Longtime Korean market in Lakewood known for kimchi, banchan now for sale
A Korean market in Lakewood has been put up for sale after more than 40 years in business.
Asian Market, 11715 Bridgeport Way SW, was put on the market a few weeks ago, according to store manager Angie Cho.
Cho’s parents, Hyo Sook Cho and Myong Hwan Cho, run the store, and they agreed they’re ready to retire.
“I’m working too hard,” Hyo Sook Cho said.
The market originally began in Parkland around 1983 before moving into the Lakewood space a few years later. It’s been a family-run affair since the beginning.
“I would help out after school. And even when I was going to school in Seattle, at UW, I would have to come on the weekends and work,” Angie Cho said.
Putting the store up for sale has caused lots of mixed emotions, said Steve Cho, Angie’s Cho husband who also serves as a store manager.
“It’s kind of bittersweet, I guess. Obviously, the family’s put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the operation for all this time,” Steve Cho said.
Asian Market is known for its almost never-ending varieties of kimchi, plus banchan, aka Korean side dishes.
“My mother-in-law does the kimchi and side dishes. It’s getting a lot harder for her,” Steve Cho said. “And you know, to be honest, to find someone to replace her is not super easy.”
The news of the sale hit longtime customers hard, especially because of the strong sense of community inside the market.
“Over these years they’ve built relationships with a bunch of people … my wife is the one that pretty much knows everyone by first name, knows exactly what they want. She’ll usually prepare it for them ahead of time,” Steve Cho said.
Angie Cho said customers will travel from all over the South Sound just to get their supply of kimchi and banchan. Lots of those same customers texted Angie Cho after learning about the sale, writing how sad they were to hear the news.
The market’s last day in business will be hard on the family, too, she said.
“We will be sad because we’re not going to be able to feed them anymore. My mom just loves to hear from the families [saying] that they had such a great meal,” Angie Cho said.
Asian Market could still be up and running for a few months or even a few years, depending on when a buyer comes through.
“A lot of [people] have been saying they wish we never find a buyer so we can stick around longer for them,” Angie Cho said.
