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>From the beginning, it was important to her that the stores were clean, modern and easy to navigate, to defy the stereotype of Asian groceries as grimy and run
by creaghpatr 5y ago
>From the beginning, it was important to her that the stores were clean, modern and easy to navigate, to defy the stereotype of Asian groceries as grimy and run-down.
>To be welcoming to non-Koreans, H Mart puts up signs in English. At the same time, the younger Mr. Kwon said, “We don’t want to be the gentrified store.” So while some non-Asians recoil from the tanks of lobsters, the Kwons are committed to offering live seafood.
I grew up in Georgia and H Mart definitely changed the game with this strategy. They make it very accessible for someone who is unfamiliar with international grocery stores to come in and explore without feeling culturally intrusive. I speculate that H Mart and their food courts were the gateway drug to Korean food becoming a huge cuisine in Metro Atlanta as they were the first big brand in the game that I became aware of.
Edit: Also shout-out to Chai Pani, definitely hit that place up if you are ever in Decatur.
- athenot 5y agoAnd also the Buford Hwy Farmers market which still manages to have an impressive array of Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Caribbean, Mexican, Eastern European and even some Western European goods.
- blamazon 5y agoYou can buy an entire goat at the Buford Highway farmers market. The scale of that place has to be seen to be believed.
- ak217 5y agoYour Dekalb Farmers Market is still the best :)
- drail99 5y agoMeh, YDFM is a little bit more of a farmers market, but neither it nor BuHiFM are farmers markets they're both grocery stores and YDFM doesn't have anywhere near the international selections. The real, actual farmers market is the Atlanta State Farmers market in Forest Park and it's one of the largest and most active in the US.
- creaghpatr 5y agoMy guess is the 'Farmers Market' in the names is just marketing/branding to get shoppers to associate it with fresh produce, like Harry's Farmers Market before they turned into Whole Foods.
- yawnxyz 5y agoIs there anything like BuHi Farmers Market anywhere else in the US? I've been to LA, NY, Boston, SF and haven't seen anything closely like it. H Mart's probably the closest thing and it doesn't compare in any way
- Mountain_Skies 5y agoSome people brag about knowing which bodega to go to buy Mexican Coca-Cola but people who shop at BHFM know they can easily get Nigerian Coca-Cola and half a dozen other country's local variant. One of these days I'm going to take my friend's daughter who loves noodle bowls down there just to blow her mind on the aisle of noodle bowls.
- drail99 5y agoWas H-mart around before the Buford Highway Farmers market? I went there for years before I ever saw an H-Mart and it was very inviting, but maybe H-mart was around and I just didn't know it. Also to add, growing up in Georgia I feel like every grocery store I went in had a tank of live lobsters. Even Red lobster had that, so I don't see why they think non-asian's would recoil from that.
- creaghpatr 5y agoYeah I didn't understand that part, specifically with lobsters because every grocery store has lobsters in my experience. I think Buford has been around longer but H Mart made it into the suburbs/ OTP area.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mc32 5y ago>"without feeling culturally intrusive"? What does that mean? When I'm overseas and I go to a "Western" supermarket that has western goods/brands that are very atypical to that in local supermarkets, the locals that shop there I am absolutely sure, don't feel they are being "culturally intrusive". The supermarket is there to SELL... They don't give a rats ass who comes in to make a purchase and I, as a western visitor, also did not see it as "cultural intrusion" when locals shop in these western supermarkets. The idea never entered my mind. I like H Mart, by the way and I like the Japanese supers too.
- fidesomnes 5y agoIt's sjw code for not being happy with who he or she was born as.
- Clewza313 5y agoIf you go to an "old-school" Asian grocer, the shelves are packed to the rafters, there's essentially no signage in English, and you can't help but feel like you're getting in the way of the regulars. This feels much less welcoming, while an H Mart style place that's laid out and brightly lit like a "regular" supermarket is much more conducive to exploration.
- mc32 5y agoI don't know. You're just another shopper to them. The shopkeeper wants turnover, no matter who you are. Sure, they will look out for shoplifters more than regular supermarkets because their margins are even thinner, but if you become recognizable (patronizing semi regularly) no one will care. They may at first have some slight trepidation about returns (you buying something not knowing what it is), but if you become even semi regular, you're just another shopper. I fee like this is a bit of weird "Othering" but dressed up in some weird sense of correctness.
- Clewza313 5y agoI'm not saying the grocer doesn't want you there -- I'm saying you feel like you're literally in the way (as in, physically blocking the aisle) if you stand around the snack aisle scratching your head, while the regulars are making a beeline for the fish sauce and packs of mala tofu skin.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- asiachick 5y agoHow does H-Mart compare to Ranch 99? I've never thought of Ranch 99 as a "grimy and run-down". They're huge and clean and brightly lit.
- giaour 5y agoH-Mart is a bit upmarket from Ranch 99, but I think they both have similar welcoming-to-everyone vibes.
- coupdejarnac 5y agoH-Mart is more Korean focused, whereas Ranch 99 is more Chinese.
- jimmaswell 5y agoThe part about live seafood is strange. Major grocery stores have live lobsters all the time.
- ska 5y agoLive fish tanks, less so.
- dpeck 5y agoThumbs up for Chai Pani, I was really sad when they discontinued their packaged/frozen food for home a few months ago, was great to have their curries in the freezer and ready to go in the same amount of time it took to cook some rice.