Following the high-profile demise of Sukhumvit Soi 38 street-food hub, the lively On Nut night market is the latest popular spot set to make way for a city development project.
With the market set to shut up shop for good on Oct 16, we spoke to some of the vendors about their memories and future plans.
"We’ve been here since the project opened, and we have a lot of regular customers. For our family, we’re lucky we managed to find a new spot on Sukhumvit Soi 54 that’s not too far from here. Honestly, it might not seem like much, but this is probably the one place in the area that serves the community around here, and even for passersby that need to take the BTS home."
"We’ve been here for around five years, and at the moment we’re pretty much still undecided as to where we’re going. We want to keep on doing what we do best, but the scale will depend on where we find our next spot. It's a big shame, but we sort of saw it coming in a way, though. This place has been dying for a renovation for a while now."
"We [vendors] all found out at about the same time—around 10 days before the eviction. I’m luckier than most because I’ve opened up an Instagram shop now, so there’s still a way to connect with my regular buyers. But this really is where I started—it’s the main shop. This is such a good location. For the working class, it’s nice having a place in the local area where you can buy cheap necessities without having to go all the way to Pratunam or wherever."
"I’ve only been here for two years, but it’s a strange feeling thinking that none of us are going to be around here anymore. I live around here, and I’ll still be selling Thai food like this—I’m just not sure where. It’s difficult to find a place for any of us around here."
Another of the vendors commented, "It wasn't unreasonable what the project owner did—ultimately they don't actually own the land, and I guess they tried their best to inform us as soon as they could. No contract was breached, technically, at least in my case. I just wish that they'd let us stay here till the end of the year. All of us have had to deal with the storm and rain for ages, and the economy hasn't been great either. Even if they decided to have a little plaza space for shops when a new condo pops up, most of us probably won't be able to afford the rent."
On Nut night market, Sukhumvit Rd. BTS On Nut.
