Night markets are a go-to for yum food and a market experience with a difference. Here's why
Markets are markets are, well, markets. Except for one, or many. Because the Night Market brand has sprouted across Gauteng over the past few years and, unlike the run-of-the-mill hordes, these events are fun, because it’s about food.
The night markets occur once a month at each location. Benoni, Bedfordview, Randburg, Emperors Palace, Alberton and Groenkloof each have one. And proprietor Jacqui Panaino said what makes her endeavour different is that food is not an add-on, but the starting point.
Rather than packing in endless stalls selling variations of the same thing, Panaino curates’ variety.
“We try to get between 25 and 30 food vendors, all selling something completely different,” she said. “You might get two burgers, but they’re very different burgers. A stuffed one, a lamb one. It’s about variety.”
The same thinking applies to the craft stalls.
“You won’t find 20 of the same things,” she said. “It’s taken us a long time to get where we are, but that’s because we focused on quality over quantity.
“We’ve always said: come for the food, stay for the craft,” she said.
Food first markets
And the food is great. From Japanese drum cakes through to some of the best shawarmas you’ll ever have. It’s all prepared fresh. Sweet tooths can indulge in delicious cupcakes, moist cookies in flavours that sound about as sexy as a supermodel gallery.
What’s great about these markets is that the usual yawn fare is absent. It’s all somewhat enticing to explore. It does go beyond eating, and the crafters are mostly local, and stuff is handmade or designed.
There’s always live music; kids’ play areas with jugglers and stilt walkers adding some atmosphere.
“Markets are popular because they’re fun spaces to be in,” Panaino said. “People want something to see and do.”
There’s never a shortage of vendors.
“South Africans are incredibly entrepreneurial,” Panaino said. “A lot of people have side businesses. Night markets give them space to sell on a Friday night after work. Candles, crochet, jams, biscuits. Things they’ve made themselves.”
Many of those vendors would struggle to attend weekend day-markets because of family or work commitments.
On a good night, around 2 000 people move through the gates of these markets, but it never feels overcrowded.
“Then the food vendors are doing well, the craft vendors are doing well, the entertainment vendors are doing well, and the facilities can cope.”
Families tend to stay for an hour or so. Couples and groups linger longer.
“They’ll get a table, try different food, taste wine, grab a craft beer. They’re there for the experience.”
Never feels too crowded
It’s been eight years of success for Panaino. This, after it all began on a rainy night in Bedfordview. Initially the night market was a once-off idea driven by her brother and his friend.
“I went through to the first one just to help out and be the supportive sister,” she said. “Shame, it was a bit of a mess because it was their first one and they didn’t really know what was happening.”
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Yet the numbers told a different story.
“There were about 30 vendors and around 2 000 people came through,” she said. “The vibe, the atmosphere, the sheer amount of people… I could see the potential immediately.”
At the time, Panaino still had a day job.
“I asked them to get me on board,” she said. “But while the event itself is fun, the back-end work is where the real slog happens. They didn’t have the passion for that.”
Within a year, they stepped away and Panaino took the reins full time.
“I quit my day job to do this,” she said. “And I’ve been forging on since then.”
Early growth relied heavily on word of mouth.
“We didn’t want to market too hard at first,” she said. “We needed to refine our processes before getting too big.”
Fantasy fair side hustle
Alongside the regular markets, Panaino also runs themed and ad hoc events, including the Medieval Fantasy Fair on the East Rand.
“This will be our third year,” she said. “What’s been amazing is watching regular people start to join in. Cutting up a T-shirt to look like a peasant, drinking mead, meeting knights. It’s just a bit of fun.”
For now, expansion is not a priority. “This year is about perfecting what we already have,” Panaino said. “Bedding down venues, refining the process, making sure each market is as good as it can be.”
