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The Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park is postponed

This year’s start date, slated for March 30, has been pushed back to the “end of April,” according to the city.

Ha Luu works a stall at the Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday, May 7, 2023. The market is open on Saturdays and Sundays from April to October.
Ha Luu works a stall at the Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday, May 7, 2023. The market is open on Saturdays and Sundays from April to October.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer
    by Jenn Ladd
    Published 

For decades, Philadelphians in the know have looked forward to the annual return of the weekend Southeast Asian Market in South Philadelphia’s FDR Park. The food-driven market, which features some 70 vendors, brings fresh-pressed sugarcane juice, bamboo sticky rice, lemongrass-scented skewers, and more to the the park from April to October.

But the market’s start date this year, originally scheduled for March 30, is now in question. The market announced this week that the opening is “delayed until further notice” due to “unforeseen circumstances.” A spokesperson for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department says that “the opening of the market was moved to the end of April to accommodate operational needs that came up.”

“We apologize to all of our supporters who have been patiently waiting since last year, we hope to quickly resolve this matter,” the market’s Instagram post read, directing followers to the social accounts of individual vendors.

A representative for the Vendors Association of FDR Park said in a statement that “there are some requirements for the Market to proceed” and that “the circumstances leading to this delay are all necessary things that have to happen.”

“The Vendors Association of FDR Park Board is diligently addressing these requirements in a timely manner so that the Market can open its doors as quickly as possible,” the statement read. “We are confident that our SEA Market will be welcoming the community soon.”

The Southeast Asian Market, often referred to as the SEA Market, has become a well established and increasingly high-profile part of Philly’s food scene — to the point that the city designated a permanent space for it in plans for FDR’s ongoing renovation. The planned market pavilion, to be situated in the southwest corner of the park, coincided with a $100,000 grant from the Philadelphia Department of Commerce that was announced in 2022.

That recognition is hard-won: What’s now an organized operation with 74 vendors began informally in the ’70s and ’80s, with Cambodian and Lao refugees coming to FDR Park to enjoy the outdoor space and sell foods that reminded them of home. As the gathering gained steam, it met resistance. Vendors were at times raided by the police, their food destroyed or taken — leading to some market-less summers.

Thankfully, vendors have more recourse in the age of Instagram, so Philadelphians craving stuffed chicken wings and papaya salad can still get their fix: The SEA Market has rounded up a list of social media accounts for individual vendors, including Melissa Khmer BBQ, which offers a wide menu of SEA Market favorites for pickup and delivery year-round.

If that’s not enough, Philly’s restaurant scene is teeming with Southeast Asian options, including Sophie’s Kitchen, Mawn, Vientiane Bistro and Vientiane Cafe, Ratchada, Grandma’s Philly, Hardena (and its sister supper club Rice and Sambal), Kalaya, and the brand-new Kampar.