Midnight Market founders talk Jersey City foodie life
What’s the best culinary collaboration since Ben and Jerry?
That would be Liberty Science Center and Midnight Market Jersey City!
This month, for our latest LSC After Dark event, we’re teaming up with Midnight Market to throw the most “lit” BBQ of the summer: ”Electric BBQ” on July 20 (get tickets here). At this party, guests can enjoy delicious plates from local vendors, sip on sizzling cocktails outside, and electrify their minds with Tesla coils and science experiments.
It’s a foodie’s dream come true! And that’s why we had to partner with Midnight Market, the revolutionary 21+ foodie nightlife taking Jersey City by storm.
By taking the Taiwanese night market concept and giving it a Jersey City flare – with DJs, dancing, drinking, and food vendors from the NJ area – Midnight Market co-founders Perla Nieves and Lisi Vasquez are totally re-imagining nightlife culture. Mainly, with more food!
“In Jersey City, there’s never really been a space where everyone could just chill and eat and hang out, but you could also dance if you wanted to – no pressure,” says Lisi. “A space for an older, more sophisticated crowd that wanted more than just the bar scene. That’s how we came up with Midnight Market.”
From avocado cannolis at The Guac Spot to alligator sausages at Dark Side of the Moo, the unique food vendors have got everyone buzzing on social media – plus, the fact that each vendor is only $5!
In the days leading up to LSC After Dark: Electric BBQ, we chatted with Perla and Lisi about the success of Midnight Market (soon approaching its 1-year anniversary!) and what it’s like to be a foodie in one of the most diverse cities in the country.
Why do you think Midnight Market JC is such a great asset to Jersey City?
Perla: Well first of all, it makes going out to eat way more affordable.
But also, the food scene in Jersey City is growing so fast. It’s great, but that means restaurants open up with so much hype…and then months later, the hype is gone. Our market happens every month and it’s constantly changing, so we get to hype places over and over and over again.
Lisi: You can never say, “Oh, I went to Midnight Market once, I’m good.” It’s different every time.
Let’s talk about the food scene in JC. Both of you have lived here for almost a decade – how do you think it has evolved as a foodie destination over this time?
Perla: It has definitely evolved a lot. So many establishments have come here from places like Brooklyn and Manhattan. That’s because it’s more affordable in Jersey City, and also because people here are just hungry to try new things.
Lisi: And even though Jersey City is growing as a foodie destination, it’s always been a place with amazing food, thanks to the incredible diversity here.
Tell me more about how diversity plays a role in Midnight Market JC.
Lisi: It’s huge. Jersey City is one of the most diverse cities in the country, and we want to reflect that in our vendor choices. Just to name a few, we’ve got Puerto Rican, Dominican, Italian, Indian, Afghani…we really strive to have a huge selection of different foods so that people can come out and try new things and learn something new.
You’ve mentioned that 75 percent of your vendors are owned or run by women. Tell me more about that.
Perla: We didn’t necessarily aim for that, but one day we noticed just, “Wow, there are a lot of women vendors doing this! This is great!” It’s nice to see that in the hospitality industry, women are definitely pushing forward.
How excited are you to partner with Liberty Science Center on LSC After Dark: Electric BBQ?
Lisi: Yes! We’re so excited. You can’t even enter Jersey City without seeing the massive dome from the Turnpike – LSC is such a New Jersey institution, and I like to think that maybe we’re on our way to becoming a New Jersey institution as well.
Perla: This partnership also just makes total sense. We do stuff on the second Friday of each month, and LSC After Dark is every third Thursday. We’re doing totally different things, but we pull the same crowd. It just makes sense for us to work together and make both our events even bigger.
Lisi: And who wouldn’t want to eat and drink and check out electric experiments? It’s going to be so awesome.
Get tickets now for LSC After Dark: Electric BBQ on July 20. Food is cash only!
“In Jersey City, there’s never really been a space where everyone could just chill and eat and hang out, but you could also dance if you wanted to – no pressure,” says Lisi. “A space for an older, more sophisticated crowd that wanted more than just the bar scene. That’s how we came up with Midnight Market.”
From avocado cannolis at The Guac Spot to alligator sausages at Dark Side of the Moo, the unique food vendors have got everyone buzzing on social media – plus, the fact that each vendor is only $5!
In the days leading up to LSC After Dark: Electric BBQ, we chatted with Perla and Lisi about the success of Midnight Market (soon approaching its 1-year anniversary!) and what it’s like to be a foodie in one of the most diverse cities in the country.
Why do you think Midnight Market JC is such a great asset to Jersey City?
Perla: Well first of all, it makes going out to eat way more affordable.
But also, the food scene in Jersey City is growing so fast. It’s great, but that means restaurants open up with so much hype…and then months later, the hype is gone. Our market happens every month and it’s constantly changing, so we get to hype places over and over and over again.
Lisi: You can never say, “Oh, I went to Midnight Market once, I’m good.” It’s different every time.
Let’s talk about the food scene in JC. Both of you have lived here for almost a decade – how do you think it has evolved as a foodie destination over this time?
Perla: It has definitely evolved a lot. So many establishments have come here from places like Brooklyn and Manhattan. That’s because it’s more affordable in Jersey City, and also because people here are just hungry to try new things.
Lisi: And even though Jersey City is growing as a foodie destination, it’s always been a place with amazing food, thanks to the incredible diversity here.
Tell me more about how diversity plays a role in Midnight Market JC.
Lisi: It’s huge. Jersey City is one of the most diverse cities in the country, and we want to reflect that in our vendor choices. Just to name a few, we’ve got Puerto Rican, Dominican, Italian, Indian, Afghani…we really strive to have a huge selection of different foods so that people can come out and try new things and learn something new.
You’ve mentioned that 75 percent of your vendors are owned or run by women. Tell me more about that.
Perla: We didn’t necessarily aim for that, but one day we noticed just, “Wow, there are a lot of women vendors doing this! This is great!” It’s nice to see that in the hospitality industry, women are definitely pushing forward.
How excited are you to partner with Liberty Science Center on LSC After Dark: Electric BBQ?
Lisi: Yes! We’re so excited. You can’t even enter Jersey City without seeing the massive dome from the Turnpike – LSC is such a New Jersey institution, and I like to think that maybe we’re on our way to becoming a New Jersey institution as well.
Perla: This partnership also just makes total sense. We do stuff on the second Friday of each month, and LSC After Dark is every third Thursday. We’re doing totally different things, but we pull the same crowd. It just makes sense for us to work together and make both our events even bigger.
Lisi: And who wouldn’t want to eat and drink and check out electric experiments? It’s going to be so awesome.
Get tickets now for LSC After Dark: Electric BBQ on July 20. Food is cash only!