Asian Store HMart Plans For Mid-January North Austin Opening

NORTH AUSTIN, TX — Officials at Asian grocer HMart on Wednesday set a mid-January opening for their new store in Northwest Austin, according to a published report.

The massive, 68,670-square-foot H-Mart store at 11301 Lakeline Blvd. near Lakeline Mall takes over space left vacant by the shuttering of Bed Bath & Beyond and Sports Authority stores once occupying the space in the Parkline shopping center, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The expansion-minded retailer operates more than 60 other stores nationwide, including in Dallas and Houston and has plans to open 15 new sites next year, according to the report.

The Austin location is hardly the chain's first, but it will be the first one to feature a food hall, the newspaper noted. Known in the grocer's parlance as its "Market Eatery," the space will feature multiple food concepts offered by a number of merchants with various culinary offerings. Among them:

• Sunday Bird (Korean fried chicken)
• Sunday BBQ (Korean barbecue)
• Snow Monster (Taiwanese shaved ice, Boba tea, waffles)
• Seoul Sausage (Korean barbecue and street food)
• Maru Maki (Japanese sushi)
• Sogongdong Tofu House (Korean tofu soup and comfort food)
• Lai Lai (Authentic Chinese cuisine)
• Tous Les Jours (Korean bakery)

Non-food vendors within the store will include:

• The Face Shop (Korean cosmetics)
• Cheong Kwan Jang (Korean red ginseng shop)
• Tori Gift (Gift shop)
• Jessica Hair (Salon)
• JDX (Blinds and curtains)

Market Eatery also will serve beer, wine and sake, with daily drink specials planned, according to the account. According to information found on its website, the first HMart opened in Queens, New York, in 1982. The “H” in HMart is short for “Han Ah Reum,” Korean for “one arm full of groceries.” Visit the grocer's website to learn more about the range of its offerings and history by clicking here.

Related story: Popular H Mart Asian Grocery Store Chain Making Entry Into Austin Market

News of HMart's plans for the region followed an announcement last year of the opening of a 99 Ranch Market at the The Crescent, a shopping center undergoing redevelopment at North Lamar and Airport boulevards, the newspaper reported. Just 13 miles apart from each other, the two stores both cater to an Asian market.

The dual openings reflect robust growth of the Asian population in the Austin-Round rock area. Census figures collected by the Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce show more than 110,500 residents of Asian descent living in the area, with the population segment doubling about every 12 years. The demographic boasts higher-than-average household incomes, with the most common country of origin being India, China, Vietnam and Korea, in descending order.

>>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman

Photo by Taylor Kiser on Unsplash