Documents obtained by The Republic suggest that H-Mart, a New Jersey-based Korean supermarket chain with more than 50 locations in 11 states and Canada, may be coming to the East Valley.
If so, it would drop another massive Asian-focused market into the heart of a competitive neighborhood, directly across the street from Mekong Plaza, half a mile up the road from the brand-new AZ International Marketplace and 5 miles from Lee Lee International Supermarket.
H-Mart representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
[Blogger's Note: the following information is something that's all too frequently left out of "news" about real estate] Public records indicate that H-Mart founder and CEO Il Yeon Kwon formed an Arizona corporation, BK Arizona LLC, in March. BK Arizona LLC purchased the lot at 1919 W. Main St., Mesa, for $3 million in May. The property includes a nearly 63,000-square-foot retail space that formerly housed Ultimate Consignment and an Albertson’s grocery store.
H-Mart, short for “Han Ah Reum” (meaning “one arm full” in Korean), opened in 1982 as a corner market in Woodside, New York [Blogger's Note: that's part of Queens, a Borough of New York with immigrant family business start-UPS from all over the world for the local diverse economy] and has grown into a chain of superstores that combine groceries, restaurants and small shops under one roof. The company’s expansion, which started on the East Coast, has accelerated since 2000, adding 36 locations across the United States in the last decade.
[Blogger's Note: Important demographic detail about West Mesa > Did You Know?]
An H-Mart in this location, surrounded by other international supermarkets and a large number of Asian restaurants and businesses, would also further cement West Mesa’s standing as the hub of the Valley’s increasingly deep and diverse Asian community."

Reach Armato at dominic.armato@arizonarepublic.com; call at 602-444-8533 or interact with him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.