Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado was a new gastronomic market in Medellín, which had a collection of about 25 restaurants and bars in a warehouse located near Parque Envigado in Envigado.
This food market opened in November 2018 but reportedly closed in September 2019. Mercado Del Tranvía in Envigado had many small format restaurants with a big variety of cuisines available.
At this food market, food was purchased at the small format restaurants. And food was eaten at several bar-height and several lower tables, which were cleaned quickly and efficiently by the staff. Also, there were some TVs for watching sports.
Mercado Del Tranvía in Envigado was open for lunch and dinner each day. And it had a good atmosphere and a nice variety of food and drinks as well as desserts. In addition, was a good place to take out-of-town guests.
Editors note on July 19, 2019 – Mercado Del Tranvía is currently doing some remodeling. So, over half the restaurants in this market are temporarily closed.
Editors note on October 8, 2019 – Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado is now closed and reportedly closed in September 2019.
Inside Mercado Del Tranvía in Envigado
More About Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado
Reportedly the owners who opened Mercado Del Tranvía in the Buenos Aries neighborhood of Medellín in 2017 were behind the development of Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado. Both were similar gastronomic markets but the market in Envigado was larger.
Also, this gastronomic market in Envigado was reportedly built using a high percentage of recycled materials. This is similar to the Mercado Del Tranvía in Buenos Aries.
The back section of the gastronomic market
Food Options
There were a total of about 25 food and drink places at Mercado Del Tranvía in Envigado. Food options included Arabic, traditional Colombian, Greek, hamburgers, Italian, Mexican, Peruvian, pizza, sandwiches, seafood, steaks, sushi, wings and much more.
Arabic and Greek restaurant
Sushi restaurant with sake available
An Italian restaurant
The second floor bar
There were also a couple of bars, a coffee shop and desserts at several kiosks. And on the second floor there was a bar and much more space to sit with over 200 seats.
Peru Mix, which can be found in other locations in the metro area.
Mr. Pig restaurant, which you can also find in other locations
A few of the restaurants in this new food market can be found in other parts of the city. A couple names that can be found in other parts of the city include Mr. Pig and Peru Mix.
My Experience at this Food Market
I heard that a new gastronomic market in Envigado had opened late last year but I never went. And I was told about this food market again recently. So, I finally went to check it out.
I was impressed by the variety of restaurants and the size of this gastronomic market. And my impression is it was best described as a larger version of Mercado Del Tranvía or a smaller version of Mercado Del Rio.
The entrance to Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado
Gastronomic Market Competition in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley
There are now nine gastronomic markets in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley, each with collections of many restaurants in one location:
- Contenedores Food Place – reportedly opened in January 2014.
- Mercado Del Rio – opened in October 2016 and is the largest gastronomic market in Medellín with about 50 restaurants.
- Mercado Del Tranvía – reportedly opened in October 2017.
- Mercado Del Parque – opened in September 2018.
- Mercado Del Norte in Bello – opened in January 2019.
- Mercadillo de Aranjuez – opened in February 2019.
- Mercade de Sabaneta – opened in July 2019.
- Mercado La Colonia – opened in October 2019.
- Mercado De La Playa – opened in December 2019.
Mercado De La Playa in El Centro is the newest gastronomic market in the Medellín metro area that opened in December 2019. We also have a guide to the gastronomic markets in Medellín with all nine markets.
Some expats I have talked to thought the first gastronomic market in Medellín was Mercado Del Rio. But actually, the first gastronomic market was Contenedores Food Place in Envigado, which opened in 2014.
But Contenedores is a somewhat different format with several sit-down restaurants located in containers and not a big open warehouse space. In addition, Contenedores is smaller, as it has less than 10 restaurants. However, these are larger restaurants with separate sitting areas.
In addition, Medellín used to have another food market that is now closed. Manila Food Market opened in April 2017 in the Manila barrio of El Poblado in the Los Patios Hostel. But Manila Food Market was small with less than 10 restaurants. Also, it reportedly failed due to a lack of customers in this location and closed in less than a year.
Also, Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado opened in November 2018 in Envigado but reported closed in September 2019. So, it was open less than a year. And Mercado Del Rio La Strada opened in July 2018 but reportedly closed in October 2019.
Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado is about a 15-minute walk from the Envigado metro station
How to Get to Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado
The easiest way to get to Mercado Del Tranvía in Envigado was using the Medellín Metro. To get there you would take the Line A metro to the Envigado metro station.
