PicaPica Plaza (spicy, spicy) retail to South San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – A new retail concept, called PicaPica Plaza, is now open at 910 SE Military Hwy.

The 130,000-sf center previously housed a Walmart, then a Steve & Barry’s. The new concept will bring together several retailers — namely budding entrepreneurs under one roof.

The project, which had a soft opening in October, has already landed roughly 200 vendors, with another 120 on a waiting list. Its goal is to create an economic development engine to empower retail entrepreneurs.

PicaPica Plaza consists of multiple vendor booths of varying sizes. A retailer, for example, may start out in a 12-foot-by-12-foot space and then move to a larger booth as business takes off. Already, 20 percent of the vendors have expanded their footprint.

Vendor leases run on a six-month basis, and start at about $18 a month.

The property also doubles as a community center — 7,500 sf of the center has been carved out as an event space.