The Best Things to Eat and Drink at Historic Oakland Food Hall Swan’s Market

When it comes to Bay Area food halls, Swan’s Market in downtown Oakland is the O.G. Its roots go back to 1890, when Oakland’s Free Market opened a few blocks away with farm produce and meats in a clean, sanitary setting. The current white tile and red brick market dates back to 1917, when it was the jewel of the bustling Old Oakland shopping district. Through the 1980s, people flocked to the nearby Housewives’ Market for meat, seafood and produce. But “urban renewal” including Interstate 880 and the Convention Center sucked the life out of the neighborhood, and Swan’s closed in 1984. The East Bay Asian Local Development Corp. reopened the historic locale in 2000.