Also, it was located half a block from Parque Envigado, which is about a 15-minute walk from the metro station. Or you could take a bus from the metro station or a minimum fare taxi for 5,500 pesos.
Parque Envigado
And from Parque Envigado walk half a block to the right of the Iglesia de Santa Gertrudis church and you would find this food market on the left side of the street.
In addition, any taxi driver in the city will know where Parque Envigado is located.
Address: Carrera 42 # 38Sur-60, Envigado
Website: https://www.facebook.com/MercadoDelTranviaEnvigado/
Phone: +57 301 791 6384
Hours: No longer open, CLOSED in September 2019.
Artwork in Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado
The Bottom Line – Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado
The Mercado Del Tranvía food market in Envigado opened in November 2018 and closed less than a year later in September 2019.
Mercado Del Rio is larger and has a bigger choice of restaurants so is normally quite busy. The food market in Envigado wasn’t as busy, which may be why it closed.
Medellín now has nine gastronomic markets and each has a nice selection of restaurants. Furthermore, these gastronomic markets in Medellín are very popular. So, it continues to be surprising to me that I haven’t found a similar gastronomic market in any other cities in Colombia I have been to.
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Editors note: updated on March 13, 2019 to add Mercado Del Norte in Bello, the newest gastronomic market in the metro area.
Editors note: updated on April 20, 2019 to add Mercado Del Parque in Laureles.
Editors note: updated on July 6, 2019 to add Mercado de Sabaneta in Sabaneta.
Editors note: updated on July 19, 2019 with information that Mercado Del Tranvía is doing some remodeling. So, over half the restaurants in this gastronomic market are temporarily closed.
Editors note: updated on October 8, 2019 with information that Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado in Envigado is closed.
Editors note: updated on November 14, 2019 with information that Mercado Del Rio La Strada in El Poblado is closed.
Editors note: updated on December 5, 2019 to add Mercado La Colonia in El Centro, which opened in October 2019.
Editors note: updated on January 3, 2019 to add Mercado De La Playa in El Centro, which opened in December 2019.
9 thoughts on “Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado: A Gastronomic Market in Envigado is Closed”
At least half of the food outlets in this place have closed. There are maybe 5 places still open.
My guess is this place is on life support and barely alive. Just nothing but empty stall; after empty stall with all the equipment and signage gone. No more Peru Mix, the Parilla in the back is gone, the coffee stand closed, The hamburger stand way in the back abandoned. Plus at least 7 more stands.
There was nothing there that was a stand0out and not nearly as well managed and fun as Mercado del Rio. No carts coming around to make cocktails tableside.
My guess is without some serious changes in management and expanding the number of cuisines (No Mexican, no Indian, no bakery, no coffee, no paella, etc. ) this place is on the road to failure and closure soon. The whole place has an air of death about it now.
I will check it out. It had 25 food and drink places so if half closed that would be more than 5. It was full last month when we had our Medellin Guru meetup there with only 1 or 2 places closed I recall. But The owner told me they were doing some re-modeling.
Hi Norm, thanks. I checked on this and updated the article. Mercado Del Tranvía is currently doing some remodeling. They are moving restaurants from the back to the front and are converting the back into a space for events. So, over half the restaurants in this gastronomic market are temporarily closed as they move things around and remodel. I counted 11 places still open when I went earlier this week. And I was told they should be finished in about a month.
I was just there this past weekend. A lot of variety.
Yes, a nice variety and we are holding our April Medellin Guru meetup at Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado on April 23 – https://medellinguru.com/april-medellin-guru-meetup/
OK+ ANOTHER ONE MERCADO DEL NORTE BELLO
Thanks, added to the list of places to check out.
“So, it is surprising to me that I haven’t found a similar gastronomic market in any other cities in Colombia I have been to.”
What’s surprising to me is that we’re constantly told in some circles that the people are poor or just barely able to survive on their wages. And yet, there are now 5 gastronomic markets in the area with comparably expensive menu options and overpriced drinks. Paisas are willing to part with their hard earned pesos for the privilege of dining on uncomfortable tables and chairs in noisy, boisterous venues. I suppose it’s too early to tell if this is just a trend or something more indicative of increased buying power and conspicuous consumption. Only time will tell if this idea is sustainable across other towns and cities in Colombia.
Thanks, nice post. I live in Envigado and didn’t know about this place. I plan to try it out this weekend.