MontroseNeighborhood
Mar 24, 2008, 1:44 PM
March 15, 2008, 12:10AM
Real estate
Korean supermarket in works
Store with 53,000 square feet set to open in April in Spring Branch
By NANCY SARNOFF
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
A South Korean-owned supermarket chain called H Mart is building out its first Houston store near the corner of Blalock and Westview, joining area bookstores, bakeries and restaurants that are all operated by Koreans.
The New Jersey-based retail operator will open the store in a 53,000-square-foot former Randalls.
H Mart officials were not available to comment, but the real estate broker who represented the South Korean company in its lease said the supermarket will carry a large selection of exotic produce and live fish.
New items
"It's going to have more items a lot of Americans are not quite familiar with," said Okie Beck of Realty Associates.
The new store is scheduled to open in April in this area north of Interstate 10 that's increasingly being referred to as Koreatown.
Houston's Korean population is far lower than the city's Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian contingent, but the ethnic group still dominates a sizable area, which lies next to a heavily Hispanic neighborhood.
Long Point area
Although this area, which includes a stretch of Long Point, is known for its cluster of Korean businesses, most of their owners don't live there.
Beck said Koreans and other Asians tend to live in the southwest part of Houston, Katy or the Memorial area.
Houston's ever-growing Chinatown is near the West Belt and Bellaire.
Beck said H Mart is considering a location in Sugar Land, but a confidentiality agreement prevented her from disclosing the location.
Real estate
Korean supermarket in works
Store with 53,000 square feet set to open in April in Spring Branch
By NANCY SARNOFF
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
A South Korean-owned supermarket chain called H Mart is building out its first Houston store near the corner of Blalock and Westview, joining area bookstores, bakeries and restaurants that are all operated by Koreans.
The New Jersey-based retail operator will open the store in a 53,000-square-foot former Randalls.
H Mart officials were not available to comment, but the real estate broker who represented the South Korean company in its lease said the supermarket will carry a large selection of exotic produce and live fish.
New items
"It's going to have more items a lot of Americans are not quite familiar with," said Okie Beck of Realty Associates.
The new store is scheduled to open in April in this area north of Interstate 10 that's increasingly being referred to as Koreatown.
Houston's Korean population is far lower than the city's Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian contingent, but the ethnic group still dominates a sizable area, which lies next to a heavily Hispanic neighborhood.
Long Point area
Although this area, which includes a stretch of Long Point, is known for its cluster of Korean businesses, most of their owners don't live there.
Beck said Koreans and other Asians tend to live in the southwest part of Houston, Katy or the Memorial area.
Houston's ever-growing Chinatown is near the West Belt and Bellaire.
Beck said H Mart is considering a location in Sugar Land, but a confidentiality agreement prevented her from disclosing the location.