07/08/2026
Two Richmond Night Market vendors are highlighting the importance of business insurance after Sunday's fire destroyed their entire inventory.
A fire destroyed 14 retail stalls at the night market on the morning of Sunday, June 28.
Sharanya Gunah, co-owner of Arvsha Designs — a home-based 3D printed product business — received a call from Richmond Night Market management on Sunday around 2:45 p.m., saying there was a fire emergency and asking them to visit the site "right away."
Gunah said they were "devastated" at the scene when they arrived.
She said their booth was one of the last tents affected by the fire and was three-quarters damaged.
But because their products were 3D prints, most of them were melted and not salvageable, months of work "gone in a matter of moments."
"Everything we lost is coming directly out of our family’s pocket, with nothing to fall back on," said Gunah.
She estimated they lost approximately $8,000 worth of 3-D printed fidget toys, animals, knick-knacks and displays.
Richmond Night Market has asked vendors like Gunah to return to the market and start selling again as early as Friday evening, she explained.
However, Gunah said they may not be able to, due to the lack of inventory and other market commitments.
"We don't have the inventory to return to the night market immediately or at all, if anything," said Gunah.
"I have other markets that I've committed to, and it's not fair that because of one fire, I can't commit to the rest of them. I understand that it's a loss for (the night market) too."
The Richmond Night Market only requires liability insurance, which covers customer injury when they are at their booths, according to Gunah.
This, however, doesn't cover damage to the business itself.
Gunah is reminding other owners to purchase business insurance in the future to protect their products and themselves.
She said, moving forward, they will likely pack everything up when closing their market stalls, adding that spending more time setting up each time would give them a better peace of mind than leaving their inventory overnight.
"We don’t know how to fully put into words what this has done to our family, but we are trying to find the strength to rebuild, for ourselves and for our kids."
Gunah and her husband are raising money through a GoFundMe where the money will go towards reprinting their inventory to get back to the markets.
Another vendor, Athena Lau, who sold vintage clothing and lost her entire inventory to the fire, has also set up a GoFundMe page.
Items lost included hand-collected vintage clothing, structures like racks, walls and booth setup, which were all prepared months in advance for the market.
"Years of thrifting and collecting, gone in one morning," said Lau on her GoFundMe page.
Lau left her restaurant job to run a vintage clothing stall full-time with a dream to open her own store one day, she explained on her GoFundMe page.
"My booth at the night market was where that dream finally became real. Every piece was hand-picked and curated by my brother and me," she posted.
She echoed Gunah's concerns about having proper insurance to protect one's business.
"The only coverage I had was the liability insurance the market requires to sell there — and that only covers damage you might cause to someone else, not your own belongings," posted Lau.
"So none of what I lost is covered."
Richmond Night Market owner Raymond Cheung told the News earlier this week they are focused on repairing the damage and setting up new tents for the vendors to be able to reopen Friday.
Cheung said it has been "a difficult and stressful" experience for both the vendors and the night market.
While on-site cameras have captured the entire situation, he explained that they are waiting on the official investigation report to be released by Richmond Fire-Rescue.
"The fire occurred next to our power station, causing extensive damage to our retail power area," said Cheung.
"Our team has done incredible work in a very short time to repair the damages from the fire, and I believe all the vendors will be able to reopen their booths by (Friday)."
