Chinatown, Sunset District receive new grants to hold night markets and revitalize city
SAN FRANCISCO - Two San Francisco neighborhoods are receiving grants from a nonprofit to hold night markets.
Event organizers said night markets are a great way to bring life back to the city. The money will help fund upcoming night markets in Chinatown and the Sunset District.
Community leaders and merchants were excited and grateful for the help.
Merchants said on most nights, Chinatown is quiet, and the streets are empty. But last November, a night market breathed new life into the historic neighborhood.
Lily Lo, the founder of the event, plans to hold another one this Friday.
"Not enough tourism, not enough people come to shop and eat. We want San Francisco Chinatown to survive," said Lo.
Thousands come out for debut of San Francisco's Sunset Night Market
Thousands came out Friday for San Francisco's first ever Sunset Night Market. The event, which took over several blocks of the city's Sunset District, was inspired by the evening street fair culture popular across much of Asia.
The $100,000 grant will make it possible for her to hold night markets on the second Friday of every month through November. The money is a gift from a nonprofit called Civic Joy Fund founded by Manny Yekutiel, owner of Manny's Cafe in the Mission District.
He shared a video of him dancing with Lo during last November's Chinatown night market.
"I saw thousands and thousands of people come to Grant Avenue," said Yekutiel. "It just hit me that this is something that needed to happen more regularly."
He said the money came from a group of philanthropists.
"Without the grant, I don't think we can do it. We have a lot of volunteers, but volunteers can only do so much," said Lo.
Yekutiel's nonprofit will also give $100,000 to the Sunset Night Market. The first one was held last September and was started by Supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the district.
"We didn't know what to expect. We didn't think 10,000 people were going to show up. We ran out of food. We didn't have enough booths. We're going to expand it," said Engardio.
He plans to hold the next one in late May or early June.
He said organizers will perfect the concept and expand the market to cover six blocks and focus on food.
Back in Chinatown, Gilbert Lam, a third-generation stone carver, sells his artwork at his store Min Ngai Arts & Crafts, on Grant Avenue.
He plans to stay open later on Friday in hopes the night market will increase foot traffic.
"It's quite slow. Not many customers come into Chinatown," said Lam.
There is a shared desire to revitalize San Francisco.
"I love this place. We all love this place. You can feel it in the air. That collective love for San Francisco and the deepness of the community here is what makes it so great," said Yekutiel.
He hopes to raise $1 million to fund night markets in different parts of the city.
The Chinatown Night Market will be held on Friday, March 8, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.