The Queens Night Market’s 11th season will wind down on Oct. 31. (Credit: Karla Perez)
Within 30 minutes of the Queens Night Market starting, lines were already beginning to form at multiple food vendors’ tents. Chefs worked behind grills, deep fryers and cutting boards, plating dishes in red and white paper trays. Despite the dozens of early customers, many received their order within minutes.
The Queens Night Market’s 11th season will wind down on Oct. 31, so New Yorkers are taking advantage of having food from around the world just a train ride or short drive away.
The market’s founder John Wang didn’t anticipate such success 12 years ago when he searched for a project after quitting his career as a lawyer.
“I genuinely thought it would launch and then fail miserably,” he said. “I was completely convinced that I would have spent a year trying to create this fun thing, and then it wouldn’t work out.”
The inspiration came from what he called “the incredible energy” of the night markets he visited during his childhood summers spent in Taiwan.
“That’s all I ever wanted to do was go to the night market,” he said. “It felt like the whole city was there.”
Wang knew that, to create a successful night market in New York City, it had to be “uniquely affordable.” The appetizer-sized servings are capped at $6, which is certainly a draw.
“We’ve tried other markets like this before,” said Octavia Murray, a Brooklyn resident who visited the Queens Night Market for the first time last year. “I really was attracted to the pricing, and how you can get multiple options for a decent price.”
Yasmine Mohammed, a Queens native, has visited the night market with her family since 2019. She found out about it when she stumbled upon a video on social media.
“I was like ‘hey, let’s check it out.’ I get to discover new stuff, and it’s in Queens. I feel like a lot of times when you look at things online, they’re always in Manhattan or Brooklyn. You don’t really hear things in Queens,” she said.
The Queens Night Market sits behind the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadow Corona Park. Thousands of people pour in and out every week enjoying food from nearly 100 different countries. (Credit: Karla Perez)
For the night market’s debut, there were only about 30 vendors. Now, there are about 100 vendors that represent countries including Jamaica, Poland, Myanmar and many more. This range of cuisines is another reason the market attracts thousands of people every week.
“It’s good that we get to embrace the international borough, the world’s borough, in one place,” said Mohammed.
Queens native Sarah Choi has operated Lettuce Meat, a Korean barbecue stand, at the night market for four years. She still feels shocked when she sees how many people show up each week.
“It’s always so eye-opening to see the crowds that come out to the night market,” Choi said. It’s “such a warm, cuddly feeling to see it as such a beloved mainstay in Queens now.”
For as long as the Queens Night Market lives on, Wang aims to keep it the most affordable and accessible place in the city.
“It’s been a winning formula for 11 seasons,” Wang said. “If it continues to that, I think it will always be of value to New York City and to New Yorkers.”
About the author(s)
Karla Perez is a full-time M.S. student at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism who aspires to have a career covering education and immigration.