Vancouver’s Punjabi Market was the first and largest Punjabi market in North America. From humble beginnings, Main Street transformed into a cultural hub and was home of the first Punjabi-language street signs outside of Asia. At its peak, Punjabi Market was home to over 300 shops including 24 jewellery shops.
MAY 31, 1970
Sucha Singh Claire opens Shaan Saari’s with a dream of building an ethnic enclave like the one he saw in Southhall, London.
1973
Kewal Pabla opens Himalaya Restaurant, a place where Vancouverites can sample “Pabla’s Exotic East Indian Food & Sweets.”
1979
The Vaisakhi festival was celebrated for the first time on the streets of Vancouver to celebrate the birth of Khalsa.
1980’s
The rest of Vancouver is awakened to the
“Little Punjab” growing on a small stretch of
South Main.
1993
Vancouver’s Punjabi Market becomes home
to the world’s first Punjabi street signs
outside of Asia.
2019
City Council voted to pass Motion B.4: “Punjabi Market at Fifty: Celebrating the Past and Planning for the Future.”
