Eat your heart out Whole Foods, there’s a fancy new grocer on the block.
South Korean supermarket brand PK Market will open its first U.S. grocery store at Atlas Capital Group’s 712 Olive Street in Downtown Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The three-story location will also serve as the company’s U.S. headquarters.
PK Retail Holding’s choice of location will compete with Whole Foods, which has a nearby market at the corner of 8th Street and South Grand Avenue.
PK Retail signed for 51,700 square feet in the six-story building.
The company is owned by South Korea’s largest retailer, Shinsegae, which reported $28 billion in revenue last year, according to the Times. PK Markets is a new venture for the company. It operates just two markets in South Korea, but has numerous E-Mart chain stores that are similar to Walmart Supercenters.
PK Market’s new home stateside is a 101-year-old building that Atlas Capital is renovating as a combined office and retail building. It was built in 1917 as the Ville de Paris department store.
Atlas Capital is having success with its Row DTLA creative office and retail complex near the Arts District. Last year, Adidas announced it was opening an office there. Boston-based boutique streetwear brand Bodega announced in April that it would open an 8,000-square-foot location there as well. [LAT] — Dennis Lynch