The Long Beach Night Market—a collaboration between The Grey owners Bobby Hernandez and Rob Marquez and the popup food world of the region—returns Dec. 16 after some quirky and unnecessary hiccups with the city shut down the popular earlier this year.
And instead of the tiny-but-mighty space that sits behind Recreational Coffee and Rosemallows—where the market was hosted previously—the crew behind the market have decided to, well, go bigger and go better: They will be taking over the Promenade space across 3rd Street at Mosaic, giving guests not only much more room but the ability to experience more vendors.
Think Shlap Muan (the Cambodian chicken wing joint in North Long Beach that serves up what I call the city’s best wings), Love Hour (the L.A. smash burger joint that grilled it out with Hamburgers Nice in a burger battle like no other at the inaugural Long Beach Night Market), Brian’s Birria (some of the city’s best birria de res), and Recreational Coffee (no explanation needed).
“We are excited to welcome the Long Beach Night Market to Mosaic as we have seen the sense of community The Grey team has been able to foster in prior events and that sense of community is something we want to bring back to Downtown,” said Michael Gazzano of Mosaic. “It’s a celebration of food, creatives, music, and fun and we are excited to host the event at Mosaic—looking forward to it.”
When it first appeared in September of 2022, the Long Beach Night Market was a glowing success when the Downtown scene needed it most: With little advertising, hundreds showed up to pour into the alley and hangout space that sits behind Rosemallows and Recreational.
The result? A revival of nightlife in DTLB, a decent chunk of business for the 3rd Street corridor between Long Beach Boulevard and The Promenade, and a new event that was set to become a regular mainstay should crowds continue to be this consistent.
“I know that Long Beach Night Market was the brain child of Jimmy [Han, owner of Rosemallows] and Rob,” Hernandez said when the event was first created. “They saw LA’s night markets and we figured Long Beach needs this. We have such a diverse and creative food community here that it’s a no brainer. On top of that, I know that Downtown Long Beach needs to be activated. Stats show that increased foot traffic and a community presence lowers crime, clears out sketchy activity. The people need this, the city needs it, and we’re here to make it happen.”
Hernandez’s point about activation is a key one: With a skyrocket in residents both experiencing homelessness and earning less combined with a post-pandemic Downtown bereft of events, Hernandez is not the only DTLB business owner who recognizes that the key to Downtown’s future lies in foot traffic, community, and, well, hanging out.
The newest iteration of the event is currently looking for vendors. If interested, fill out the vendor form here.
The Long Beach Night Market is $7 to enter and will take place on north side of The Promenade between 3rd and 5th Streets on Dec. 16 from 6PM to 11PM.
