New Jersey-based H Mart opens its third Asian-foods-focused supermarket in the Puget Sound area Thursday in Lakewood.
The 43,000-square-foot market at 8720 South Tacoma Way in Lakewood’s International District joins two other H Mart groceries in Western Washington in Federal Way and Lynnwood.
Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
The company, which opened its first store in Queens, New York in 1982, expects about 70 percent of its customers will be Asian. H Mart plans to open two more Puget Sound stores, one in Bellevue and the other in downtown Seattle, this fall.
“We are serving an ever-expanding multicultural community in the South Sound,” said Northwest region President Jay Song. “Lakewood increases H Mart’s ability to reach our international customers and we have hired 50-60 employees for the new location.”
About 40 percent of the market’s products are Korean with the remainder being American and other nationalities.
H Mart is the latest in a growing number of Asian-oriented supermarkets seeking business in Western Washington. Among those are Seafood City Marketplace in the former Mervyn’s space in Southcenter, 99 Ranch Market in Kent and Edmonds and Uwajamaya, a store that began originally in Tacoma moved to Seattle and then expanded to Oregon, Bellevue and Renton.
Among the larger Asian food retailers already in Lakewood are PalDo World and Boohan Market.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.