H Mart joins Utah's Asian food boom
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Shoppers crowd into the candy aisle at H Mart in West Jordan. Photo: Erin Alberty/Axios
Utah's Asian food boom got louder Friday with the arrival of the popular H Mart Korean-American grocery chain.
Why it matters: H Mart is hugely popular nationwide, particularly in Asian American communities — one of Utah's fastest-growing demographic groups.
- Salt Lake City's Asian population grew 135% from 2000 to 2022, according to an Axios analysis of census data.
Driving the news: The chain's first Utah location opened at 1442 W. 9000 South in West Jordan.
What's inside: The store is immense, with aisle after aisle of produce, sauces, frozen dinners, snacks, gifts, noodles, drink boxes and one of the biggest seafood departments in the Salt Lake Valley.
- The candy aisle draws particularly big crowds, with matcha-flavored KitKats and a rainbow of Pocky sticks.
The big picture: For most of Utah's history, Asian groceries were hard to come by.
- In most of the nation, families had to take long trips to major urban centers to pick up staples and cooking tools in small specialty shops.
- Major supermarkets like H Mart have been credited with "revolutionizing" Asian American shopping and cooking by giving customers the same robust selection offered in large Western grocery stores.
What they're saying: "You won't find these in a lot of Asian stores," said shopper Tyler Danh, examining the display of banchan — small, flavorful side dishes like pickled radish, seasoned burdock and marinated sesame leaves.
- Danh said his grandmother sent him to H Mart on a quest for a specific type of dried squid after she heard from friends that it was in stock there. But it sold out in the store's first three days.
The intrigue: The store still was not on the H Mart website as of Monday, even while a continuous stream of shoppers poured through its doors.
Zoom out: Some of Salt Lake's biggest food openings in recent years have been popular Asian chains, from Xing Fu Tang boba at 9th and 9th to 85°C Bakery Cafe in South Salt Lake's Chinatown.