NORFOLK, Va. — There will soon be more opportunities for small businesses in downtown Norfolk.

At Selden Market on E. Main Street, you’ll find 16 long-standing pop-up shops and 11 small businesses, most of them minority and women-owned.

One of the companies is Norfolk Candle Co. This store is owned by Brandon Brinkley who shared his journey as an entrepreneur with News 3 previously.

“Yes, we started our business during the pandemic,” Brinkley said.

At the time, he had turned away from the then-shuttered fashion industry to focus on making candles at home.

“I kind of took over the whole house. So it’s finally a transition out of the house and now I have a work space where I make all the candles,” Brinkley said.

This flickering idea now burns brightly. He opened a store at Selden Market last July and plans to open another store.

“We’ve done tons of pop-ups here. They really care about small businesses and trying to help you grow. And the ultimate goal of being here is to grow enough to have your own storefront,” Brinkley said.

A storefront at Selden Market was planned for Cooking with green vegetables so does owner Derak Green. He has been growing his spice and kitchenware business with his wife Anita for seven years.

“I wanted to provide healthier options for myself. I wanted to be able to show my family what it means to be healthier and what it means to cook. Because food is life,” Green said.

They opened the store in April.

At the store on Friday, the flavor fan and MasterChef contestant tested a recipe for a cocoa competition while explaining to News 3 why he wanted to bring his primarily online business into a physical space.

“Downtown Norfolk, we view it as a vital area. Hopefully it will bring a lot of foot traffic,” Green said.

There is a good chance that this will happen. The market welcomes about a quarter of a million visitors a year, according to Careyann Weinberg, director of economic vitality for the Downtown Norfolk Council.

Weinberg said Selden Market opened as a temporary project in 2017 and since then they have hosted hundreds of pop-ups and nearly 40 businesses.

“And of that total, about 80 percent of them continued their operations outside of Selden Market, around Hampton Roads,” Weinberg said. “You get to see them learn, grow, and then move on and accomplish really great things. For example, Doughminion Donuts who was here in 2017 with us, that owner owns the Pink Dingy by the ocean, which is an incredible restaurant .”

Today, Selden Market is expanding to become more permanent. It is entering the second phase of a project funded by a $1 million grant. You’ll see new showcase space, at least eight pop-up spots, aesthetic upgrades, improvements to other spaces and much more.

Space is valuable for small business owners.

They said it was customer experience.

“It’s a little different than just going to a mall, walking into a place and having a second-hand experience. It feels like a first-hand experience. You’re talking to the innovators,” Green explained.

And these are the comments.

“I actually didn’t realize how big tourism was downtown. It’s nice to have a new customer and see what they’re looking for and what their experience is in Norfolk as well,” Brinkley said.

Selden Market‘s opens applications for businesses later this month.

Market holiday events also kick off at the end of the month.