Sep. 12, 2023 By Ethan Marshall
The Queens Night Market will be making its return to Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Sept. 16 for the fall season. It will be operating every Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight until Oct. 28, when the season concludes with a Halloween-themed event.
The Queens Night Market has welcomed more than 2 million visitors since it debuted in 2015. Over that same span, it has helped launch almost 400 new businesses across New York City. Its vendors and food have represented over 90 countries around the world. The market has remained busy thus far this year, averaging approximately 20,000 visitors a night.
“We know profit is not the number one motivator for our vendors – most make huge sacrifices on their margins to accommodate our price points,” Queens Night Market Founder John Wang said. “That said, based on recent data, our fees represent only about 5% of overall vendor sales, which is a rather remarkable benchmark in the food industry. Huge thanks to Citizens Financial Group, whose sponsorship this year allowed us to cut the vendor fees by nearly half and amplified the economic impact of the event on the NYC and Queens community.”
According to an anonymous survey of 70 vendors, those selling food are averaging almost $3,000 in nightly sales. Art and merchandise vendors are averaging close to $1,000 in nightly sales. Even with the popular $5-$6 price cap that remains in place on the price of food, these vendors have been breaking their sales records.
“We want to congratulate Queens Night Market on a spectacular first half of the season,” Citizens Financial Group Retail Director Nuno Dos Santos said. “It’s been rewarding to support small businesses through our partnership and witness the love Queens Night Market receives from New Yorkers. We’ve partnered with Queens-based media company Epicenter on a study to formally measure the Night Market’s undeniable community impact—the results are forthcoming later this fall.”
Some of the newer food entries since the season began and starting Saturday include Venezuelan tequeños, Iraqi chika, Syrian maqlouba, Palestinian musakhan, Vietnamese pate chaud, Indian jalebi, Sierra Leonean cassava leaf stew and Pakistani bun kebabs. This fall season will also feature many returning favorites, including Hakka meatballs, Sichuan ice jelly, Antiguan ducana and black pudding, Burmese palatas and tea leaf salad, Indonesian kue pancong and tahu pong, Peruvian ceviche and arroz chaufa, Persian crispy rice and many more.