Vibrant Night Markets Could Get Easier to Launch Under New California Bill

Vibrant night markets studded with food halls are a staple in major global cities like Taipei, Hong Kong and Los Angeles. Now, a newly proposed state bill, AB 441, would make it even easier for food destinations like San Francisco to start and run bustling night markets.

By eating away at some of the red tape involved with opening a night market, proponents of the bill hope these events can help turn the tide on the city’s slow economic recovery from the pandemic.

“Like everywhere in San Francisco, the businesses in the Sunset are having a tough time in this post-pandemic economy. There’s a lot of focus on revitalizing downtown, but we can’t forget about our neighborhood businesses here on the west side,” said San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio, who has made it his mission since stepping into office earlier this year to bring night markets to the city’s Sunset District.

Engardio said he felt inspired to make the night market happen after visiting Taipei with his husband and reveling in the tastes, sights and sounds of the bustling food and merchant stalls.

“I see the night market as a way to help address all those issues,” he said. “We are helping our merchant corridors, but also bringing people out in the community in the evening and taking back the street. That’s good for public safety.”

The bill, proposed Monday by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) would streamline the permitting process to make it easier to have multiple night markets per year.

Currently, no specific permit exists for farmers markets or night markets in the state, so operators typically have to apply for an events permit multiple times a year.

That can cost thousands of dollars per year to apply over and over again — and Haney said it is a deterrent to opening lively, pop-up merchant corridors that have the potential to bring people out and together.

His bill would create a specific statewide permit for night markets and farmers markets that organizers would need to apply for once a year.

“There are few things people love more than their farmers markets. It’s a source of joy, they pick up their produce, meet friends. And unfortunately, the state makes it hard to open a farmers market,” Haney told KQED. “We want people selling food and bringing people together in community, including in the evenings.”

San Francisco is on track to open a pilot night market in the Sunset on Sept. 15, 2023, on Irving Street from 5:00–10:00 p.m. The initial event is funded through a $50,000 grant from the San Francisco nonprofit Avenue Greenlight. Other groups such as the San Francisco Parks Alliance and Cut Fruit Collective, an AAPI arts nonprofit rooted in the Bay Area, also signed on to kick-start the Sunset night market.

Engardio envisions there will be a “combination of all the things that makes the Sunset so amazing” including all different types of food, music and games.

Celebrity chef and San Francisco icon Martin Yan will also be at the first night market, doing cooking demonstrations, signing cookbooks and greeting visitors.

“The beauty of the night market is that it’s for everyone,” Engardio said. “It starts at 5 p.m., so if you have a young family, you can come on out for an early dinner. At 9 p.m., teenagers can come out and get boba.”

Angie Petitt-Taylor, director and founder of Sunset Mercantile, is steering the effort to get the neighborhood’s night market up and running by the fall. She hopes to make it a monthly event after the pilot in September, and advocates say Haney’s bill could help make that goal easier to reach.

Petitt-Taylor wants to craft a fun experience for kids and adults, but hopes it will spur growth for different kinds of businesses as well. It can be another opportunity for home-based small businesses, for example, to pop up as vendors and meet new customers, she said.

She added that a night market would also increase foot traffic to an area and could support brick-and-mortar restaurants that were hit hard during the pandemic.

Some of the pop-up vendors that are eager to be a part of the event are restaurants that previously had storefronts, but were forced to close during the pandemic. Since then, these businesses have turned to creative ways to keep their business afloat, she said.

The night market in the Sunset would add to the city’s existing farmers markets and food truck events like Off the Grid and Undiscovered Block Party, a recurring night market celebrating Filipino culture in the SoMa neighborhood.

Above all, Petitt-Taylor wants to see people in her neighborhood on the city’s west side come together.

“This is inspired by the night markets of Asia. Here in the Sunset, we have a large Chinese community and we are excited about a night market that can celebrate our Chinese culture,” Petitt-Taylor said. “I’m excited as a mom in the Sunset to give our youth a fun and safe place to hopefully want to come and hang out on a Friday night.”

KQED reporter Billy Cruz also contributed to this report.