H-Mart, the country’s largest Asian supermarket chain, celebrated the grand opening of its newest location at 142-41 Roosevelt Ave. in Flushing this past week. People were lined up outside the door early Thursday, waiting for the opportunity to shop at the supermarket franchise’s newest Queens location.
The 17,300 square-foot site was originally home to a Key Food supermarket, which closed in 2010 after serving the community for decades. It was later replaced by New York Mart, a similar Asian food market that closed last year, leaving a portion of the Flushing community without a local supermarket.
“It’s great to have the H-Mart here serving the community, occupying space in a vacant building that was quickly becoming a neighborhood eyesore,” City Councilwoman Sandra Ung said in her weekly newsletter. “Judging from the line of shoppers eager to get in at 10 a.m. and the long line still waiting to get in at 6 p.m., people are excited.”
Short for the phrase “Han Ah Reum,” which loosely translates to “an arm full of groceries,” H-Mart opened its first location in the nearby Woodside community back in 1982. Since then, what began as a small corner grocery store has grown to include more than 97 locations nationwide.
“Our new home is an extension of our Flushing stores, located on Roosevelt Avenue where loyal shoppers can enjoy Asian food, culture, drinks as well as the freshest produce, meat, seafood, and a variety of other Asian groceries at your one-stop-shop for everything Asian and more,” the company states on its Instagram page. “We would like to thank NY residents for all your love and support in making this happen.”
