Asian Invasion: Supermarkets
Read more Asian Invasion.
H Mart
According to the Jacksonville Chamber, H Mart is coming to Jacksonville. It’s odd, but the address that they listed on the website is a small restaurant and not suitable for a store that needs to be much larger. I scouted the area using Google Maps and thought perhaps H Mart would take over the Burlington location. Others online suggested it might take over a large portion of the Regency mall.
Where ever the final location will be, I’m definitely interested in checking it out. According to their profile, H Mart is the largest international supermarket chain in America, with about 100 locations across 18 different states. One of their most recent locations is in Orlando, Florida, where they regularly enjoy heavy foot traffic.
The “H” in the name stands for “Han Ah Reum”, meaning “armful” in Korean. However, some locations in the USA are known as G Mart, which according to online stands for “global”.
It’s also worth noting that it may actually take them years and years to actually open. The Orlando location was announced in 2022, but they didn’t have their grand opening until September 25, 2025. If that is any indication, then Jacksonville may not see H Mart until 2028. I’ll keep an eye out and will let you know.
Lotte Plaza
Lotte Plaza is Korean Supermarket chain that has about 15 stores in the USA. They have a large footprint in Asia and South Korea, and they recently opened a Jacksonville, Florida, location on September 12, 2025. Maybe it’s still new, but foot traffic was incredible the two times I’ve been to the Jax location.
What I love about Lotte is the toys and goods (non-food) area, where you can buy a Spider-Man figure or Hello Kitty/Sanrio stuff. I bought a lucky cat solar power headbopper, which I’ve not seen anywhere. The toys seem unique to Lotte – and that might be because they struck a deal with Toys R Us for the Asian market.
There is food court inside the store, mostly with Korean food. We ordered a Korean BBQ fried chicken and that took about 30 minutes… so make sure you take your time shopping for groceries. The food was worth it, but I’m not sure if I want to wait that long for food next time (especially if I’m hungry). There is a Chipotle nearby, if I need fast food.
Some things are reasonably priced, while those special edition Street Fighter drinks or Asian-branded stuff are really expensive. I am assuming it is because of the limited stock and they had to import it from Korea, and that’s why it’s so pricey. Seafood and Asian fruits (Durians) are cheap.
RD International Market
Asian supermarket RD International Market had a soft opening in February 2024, and an official grand opening a month after. I think RD International Market only exists in Jacksonville, but it seems clear to me that they modeled their store after Lotte – even including a food court inside the store.
I think the prices and selections are excellent… but every time I am there, there’s not a lot of people. I suspect it’s the location. You see it’s right off a major freeway. As soon as you exit the freeway, you have to quickly change lanes two times with fast and heavy traffic (the freeway merges with another major street). For safety purposes, I need to make a left turn, and then a u-turn to point you back to the RD store. It’s a major hassle for me, and this is why I don’t like driving there from my location.
They also host the Night Market at the end of the month, tag-teaming with another smaller Asian Square Supermarket location. I did check out the Night Market in May and was disappointed due to no live music (which they advertised but did not deliver).
Daiso
When I was briefly back in Minneapolis earlier this July 2025, my siblings and I went to the Daiso store in Crystal, Minnesota. The Japanese household goods store opened in April 12, 2025, and it looks like a hit with the locals.
My brother described the shop as “a Japanese dollar store”. He may be right, I didn’t really spot anything over $10, and had anything you might need. There were also very strange products that probably can only exists in Asian countries… like Sushi rollers and Japanese snacks.
My favorite were the Disney/Daiso co-branded items. I don’t know what the connection is, but the two companies must have a deal to produce Disney goods. You can get Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck on any product, from car window shields to utensils. I personally bought a tiny Mickey sugar spoon, as a memento from my trip to Daiso.
Right now, there are no plans for a Jacksonville Daiso location, but Miami Gardens (Florida) and Clearwater (Florida) are getting stores. Florida’s first Daiso store opened in Tampa, on February 1, 2025… so it just makes sense that they’ll open a store in Jacksonville any day now!
vu ♥ wheartm.com ♥ www.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ instagram.com/weheartmusicgroup
2 thoughts on “Asian Invasion: Supermarkets”