Co-owners and chefs Andrew Marco and Ralph Hsiao wanted to create a friendly neighborhood market that offered Los Angeles-style food. Inspired by the corner bodegas of New York, which are the heartbeat of their communities, they ventured into Open Market as a center where people gathered to shop.
The men behind Rice Guys met co-founders Brian and Yoonna Lee through pop-ups, all of whom are motivated by people and community interaction. “We know our regulars and every single dog’s name,” says Marco. “Food is language, the lexicon of what we’re used to and what we’ve grown up with is so natural to us. Eating a taco or pupsa or different Thai dishes, we know these words because we’re not from those respective cultures but the cultures of Los Angeles.”
Open Market team photo. Photo credit is Emanuel Hahn.
Open Market was inspired by the corner bodegas of New York, and serves sandwiches named for streets in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. Photo courtesy of Open Market.