Maranta Plant Shop opens a store after starting as a pop-up late last year
Sarah Hauer
Maranta Plant Shop opened its first official store after starting as a pop-up late last year.
The shop, which sells a curated selection of houseplants, opened Wednesday at 1739 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The plant shop is taking the spot that previously housed Pilcrow Coffee.
The shop has been operating as an online shop with a pop-up for curbside pickup at a warehouse in Walker's Point for the last six months.
Maranta was started by Milwaukee-natives Michelle Alfaro and Mag Rodriguez. The owners believe it is the first and only Black- and brown-owned plant shop in Milwaukee.
"We hope Maranta will only add to Bronzeville’s growing and thriving Black community, which carries such a rich history,” Alfaro said.
The shop sells a wide selection of plants that are sourced from nurseries and distributors across the country. Maranta will have some unique items such as Philodendron Weeks Red Hybrid, Licuala Grandis, Monstera Pinnapartita, Anthurium Crystallinum and Alocasia Black Velvet.
The store will be operating at a limited capacity because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Instagram @HauerSarah and Twitter @SarahHauer. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Be MKE at jsonline.com/bemke.