If students suddenly begin crowding outside Alumni Residence Hall in the future, it’s probably because an H Mart just opened. The Asian-American supermarket chain that has 61 stores nationally is planning to open another New York location in the vacant retail spot beside the dorm.
Although the opening day is yet to be announced, the H Mart logo on the glass windows of the retail space on Third Avenue is creating anticipation among NYU students and other residents of the East Village. One of the fans of this undertaking is LS sophomore Danton Liem who favors the convenience that this H Mart will bring for many.
“I think it’s great because around here there is only one other Asian market that’s open called Sunrise Mart,” Liem said. “Sunrise Mart is more of a Japanese market and H Mart is everything Asian so you can find anything you want. You don’t have to go all the way to Chinatown or go up to [Koreatown].”
With the closing of M2M on Waverly Place, there are limited options for the NYU community to get Asian groceries without making a long trek. This will be the third H Mart to open in Manhattan — the other two are located in Koreatown and the Upper West Side — so students seeking Asian ingredients will have greater accessibility and variety.
For Steinhardt sophomore Abbie Wang, H Mart will be the Asian market of choice because of the quality and larger selection of products that H Mart supplies to its customers. Wang mentioned that she loves H Mart because its imported products remind her of Taiwan.
“[H Mart] really helps when I feel homesick,” Wang said. “Food is just really important to me. It’s what I eat every day and I would love to have an H Mart near me so I can have Asian food.”
Gallatin sophomore Lea Veloso believes that building this H Mart will attract customers of all ethnicities, not just the Asian community.
“H Mart is popular because Asian markets are so convenient for everyone,” Veloso said. “It doesn’t just cater to the Asian community, but caters to all humans of all backgrounds because you can honestly shop there for anything.”
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Feb. 11, 2019, print edition. Email Taylor Jeffries at [email protected].