Tourists and local residents eat and browse for food at the Raohe night market in Taipei, Taiwan. Supervisor Joel Engardio and Sunset Night Market organizers hope to create a similar experience. | Source: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images
The much-anticipated Sunset Night Market, which is set to debut next Friday, Sept. 15, will include 80 vendor spaces, including over 20 food stalls selling Asian foods ranging from boba tea to beef noodle soup to ube pies, along with a performance stage and family-friendly areas for games and celebrations.
The night market, an idea spearheaded by Supervisor Joel Engardio after visiting one in Taiwan, has been in the works for months. Market organizer Angie Petitt said the original plan was to have 60 vendors, but increased the number after many businesses and organizations expressed interest in setting up shop at the night market.
The market will close off Irving Street between 20th and 23rd avenues from 5 to 10 p.m. Engardio is slated to kick off the event at its performance stage, along with Mayor London Breed and celebrity chef Martin Yan.
Some food vendors that will set up market stalls also have storefronts on Irving Street, such as the Mochi Donut Shop, while others are pop-ups, like Korean fried chicken makers Kpop Chicken. A Dogpatch restaurant that serves Asian fusion sandwiches, Wooly Pig, will also be a vendor.
Irving Street in San Francisco's Sunset neighborhood. | Source: Amy Osborne for The Standard
A variety of boutiques, community partners, political organizations and academically minded establishments, like the Mathnasium of Sunset, will fill the remaining vendor slots. Pipeline Cannabis, a dispensary that has a location on Irving Street, is also a vendor.
The night market has a “dance zone” with live music and DJs, as well as a “fun zone” for children in the Walgreens parking lot on Irving Street and 22nd Avenue.
Petitt said market organizers wanted to strike a balance between the vendor booths and the existing storefronts on Irving Street, encouraging marketgoers to explore the shops along with the festivities. Vendors will be set up in the middle of the road, leaving the sidewalks open for easy access to the storefronts.
Engardio said a goal of the night market is to help revitalize the merchant corridors in the Sunset neighborhood and attract more people to the area.
“If [the night market] is a success, then the goal is to have bigger, monthly markets that can go around the Sunset,” Engardio added.
The finalized map for Friday's Sunset Night Market will feature 80 vendor spaces, including over 20 food stalls. | Source: Courtesy Sunset Mercantile
