Taylor couple to begin food night market
KELLY TRAN
A new market is coming to town, making Taylor’s night scene a lot tastier.
Local street food stand owner Abraham Mendez and his Taylor-native wife, Angelica Salazar, will host the first-ever Foodies Night Market on Sept. 13-14. in the 74 Man Store parking lot.
The couple plans to have the market every second and third Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. starting this weekend through November.
“We really wanted to take a hold of the food scene in Taylor and be able to bring something different and unique and good for the community,” Salazar said. “Not only for the community of Taylor but for people who come and visit... they have the perfect opportunity to end the night at Foodies.”
Each weekend will feature a different set of food vendors to highlight diverse food and cultures. This weekend, Mendez’s hot dog stand will be alongside other street food vendors such as Rainbow Snack House, Burger Snobs, Cyns Roasted Corns, Castillo Taquitos y Mas and The Traveling Empanada.
“Food is kind of like a love language,” Mendez said. “That’s something that everybody can ... gather around and enjoy.”
The couple has participated in other local day markets, where they built relationships with other food vendors. However, they were interested in having a market to bring the food vendor community together and were inspired by night markets in LA.
“I noticed that it would be nice to have a spot, especially in the night scene, where we could kind of set up with different food vendors,” Mendez said. “Especially with a lot of people commenting that restaurants and food places close early here in town, so it would be nice to have something that’s open late.”
In addition to offering customers a variety of cuisines, the couple is using the market as a way to give back to the community.
Water will only be sold at one station on site, and all the proceeds from the station will go to a different nonprofit each week. The first organization benefiting from this water station is Simple Sparrow Care Farm, which teaches people how to care for a garden and animals and, in turn, themselves.
“We have a good lineup with nonprofits that are near and dear, close to our hearts,” Salazar said. “We believe in giving back, and we think that’s the perfect opportunity for collabs.”
To accompany the food and drinks, the couple has entertainment and activities planned to liven the nights -— from local DJs and musicians to open mic nights to face painting and bubbles.
“We really love having that melting pot of cultures,” Salazar said. “What we really want to push through is different people from different walks of life coming together and just enjoying the night with food, music (and) family-friendly fun.”
The couple hopes to host the market during the spring and fall season to avoid extreme heat and cold weather.
Street food vendors, nonprofits and entertainers who are interested in participating in the night market can contact Mendez and Salazar through the Foodies Night Market email, [email protected].
Due to the limited space in the parking lot, the market will not host food trucks, and vendors must be able to operate from under a tent. However, the couple hopes to expand to a bigger location to include food trucks in the future.
“There’s always room for growth,” Salazar said. “I think our hopes and our dreams and our visions is to start here but grow into a bigger space.”
