Swan's Market
Market · Old City ·
Gourmet food court with butcher, seafood, and diverse eateries.
Gourmet food court with butcher, seafood, and diverse eateries.
"At Swan’s Market I learned there are new self-guided audio tours produced by Chapter 510 called “Oakland Belonging,” which combine straightforward directions with insights into the area’s history, poems, and essays; listeners can access them via Chapter 510’s website or QR codes on the premises and follow a coordinated vendor map that even remembers where you left off. One student podcast, Phoebe Lefebvre’s 8-minute “Food for the People,” discusses Oakland’s rich culture and food insecurity and highlights how the Old Oakland Farmer’s Market right outside Swan’s helps supply food to those in need. Students also collected stories about market businesses—one piece by Citlali Sanchez Udovic focuses on Taylor Sausage, the market’s oldest vendor—and the tour is available to start any time beginning at 546 9th Street." - Paolo Bicchieri
"With origins in Oakland’s 1890 Free Market and a 1917 white-tile-and-red-brick building that was once the jewel of Old Oakland, this food-hall has been revived by the East Bay Asian Local Development Corp. (reopening in 2000 after closing in 1984) and today is prized for its eclectic array of restaurants—many run by women of color—creating a tight-knit, supportive community (“a community of badass women of color,” as Eman Desouky puts it); the pandemic has hit it hard, but it remains a great place to visit Old Oakland and support hardworking chefs and cooks making food they’re proud of." - Maria C. Hunt
"The Mexican dining destination that anchored Swan’s Market since 2011 closed on March 27 as chef/owner Dominica Rice-Cisneros’s lease ended; she is opening a new full-service Bombera at 3459 Champion Street where patrons can still find her tortillas and pozole." - Becky Duffett
"The Swan’s Market location has been home to Miss Ollie’s and will host the pop-up, and the market’s landlord, the nonprofit East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), has been vocal about wanting to retain Miss Ollie’s as an anchor tenant—support that Kirnon says helped keep the restaurant from closing; for now Miss Ollie’s is operating month-to-month while Kirnon pursues a longer-term arrangement and the nonprofit application process." - Luke Tsai
"I was relieved to learn that Swan’s Market became the new home for Huangcheng Noodle House after that restaurant lost its space in a fire, a move that felt like a huge relief for the community." - Eater Staff