Queens Night Market is cultural, affordable New study shows community and small business growth at night markets

by Stephanie G. Meditz Chronicle Contributor

As the autumn air brings Queens Night Market’s fall 2023 season to a close, Citizens and Epicenter-NYC unveiled a new study on Thursday during a panel discussion at the Queens Museum revealing NYC night markets’ positive effects on both community enrichment and the local economy.

A survey of 363 vendors, artists and attendees from the Queens and Chinatown Night Markets found that night markets not only give small, local businesses an opportunity for exposure, but provide attendees with a rich cultural experience without traveling too far from home.

The survey found that night markets give businesses a platform to grow — 62 percent of new businesses surveyed stated plans to expand, and 27 percent have already begun to change their shops’ locations.

One in three surveyed attendees shopped at vendors’ locations outside of night markets. Of these customers, 73 percent first interacted with those vendors at night markets.

Seventy-seven percent of surveyed attendees expressed the desire to buy from their favorite vendors outside night markets. Customers even continue to shop through night markets’ off-season during the winter months, and a majority of respondents said they would prefer to visit a vendor’s physical store rather than shop online.

Queens Night Market founder John Wang said he implemented a $5 price cap on food when the market launched in 2015, followed by a $6 exception in 2017 that still exists thanks to Citizens, this year’s primary sponsor that subsidized entry fees for vendors.

He believes that, though attendees overwhelmingly said they attend for the cultural experience, Queens Night Market’s affordability attracts nearly 20,000 people per night.

“One of the sole missions of the Queens Night Market is to be the most diverse, welcoming place in New York City. The second one is the desire to make it the most affordable space in New York City,” Wang told the panel discussion’s nearly 70 attendees.

Citizens also supported night markets’ small business seminars for those interested in starting their own business, in partnership with the city Department of Small Business Services, Queens Economic Development Corp. and Office of the Queens Borough President.

On a discussion panel of Queens Night Market vendors, Roseangela Arnold of Brazilicious said that low costs and adaptations to customer feedback allowed her to sell at night markets full-time.

In addition to broadening their clientele, businesses also said they attend night markets to foster community and share their culture’s cuisine. Nearly half of the businesses surveyed sought to hire employees from their neighborhood or ethnic community.

“I thought the night market would be a great opportunity for me to connect more with people and share our culture and our food,” Hana Saber Tehra of Persian Eats NYC said.

Wanda Chiu of Hong Kong Street Food missed the irresistible aroma of street food when she moved to the U.S. and decided to recreate those dishes from her childhood. She has attended Queens Night Market since its beginning in 2015, upon her son’s recommendation.

“We all know that the small businesses here in New York City are the backbone. They’re the innovators, they’re the leaders,” Mike MacIntyre, Citizens Business Banking Sales head, said.

Small businesses also took a major hit during the Covid-19 pandemic. Joey Batista of Joey Bats Cafe described Queens Night Market as a “great injection of capital” that allowed him to open multiple locations, all of which thrived until Covid struck and shut down three stores.

The Chinatown Night Market’s original goal was to establish a safe community space in wake of the xenophobia and antiAsian hate crimes in NYC following Covid.

“As lenders, we have to make sure that we’re prudent in how we lend, but also recognize that we have to invest back into these communities,” MacIntyre said.

Surveyed attendees primarily attend night markets for a rich cultural experience, or as moderator Dahiana Perez put it, to “travel to a bunch of different countries within an hour.” Other notable reasons were the uniqueness and variety of vendors, along with affordable offerings.

“We recognize that food not only brings people together, but brings potential customers together, and so why not get an opportunity to subsidize great food in our communities, get to know the key leaders and key ownership and really introduce our brand to a brand-new market for us?” MacIntyre said.

Asked about his vision for the future of Queens Night Market, Wang said he would like the market to be “more integrated into the city infrastructure” with more days of operation, as it is currently a Saturday night destination in Flushing.

“I just think New York City deserves something that brings out the city and is affordable and celebrates it as is,” he said.

Panel discussion attendees got to enjoy free samples from several vendors. Q