Ave 26: the story
The market that is today Imperial Night Market grew out of the Ave 26 night market, which began on Artesian Street in Lincoln Heights. This is that story, told with what the press has published. Under each part we name the source.
Quick answers
What was Ave 26?
Ave 26 was a street food night market that began on Artesian Street in Lincoln Heights, around a taco stand called Avenue 26 Tacos.
Source: PBS SoCal, January 25, 2022; LA Times, June 3, 2021.
Where did Imperial Night Market come from?
It comes from the Ave 26 night market. After the closure of Artesian Street, the original market became two groups, and we are one of them.
Source: PBS SoCal and Time Out, 2022.
What happened on August 5, 2021?
On Thursday, August 5, 2021, the city closed the area to the public. City-hired workers placed concrete barriers and fencing along Artesian Street.
Source: CBS LA, Fox LA, NBC LA, L.A. Taco and KTLA, August 5 and 6, 2021.
When did the market open on Imperial Street?
We have not found an exact opening date, so we do not give one. A photo published by PBS SoCal shows the market operating on Imperial Street on January 8, 2022.
Source: PBS SoCal, January 25, 2022.
Where and when is Imperial Night Market open?
It is at 2300 E 15th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021, with free entry. We are open Fridays 6:00 to 10:30 pm and Saturdays and Sundays 5:00 to 10:30 pm.
Source: Imperial Night Market.
A taco stand and a street
It all started around a taco stand called Avenue 26 Tacos, on Artesian Street near Avenue 26 in Lincoln Heights. Customers gave the stand that name, and the market takes its name from it. Reports differ on the exact year: some say the mid-2000s, others “more than a decade” before 2021. Some vendors said they began selling on that street more than four years before mid-2021, when it was nearly empty.
Sources: PBS SoCal, January 25, 2022; LA Times, June 3, 2021.
A market that grew
According to the LA Times, in 2020 a handful of small businesses gathered on the street and formed a night market. In spring 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, the market became very popular, largely through TikTok videos. By June 2021 the LA Times counted more than 100 businesses along less than half a mile of Artesian Street and described it as possibly the largest street food market in Southern California.
Sources: LA Times, June 3, 2021; NBC LA and L.A. Taco, August 2021.
On Thursday, August 5, 2021, the city closed the area to the public. Reports at the time describe city-hired workers placing concrete barriers and fencing along Artesian Street, and the LA Times coverage said the closure ran from Avenue 33 to Humboldt Street. Several vendors said they had no advance notice. They protested at the site that night, and outside the councilmember’s office the next morning.
Sources: CBS LA, Fox LA, NBC LA, L.A. Taco and KTLA (carrying the LA Times report), August 5 and 6, 2021.
The days after
In the days that followed, vendors met with the councilmember’s office and proposed other locations. L.A. Taco reported that the office said it had no plans to reopen the market on Artesian Street. Some vendors tried a nearby block of Humboldt Street, described as temporary.
The weekend of August 13, 2021, organizers moved the market to a temporary site in the city of Bell. According to PBS SoCal and L.A. Taco, Bell said the market would not be allowed to continue there, and it did not return the following weekend.
Sources: L.A. Taco, August 11 and 25, 2021; CBS LA, August 13, 2021; PBS SoCal, January 25, 2022.
From Artesian to Imperial
After the closure, vendors spread to different places, and the original market became two groups. We are one of them. A photo published by PBS SoCal shows customers lined up for elote at the market on Imperial Street on January 8, 2022, so the market was already operating there by then, in an industrial area south of downtown Los Angeles. In 2022, PBS SoCal and Time Out both described Ave 26 on Imperial as one of two offshoots of the original market. In March 2022, LA Magazine listed it as “Avenue 26 on Imperial Street” at 2300 E 15th St. We have not found an exact opening date, so we do not give one.
Sources: PBS SoCal, January 25, 2022; LA Magazine, March 12, 2022; Time Out, May 3, 2022.
Today
Today it is Imperial Night Market, a free-entry street food night market, Friday through Sunday, at 2300 E 15th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021. We are open Fridays 6:00 to 10:30 pm and Saturdays and Sundays 5:00 to 10:30 pm.
Instagram: @imperial_night_market. Our earlier account, @ave_26_on_imperial, remains as an archive.
Go to the Imperial Night Market site
Facts on this page come from public reporting. If something is wrong, tell us at imperialnightmarket.com/feedback/.