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.
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.
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