About 40 artisan and produce vendors are setting up on the lawn in front of Saks Fifth Avenue at The Gardens on El Paseo this fall, as a new Sunday pop-up called Rare Market brings a farmers-market feel to one of Palm Desert's most upscale shopping corridors. The market runs six select Sundays — October 4, October 18, November 1, November 8, December 6, and December 13 — from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., set up on the center lawn and upper deck facing the department store.
A Farmers Market With a Designer Backdrop
Rare Market is the creation of Nelly Ayala and Jose Tornez, who bring prior experience running farmers markets and wanted this one to have its own distinct look and feel, according to NBC Palm Springs. Per the El Paseo Catalogue, the pair designed the pop-up as an elevated market experience featuring artisan foods, handcrafted goods, and a bouquet arrangement bar, marking their first desert location. Vendors are expected to offer locally grown produce and specialty products, with a focus on local makers and community rather than mass retail.
The market's location was no accident. Ayala and Tornez chose The Gardens on El Paseo specifically to match Rare Market's high-end aesthetic, with the pop-up surrounded by luxury retailers and designer boutiques along the strip. Deja Krutzberg, who serves as center support manager, said the shopping center has long functioned as a community gathering spot and that the market elevates that role. The same report describes the center's programming as community-driven and notes that people spend anywhere from one to two hours on the property.
A Neighbor Sees a Chance for Cross-Promotion
Nearby, Soda Voce Cafe — an Italian cafe at Suite 1320 offering European-style coffee, pastries, and panini, with a second location in Palm Springs — sees the market as a chance for visitors and local businesses to support one another. A cafe representative said Soda Voce could pick up new products from market vendors and offer coffee, croissants, or sandwiches in return, a kind of two-way exchange between the cafe and market vendors.
Rare Market's organizers hope the pop-up becomes a Sunday gathering place for friends and families, and eventually a lasting addition to El Paseo rather than a one-season experiment. That ambition lines up with a broader push at the center: this fall was expected to bring midcentury design brand Herman Miller, set to open in September, along with Paradise Grills and Free People Movement, both slated to arrive in October, according to the El Paseo Catalogue.
Timing Follows a Close Call for the Anchor Store
The market's placement directly in front of Saks Fifth Avenue carries extra weight given recent history. Saks Global rescinded a planned Chapter 11 bankruptcy closure of the 50,000-square-foot Palm Desert store in March, as Hoodline previously reported, with landlord Simon Property Group negotiating to keep the location open. Rare Market now sets up its bouquet bar and vendor stalls just steps from a store that came close to shutting its doors for good.
The Gardens on El Paseo is a luxury mall, according to CoStar News. Simon Property Group took full ownership of the property after acquiring the remaining stake in Taubman Realty Group.
An Alternative to the Wednesday Farmers Market
Rare Market gives Palm Desert shoppers a Sunday market option, following a Sunday Market on San Pablo Avenue that ran monthly from February through May 2021. The city's long-running Certified Farmers Market operates every Wednesday morning on San Pablo Avenue from October through April, sponsored by the Palm Springs Cultural Center and drawing roughly two dozen regional farms from within 100 miles, per Discover Palm Desert. Rare Market's Sunday slot and boutique-adjacent setting position it as a distinctly different experience from that midweek tradition.
The new market also slots into a packed event calendar at The Gardens on El Paseo heading into winter. Santa Magic kicks off December 5, and the center's Saturday live music program, which supports local non-profit organizations, runs from mid-January to early March 2027. For now, though, the spotlight is on Sundays, when shoppers browsing Saks, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton storefronts can wander a few extra steps to pick up a bouquet or a jar of local honey before heading home.
