A crowd of more than 200 lined up on April 23 for the reopening of Cherry Hill’s H Mart, the Korean grocery store on Route 70 that underwent renovations beginning in July.
The H Mart opened in 2001 and is the first across the country that has been fully renovated, with 39,000 square feet on two floors and a food court. Brian Kwon, H Mart president, thanked the county for the revamped store.
“One of the things that is always a little unfortunate for me personally, is that we’ve grown so much as a company, but the people that have been with us the longest, sometimes they don’t get to see the market that we’ve become with each new location,” he explained.
“So I think this reopening is a real treat … where we get to show the people who’ve been with us the longest what we look like now.”
Mayor David Fleisher posted a video of himself touring the store the night before reopening. Councilwoman Jill Hulnick predicted H Mart will bring other business to the county and township.
“This expansion offers experiences that extend well beyond grocery shopping,” she observed. “It will attract visitors from outside of Cherry Hill supporting our local economy and other businesses in town. … H Mart could have invested anywhere, but they made the choice to expand in our town and further build upon Cherry Hill’s growing reputation as a premier destination for businesses.”
The store isn’t the only marketplace of its kind in the township, which has an Asian population of 13%. Hung Vuong, Subzi Mandi and Sun Seng Supermarket all cater to that population. H Mart is also a member of the Camden County Chamber of Commerce.
Assemblywoman Melinda Kane, whose district includes Cherry Hill, presented Kwon with a proclamation from state legislators and expressed her appreciation for H Mart’s investment in the community.
“I thank everyone for the reinvestment in Cherry Hill, in Camden County, in the state of New Jersey,” she noted. “And I, like many other locals, can’t wait to start shopping. So congratulations on this momentous occasion and thank you for all you have done.”
While the cost of the renovation is not clear, when H Mart went before the township planning board to get approval for the project last year, the attorney representing the grocery said it was investing a “significant amount of money.” The company also expected to increase its employees from 40 to 70.
At that planning board meeting, concerns were raised about trash and carts strewn around behind the grocery. H Mart apologized for that and fulfilled its promise of more regular cleanings and a cart corral at now in place.
Shoppers look over products in the renovated H Mart on Route 70.
Resident Deanna Gray – who was first in line at the store’s 9 a.m. reopening – has been a regular for about 10 years.
“I’m here because I’ve been shopping at H Mart for a very long time,” she said. “And when they shut down … to do the renovations, oh God, I was so excited.”
Another regular customer is Kurt Cheng.
“I live 15 minutes away and H Mart gives a good variety of food that some of the other Asian grocery stores don’t have,” he said. “Kind of fills in some puzzle pieces.”
H Mart president Brian Kwon cuts the ribbon at the April 23 reopening of the store, which has 39,000 square feet on two floors and a food court
