URBANA TO WELCOME H MART TO DOWNTOWN IN 2023
The City of Urbana announced today that Korean grocery store chain H Mart has a targeted opening set for the end of 2023 at the Urbana’s former Save A Lot location at 220 N. Broadway Avenue.
“H Mart, which is currently running five stores including one warehouse in Illinois, has completed its closing process of a building of about 35,000 square feet at 220 N. Broadway Avenue in Urbana,” H Mart’s Yeong Lee, Midwest Facility Manager for H Mart, said in a statement sent to Urbana officials.
In the Urbana location, H Mart also will offer a food hall which includes a bakery and 3-4 restaurants, and targets to open the store by the end of 2023, the statement said.
Urbana Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin said that the City welcomes the Asian food grocery to the area.
“As the first Illinois location outside the Chicago area, we look forward to enjoying the wide array of Asian and Western groceries as well as the innovative services offered by H Mart,” Marlin said, noting the significance of the downstate location.
Urbana officials said they welcome the opportunity that H Mart presents for Urbana, as it will be “a destination for not only residents, but visitors, and will also entice newcomers to the Downtown area.”
“I think it’s a huge win,” said Andrea Ruedi, Senior Advisor for Integrated Strategy Development, who works in economic development for the city. “To think about what it’s going to bring to our downtown, it’s amazing. We want to see more businesses, more housing downtown. This will be a huge draw that will engage more growth.”
The large Asian student population at the University of Illinois and a good existing structure that fit H Mart’s design layout made downtown Urbana a good fit for the grocery chain, officials said.
H Mart has had the Champaign-Urbana market in its sights for years. It owns a piece of property on South Neil Street in Champaign, just south of Tepper Electric, not far from the Green Street intersection. But despite working with the city on permits for the location, ground was never broken at the Champaign site.
Fence permits have been issued by the City of Urbana to H Mart. There will be significant renovations to the building including replacing condensing units, Urbana officials said.
H Mart is the largest and fastest growing Asian grocery chain and is the pioneer of Asian food in America. Starting in 1982 in Woodside, Queens, NY, H Mart has grown to include more than 100 stores across in the United States. It offers a full line of Asian foods including Western groceries, meat, seafood, produce, housewares, and ready-to-cook items.
H Mart gained notoriety with a larger audience after the publication of the wildly popular, deeply intimate memoir “Crying in H Mart” by musician Michelle Zauner. The book details Zauner’s relationship with her mother after she dies from cancer, and how food played an important role in their connection.
For more information on H Mart, go to www.hmart.com/ourstory.