Sunset Night Market

My husband grew up in Taipei. We visit his family every year, and we always go to Taipei’s famous night markets. 

Last December, I was a newly elected supervisor expected to show up at City Hall with ideas to fix things. As my husband and I walked through a Taipei night market, we looked at all the food, entertainment and art. Then we imagined all that fun in the Sunset in the middle of Irving Street.

Now it’s finally happening. The pilot Sunset Night Market will be on Irving Street between 20th and 23rd avenues on Friday, Sept. 15, 5-10 p.m.

The night market will feature lots of food stalls, entertainment, games, live music, and arts and crafts filling the street. Tables will be set up so you can sit for a meal or snack. Families with young kids can come for an early dinner. Teenagers can hang out late with their friends. There will be something for everyone. 

If the pilot goes well, we hope to make the night market a monthly event in the Sunset. 

Why We Need a Night Market

When I originally posted pictures of the Taipei night market on social media, I asked everyone to imagine the possibility of a Sunset night market.

The response was amazing. San Franciscans of all ages and backgrounds said they want this. The outpouring of excitement tells me that people don’t just want a night market. They need it. Why?

Because as we address all the serious issues facing San Francisco, a night market creates joy. We need more joy in our lives. A night market celebrates all the fun things in life. It reminds us why our City is worth fixing – and that it’s possible to create our best San Francisco. 

Yes, we need more public safety and we need to revive our local economy. A night market helps accomplish these goals. A night market brings people together, makes streets safer and gives small businesses a boost.

The night market will:

• Support small businesses and revitalize neighborhood merchant corridors.

• Foster stronger community and public safety by activating streets and bringing people together.

• Cut through city bureaucracy to form a blueprint for innovations that can be applied across San Francisco.

• Give tourists a new destination to explore in San Francisco (the Sunset!) and draw more tourists to revive our local economy.

Meet Celebrity Chef Martin Yan

My idea to bring a night market to the Sunset always envisioned celebrity chef Martin Yan from “Yan Can Cook!” on PBS. Then I met Chef Yan by chance in January. I mentioned the idea to plant a seed. Now that the night market has become a reality, Chef Yan has agreed to attend and do a cooking demonstration of his famous dancing chicken.

I wonder what other celebrities with San Francisco connections we can envision participating in the night market. Will it manifest with them joining Chef Yan?

Only a handful of curmudgeons have pooh-poohed the night market idea. They often say it’s too cold and foggy in the Sunset for an evening event. Chef Yan offered the perfect rebuttal: a warm bowl of wonton soup or pho. 

As for safety, the night market is a priority event for the police department and the captain overseeing the Sunset is creating a plan to ensure everyone has a good time without worry.

Overcoming Roadblocks

Going from an idea to reality isn’t easy, especially when something hasn’t been done in a new way before. That’s why I’m so proud to partner with innovators like Sunset Mercantile which is bringing the night market to life, the San Francisco Parks Alliance who is providing support, and Avenue Greenlight which made it fiscally possible. 

We believed in the idea and overcame roadblocks with creative solutions.

Here’s one example: I asked a city department if they could streamline a permit process. They said “no” because a state law was in the way. So, I called Assemblymember Matt Haney and said, “We need to change state law!”

I appreciate Assemblymember Haney introducing a bill that will make it easier for every city in California to benefit from a night market. 

Another example is the effort to put the booths in the center of the street. Typical street fairs in San Francisco place booths against the curb with people walking in the middle of the street. This configuration creates a wall of booths against the physical businesses, which discourages exploration and discovery of everything a merchant corridor offers.

With booths in the center of the street, people can move freely between the booths and businesses along the sidewalk. This configuration required approval from the fire marshall. We met on Irving Street and measured the street to figure out how we could make center-street booths work while still maintaining a fire lane. 

Join the Night Market

Do you want to be part of the Sunset Night Market? Event producers are currently booking vendors, artists, and musicians. They’re also seeking more sponsors and community volunteers.

For more information on how you can participate, send a message via this web page: engardio.com/contact.

Joel Engardio is the District 4 representative on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He can be reached at engardiostaff@sfgov.org.