inflatables.
“We partner with a lot of community organizations that have those activities and put them on for free,” Williams said. “We’re very grateful for that. There’s stuff for every generation. That’s why I love Mercado. It’s very much reflective of the Latino culture where all the generations are so integrated. You have grandparents there with their grandchildren, and it’s such a lovely thing. I think a lot of people come to Mercado to start off their weekends.”
There will be lots of entertainment on opening day, May 22 (on the main stage and community center patio), including Crooked Cactus, she noted.
“It’ll be a program that’s not like any other program we do throughout the summer. We have four main acts on the main stage that night,” Williams said. “We’re gonna do a recognition ceremony similar to the Olympic ceremony, at the beginning of the Olympics to open it up where we’re going to acknowledge all the people and vendors and community partners that have gotten Mercado to where it is today.”
“We always try to give a lot of support to our artistic community so that they don’t have to go somewhere else to express their artistic and creative side,” she said. “The music is definitely a part of it. And I will tell you, to see some of our young people get out there and dance in these beautiful formations, these organized dances., it’s so beautiful.”
Mercado also exists to help Latino small businesses grow, and for people to start their own business.
“A lot of times we’ll partner with the SBDC here at Western Illinois to offer classes,” Williams said of the Small Business Development Center. “I think where Mercado has the best opportunity is when we’re able to offer classes in Spanish. There are a lot of people in our community, they may be very bilingual, but they just prefer to learn in Spanish.”
“We are definitely designed to be a launching pad for a lot of small businesses,” she said. “Consumer preferences can change very quickly. And I want to be able to see that our vendors are trying different things and feeling like they can experiment and hopefully minimize what is a very risky endeavor. Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart.”
Mercado also has hosted the annual Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), first as a parade in 2023, and then last year a stationary event (attended by 6,000). “We had over 35 families that signed up to be able to put together altars in honor of their families and loved ones that passed away. It was so beautiful,” Williams said, noting this year, it will be Saturday, Oct. 31.
“Mercado started as a night market, but now it’s blossoming into so much more where we’ve got the building and thank goodness for Robert Ontiveros and his generosity in gifting that building to Mercado when he passed,” she said. “Because now we can use that as a community center and open it up to, whether it’s our activities or for other community partners.”
The Friday night markets will extend through Oct. 23, and in 2027, they plan to host them the whole month of May.
Since Mercado has had a high property tax bill on its community center, it’s no longer renting it out for private events, but will focus on nonprofits and community events, Williams said.
She’s working with the QC Chamber vice president for small and minority business development on hosting a summit for such businesses. Mercado also has a close relationship with the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber.
Since many Latino businesses are family-owned and run, they have an easier time getting family members to continue, Williams said. Mercado is doing more outreach to increase attendance, like participating in last month’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“You don’t have to be Latino to come down to Mercado,” Williams said. “If you like a good taco, come support our small business owners. We’re also going to participate in the Pride parade this year again, making sure that we’re communicating through actions, not just words, that Mercado is open to everyone.”
For the first time, this year they’ll offer 2-for-1 admission on certain nights for first responders, teachers and union workers. On a September weeknight (for Hispanic Heritage Month), Mercado will benefit (among other Hispanic groups) from a Latino film night at Last Picture House in Davenport.
“It’s an organization that had an incredibly strong vision between Robert and Maria,” Williams added. “Maria was able to execute and to put it all together. And we now have an organization that really took an entire community to put together. And it’s our responsibility now to just see it continue forward, so it sustains for another 10, 20, 30 years.”
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