H Mart is going big, big, big, opening a 70,000-square-foot supermarket and food hall Thursday, Aug. 7 in Westminster.
The Korean grocery store is taking the place of a shuttered Vons Pavilion at the Pavilions Place shopping center on Beach Boulevard. (Local residents will point out that this section of south Westminster is surrounded by Huntington Beach on three sides.)
The sprawling H Mart will feature 11 restaurants in a food hall, similar in size and concept to Mercado González in Costa Mesa. The food hall-grocery store combo has gained traction in Southern California as specialty grocers look to capitalize on experiential shopping, particularly among younger customers and the Hispanic and Asian communities.
Bigger, bolder brick and mortar stores are seeing a revival, says retail analyst Craig Rosenblum. “What’s old is new again. Retailers today have to differentiate their offerings in order to remain competitive with the rise of e-commerce.
“(They) have to focus on the one or two things that can be unique, and value/price is a tough place to play, so many have to opt for experience,” he said. “On average, today’s shopper are going to six to seven different stores to satisfy their needs.”
Rosenblum said that, considering the success Hispanic grocers like Northgate Market have achieved in Costa Mesa and Southern California’s diverse demographics, retailers are now expanding to meet the rising demand among Asian consumers.
Westminster, which shares a part of Little Saigon with Garden Grove, was also home to the first 99 Ranch Market, which opened in 1984. The Buena Park-based chain — which is considered the largest Asian supermarket chain in the nation with 54 stores in 10 states — also has a food hall and store in Eastvale in Riverside County.
To offer some scale on the Westminster H Mart, most grocery stores average around 40,000 square feet. The newest Tokyo Central supermarket, which opened July 26, is 17,000 square feet. For even bigger scale, a Costco or Walmart Supercenter are around 145,000-160,000 square feet.
Shoppers can expect to find an H Mart stocked with produce, meat, fish, pantry goods and a wide variety of Korean favorites like kimchi, ramen and goraebab (crispy seasoned snacks).
Here’s a look at the H Mart restaurants at its Westminster food hall:
—Goobne: Korean Oven Roasted Chicken
—Myungrang: Korean Corn Dogs
—Yoo’s Place: Korean cuisine
—Moobongri: Soondae Express
—KZ Mori: Japanese katsu
—Eggcellent: Specialty egg toast
—JAWS Topokki: Korean street food
—Gong Cha: Bubble tea
—Chang Hwa Dang: Korean dumplings
—Tous Les Jours: French-Asian bakery
—Paik’s Noodles: Korean/Chinese cuisineThe grand opening festivities start at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Address: 16450 Beach Blvd., Westminster, CA 92683
MoonGoat opens 5th location in Costa Mesa
MoonGoat Coffee Roasters is opening its fifth and largest location Aug. 6 at Irvine Company’s Pacific Arts Plaza in Costa Mesa’s arts district.
The cafe will have a grand opening with Mayor John Stephens at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. Guests are welcome and can sample MoonGoat’s coffee.
Dubbed MoonGoat Greenhouse, the storefront has a counter for service and seating, plus a patio that opens to the Noguchi Gardens at Pacific Arts Plaza.
On the menu: coffee and matcha drinks, plus a breakfast and lunch menu.
Hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, including weekends.
Moongoat’s roastery is in Santa Ana, with other store locations in Garden Grove, Laguna Beach and Irvine.
Address: 3210 Park Center Drive
OCC launches arts scholarships
A new program at Orange Coast College will provide $1,000 scholarships to 200 prospective students entering the school’s Visual and Performing Arts programs.
This OCC Artist Promise is part of the OCC Endowment for the Arts, established with a $9.44 million gift from an anonymous alumni donor in 2024.
The $1,000 scholarships are available to eligible students enrolling in VPA-related programs starting this fall.
Those VPA programs include art, dance, music, digital media art and design, photography, theater arts, film and television and immersive media.
In order to qualify, recipients must meet with a counselor and declare their major in one of the VPA programs, plus complete at least one class in their major during their first semester.
Applications are available at orangecoastcollege.edu/academics/vpa/index.html.
Anaheim celebrating new housing this week
National CORE and Anaheim city officials will celebrate the grand opening Tuesday, Aug. 5 of Miraflores Apartments, an 86-unit apartment complex created for working families.
The community features 29 one-bedroom apartments, 35 two-bedroom apartments and 22 three-bedroom apartments for individuals and families earning below 60% of the area median income.
Eight one-bedroom apartments also are reserved as permanent supportive housing for people or families who were homeless or were at risk of becoming homeless.
Hope through Housing Foundation and Orange County Health Care Agency are providing services for physical and behavioral health, employment development and social connectedness.
The interest list for apartments can be found at housingportal.anaheim.net/AHEnrollment or call 714-765-4300, ext. 4810.
Address: 1445 S. Anaheim Blvd.
(Photo courtesy of Hewlett Packard and Terry Halsey)
On board
Elana Tyrangiel, chief ethics and compliance officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, recently was appointed to the board of directors at Orange-based EverFree, a human rights organization. Tyrangiel leads HPE’s global ethics and compliance program.
Status Update is compiled and written by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos to sgowen@scng.com. Allow at least one week for publication. Items are edited for length and clarity.