J. wrote that Canal Street Market, the food hall, craft market and community space that was at the end of Cortlandt Alley, closed for good on Dec. 29. I wish I could say I was a regular — I was not, but I always intended to be. It was a great idea and a smart and creative execution — a compressed Artists & Fleas and Chelsea Market. You’d think the Tribeca Gallery District might have brought it an infusion…

“Eight years ago, we embarked on a mission to support small businesses, with the vibrant community of Chinatown as our backdrop,” they wrote on Instagram. “It’s been an incredible journey watching so many restaurants, retailers, and entrepreneurs launch as pop-ups or first-time stores—and flourish beyond our walls.

“Canal Street Market was always meant to be a launching point—a place where dreams take flight. There was no better place to do it than here… A huge thank you to everyone who made this place special. It has been a challenging yet deeply rewarding adventure.”

Philip Chong opened the market in 2016 as a way to do something different with the 12,000-square-foot retail space at 265 Canal, which his family owns. The shopping half had a mix of permanent and temporary vendors selling objets d’art, jewelry, bonsai, and so on. The food half had mostly longish-term vendors: over the years, Boba Guys, Billy’s Bakery, Davey’s Ice Cream, Fresh&Co, Ilili Box, Ippudo Kuro-Obi, The Izakaya/Samurice, Lulu, Nom Wah Kuai, Joe’s Rice and Noodles, Mastunori. Similar to Chelsea Market, one of the stalls was reserved as a pop-up space.

Because I like this idea (I love the one at Pier 57), perhaps the key is food production or craft production in addition to the retail space. In this case, everything was made off-site, which meant vendors were paying for two spaces…

As a coda, a food court — not really the same — has just (re)opened at 447 Broadway, just north of Howard. That was Main Street Food Hall most recently.