DUBLIN, CALIFORNIA — One of the most eagerly awaited grocery openings in the East Bay has finally happened, and the City of Dublin says it was a smashing success.
This was not a quiet debut. Multiple reports described huge lines forming before sunrise, and SFGate reported that roughly 10,000 people visited over the course of opening day for this new spot. Some shoppers reportedly waited up to an hour just to get inside.
“Before the doors opened, the line stretched around Half Price Books on the far west side of the Dublin Retail Center,” the City of Dublin said in a statement.
The new spot is H Mart, a Korean supermarket. It had its grand opening at 7884 Dublin Blvd, Dublin, CA 94568
The new Dublin location is a big one. Reporting from the opening describes it as nearly 39,000 square feet, with a large grocery floor packed with produce, meat, seafood, snacks, beauty items, and specialty Asian ingredients. The store also includes a sizable food hall.
That food hall appears to be a major part of the draw. Coverage ahead of and during the opening described a lineup of vendors serving Korean and Asian dishes, including soft tofu, Korean-style hot dogs, fried chicken, Chinese-Korean food, and pastries. H Mart’s own opening promotion also advertised several eateries inside the space.
The store has been a long time coming. Local coverage says the Dublin project had been in the works for more than four years, with city officials first receiving plans in 2022. That helps explain why the opening had such a built-in audience — plenty of East Bay shoppers had been tracking this one for a while.
It comes among a wave of similar Asian grocery stores and food halls opening around the East Bay.
Tokyo Central recently opened in Emeryville. And Pleasant Hill is also getting a Japanese supermarket and food hall shortly.
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