San Francisco city officials attend H Mart grand opening

(Saman Tsang/Unsplash)

By Sri Ravipati

(SAN FRANCISCO) After years of delay, the Korean grocer H Mart opened its first San Francisco storefront on Wednesday and was welcomed by city officials.

San Francisco officials including Mayor London Breed gathered at 3995 Alemany Blvd. for the grand opening and ribbon-cutting.

According to a post on Reddit, the line to enter the store "wrapped into the residential complex behind the story," one user wrote.

The store has been in development since 2018. The previous tenant closed in 2013, leaving the 42,000-square-foot space empty. The mayor and the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development said the store was a win for more than 20,000 residents in the area, News Break reported.

"This has been a long time coming," the OEWD tweeted. "When this site went vacant, we went to work with the community to attract a grocery store to this location and ensure that jobs went to local residents."

The location hired 91 positions, the OEWD said.

H Mart is known for its variety of Asian food staples, as well as ready-to-cook and prepared foods that lean Korean. The New Jersey-based company has over 70 store locations nationwide, including two in San Jose.

The first location of H Mart opened in New York City in 1982, in the Queens neighborhood of Woodside.

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