Another season of San Francisco's popular Chinatown night market began on Friday night. The markets started as a new effort a year and a half ago and are now getting national recognition.
The BeChinatown Night Market is kicking off another year in San Francisco. From now through October, the market will take over Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown on the second Friday of each month. Friday's event drew in locals and tourists alike.
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WATCH HEREAttendees walked between blocks of food vendors and open storefronts, listening to music, singing karaoke in the streets, and watching performances from lion and dragon dancers.
"We’re impressed, we came here and said, ‘this is San Francisco,'" said Tony Pagan, who was visiting from Puerto Rico with Dali Diaz.
"I like it, it's fun -- like in Puerto Rico, we like these kinds of parties," Diaz added.
These night markets began in November of 2023, when the APEC conference came to San Francisco. With businesses in Chinatown struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, organizers began these night markets, hoping to spur business and foot traffic in the neighborhood.
The nonprofit BeChinatown runs the night market with grant funding from the Civic Joy Fund. BeChinatown enlists nearly 100 volunteers to make each market happen. Myron Lee with BeChinatown said last year, the markets would draw in ten to fifteen thousand people a month.
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Last month, USA Today named the BeChinatown Night Market the best night market in the US of 2025.
"I was so excited," San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said of the recent USA Today recognition. "Chinatown deserves it, the community deserves it, and San Francisco deserves it.”
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SIGN UP This year, the night market is expanding. Forty food vendors will participate on five blocks of Grant Avenue between California Street and Pacific Avenue. Additionally, organizers are adding a stage this year on Grant Avenue, which will feature live Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) bands and DJs.
Lee noted that for 2025, the night market will feature even more of the iconic red lanterns strung up over the streets. A new batch of lanterns was just installed over Commercial Street off of Grant Avenue, and visitors to the market on Friday flocked to get photos of those lanterns.
Eastern Bakery on Grant Avenue set up a table outside its storefront, hoping to show off its signature moon cakes.
Orlando Kuan, who manages Eastern Bakery, said he hopes the night market is an opportunity to make an impression on future customers.
"I expect after I show it to them, they know and then later on, they come back to buy more,” Kuan said of the baked goods.
Anthony Neal of Oakland was with co-workers visiting the market for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Neal had just sampled a pork bun and was on the way to try some chow mein.
"Let's spend time, let’s give back, and let’s make sure we spend money here in these businesses,” Neal said.
