How a Burnt-Out Lawyer Built NYC’s Biggest International Night Market | Eater NY

"Conceived and largely run by a single founder who left corporate life and drew on memories of Taiwanese yèshì, this outdoor evening market launched on a chilly April night in 2015 with about 20 vendors in a parking lot and quickly became an enormous, multi-night bazaar. The founder remembers the chaotic debut: “We were hoping for a couple thousand visitors,” he recalls, but nearly 40,000 people descended that first night and vendors sold out almost immediately. The following year’s opening was so crowded that the transit authority skipped two nearby subway stops because visitors couldn’t exit the stations, and cars on the freeway snarled. The market’s rules — no dish more than $6, most at $5, low vendor fees, refunds for rain days, and flexible date commitments — made it easier for first-timers and home cooks to take risks on esoteric fare (examples cited include Guatemalan hot dogs, West African ginger juice and yak cheese dumplings), and many vendors credit the market with helping them grow into brick-and-mortar businesses. The enterprise has garnered major coverage and awards, served millions of visitors, helped launch roughly 450 new businesses, and represented nearly 100 countries, all while retaining a DIY, hand-printed-signs charm across an over-400,000-square-foot site that feels “like a bazaar at the crossroads of the world.” The founder recalls the frantic pre-opening moments vividly: “I must have sent 10,000 emails in a month,” he says, and hours before the first visitors arrived he asked a volunteer, “I'm like, 'Oh my God, I don't think we can do this. This is crazy. Should we call it off?'” Despite rising costs and inflation, sponsors and vendor solidarity have helped preserve the low-price ethos; the founder explains why he keeps going: “Every year, I think this is it. But then, there are usually a few moments where you look at the crowd, everyone has a smile on their face, and New York City is there.”" - John Tsung