Street food hub opens near Lumpini Park

Bangkok governor says vendors will benefit from safe, stable location with proper utilities

A new hawker centre that has opened next to Lumpini Park will help the public access clean, high-quality street food, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Friday.

The new space provides business areas for vendors who used to be stationed on Sarasin Road and around Lumpini Park, one of Bangkok’s most congested downtown areas, where disorder and sanitation issues have long been a public concern.

The governor noted that the park is a land plot bestowed for public use by King Rama VI, and it is not to be turned into a profit-making area.

Vendors who have relocated to the new centre are not only supported with proper facilities but also by affordable rents at just 60 baht per stall per day.

Mr Chadchart said the site offers vendors a safer and more stable area to conduct business.

Meanwhile, they won’t have a problem accessing the space, and the public can also access affordable meals, the governor added.

The new hawker centre features well-known street food of the area.

That list includes pork blood soup, soy milk, chicken noodles and fried bananas, catering mostly to office workers from 5am to 4pm. Evening vendors offer their specialities from 4pm until midnight.

“We want small vendors to have stability and to allow the public access to clean and affordable food to stimulate the grassroots economy and create the city’s identity in the long run,” Mr Chadchart said.

The hawker centre has space for 130 stalls, along with running tap water, drainage, grease traps, washing areas, and comfortable dining spaces, which are often missing from standard street food stalls.

The governor said priority was given to vendors during a previous street food management project, with measures in place to prevent subleasing or transfer of stall rights.

Facial recognition technology is also being considered to ensure compliance.

Werapong Goo, managing director of on-demand services for the delivery platform LINE MAN Wongnai, said the company’s partnership in the project aims to strengthen small businesses by improving efficiency and expanding sales opportunities.

Support includes QR code payment systems to enhance transaction security, along with packaging and vendor equipment to improve service standards.