H Mart leases anchor store in Dublin shopping center

H Mart, a Korean-American grocer favored by foodies in San Jose and San Francisco, is expanding into the East Bay.

The New Jersey-based market has signed a lease for 37,180 square feet at the Dublin Retail Center at 7884 Dublin Boulevard in Dublin, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The market and food court will anchor a shopping center that includes Ross Dress for Less, Marshalls, Michaels and DSW, according to Kimco Realty. A Dublin Plaza center across the street includes a 99 Ranch Market and a Daiso store, next to the Dublin Place shopping center.

The new H Mart marks a fourth Bay Area location for the chain behind two stores that opened in San Jose in 2017 and a San Francisco store that opened last year.

The San Francisco outlet proved so popular it’s expanding its footprint at the Oceanview Village Shopping Center in Ingleside Heights by 27,000 square feet.

The Dublin Retail Center lease, though not previously reported, has been in place since last year, according to the local chamber of commerce. An LLC affiliate for H Mart’s upcoming location was created in April 2021.

It’s not clear when the market will open its doors.

H Mart, with its destination food court and abundant grocery goods, has become a cult favorite among Asian-Americans.

Critics have called it a “full on snack attack,” with an “aisle of noodle insanity.”

H Mart, founded in 1982 in Queens, New York, has nearly 100 stores across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., according to its website. It reached the mainstream with a memoir by Japanese Breakfast musician Michelle Zauner, entitled “Crying in H Mart.”

Other specialty Asian retailers such as Japanese dollar-store Daiso have expanded across the Bay Area, benefitting from consumers’ quest for bargains, authentic ingredients and Asian cosmetics.

Last month, Daiso leased a 5,250-square-foot store at Stonestown Galleria in San Francisco’s Parkside Merced. It has more than a dozen stores across Japantown, East Bay, the Peninsula and San Jose.

This month, Seoul-based grocer Mega Mart plans to open its third U.S. store — and second in the Bay Area — at 3900 Mowry Avenue in Fremont’s Mowry Plaza.

— Dana Bartholomew