Most people call it the Italian Market, but the old timers in this neighborhood just refer to it as 9th Street.

There really aren’t that many old timers left as they’ve been gradually replaced with newer generations.

But then so have the vendors on 9th Street.

Once upon a time they were of Italian descent, of course, and a few of them still are, but over time they’ve been replaced. Two or three decades ago many of the vendors were fresh from Vietnam or other Southeast Asian countries, and the restaurants in the surrounding neighborhoods reflected that as well.

Now you’re more likely to find the market stalls staffed by Latinos, just as the neighborhoods are increasingly finding similar restaurants popping up here and there.

But the Italian restaurants haven’t gone away entirely, and there are other cuisines available as well, including Indian, and there was even a sushi bar that just opened not too long ago right in the middle of 9th Street and it seems to be thriving.

One thing hasn’t changed.

You can still find good produce at good prices, and you can pick it out yourself. If you can reach it, that is.