Asian grocery markets are thriving in the Bay area, at a time when some Western store chains have been declining. 

What was once a 75,000-square-foot facility that housed JC Penney a few years ago is now an Asian grand supermarket featuring a restaurant, grocery store, and more.

David Taxin, a real estate agent worked on the deal for Hashi Market—a new Japanese grocery store set to open in Silicon Valley.

He told the San Francisco Chronicle over email that lower retain rents are “giving these smaller Asian grocery store companies an opportunity to come into a market where it’s been hard to break into in the past.”

Just this year, seven grocery chains from Asia are expected to open this year. This includes the opening of an H Mart in East Bay, a Mega Mart in the South and East Bay and Tokyo Central in Emeryville.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and reporting from the Bay Area News Group, the Asian population has surged from 25.5% in 2010 to 33.1% in 2020, becoming the largest Bay area racial group.  

In an interview with CBS News, Professor Russell Jeung from the San Francisco State Asian American Studies department explained how immigration has shaped the area’s population.

“The increase in immigration from China and especially India and those coming especially for the high-tech industry, makes up a large segment of that population growth,” he said.  

Jeung discussed how the growing number of jobs in the technology sector has led consumers to prefer larger, well-known Asian grocery markets over local Asian businesses. 

“That Asian American community has high enough incomes where they want more high-end Asian groceries. So they’re not mom and pop grocery stores coming in, but they’re actually corporate,” he said.  

Camilla Rahman, a resident of the Bay area, expressed her thoughts on the expansion. 

“This is just a really nice use of this space. I think that as retail has changed and the Bay Area’s population has changed as well, this is a good use,” she said.

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