What is H Mart? Here’s what to know about the Korean grocery store coming to Haltom City

H Mart is the largest U.S.-based supermarket chain specializing in Asian groceries and housewares, with more than 97 stores in 14 states including six in Texas, according to H Mart’s website.

It currently has local stores in Plano and Carrollton. Now, H Mart is opening a location in Haltom City, the city announced Wednesday.

“H Mart is America’s premier Asian food destination and provides groceries and everyday essential needs as well as upscale products,” H Mart’s about page says. “H Mart offers a full line of Asian foods as well as a broad range of Western groceries to complement its full scale offering to that of a traditional supermarket.”

What does the H stand for?

The “H” in H Mart stands for “han ah reum,” a Korean phrase that roughly translates to “one arm full of groceries.”

What is special about H Mart?

“H Mart is where parachute kids go to get the exact brand of instant noodles that reminds them of home. It’s where Korean families buy rice cakes to make tteokguk, a beef soup that brings in the new year,” Crying in H Mart author Michelle Zauner writes. “It’s the only place where you can find a giant vat of peeled garlic, because it’s the only place that truly understands how much garlic you’ll need for the kind of food your people eat. H Mart is freedom from the single-aisle ‘ethnic’ section in regular grocery stores.”

When did H Mart first open?

H Mart opened in 1982 with a store in Woodside, Queens. At the time, only about 1.5% of the American population was of Asian descent, according to the New York Times.

The founder, a farmer’s son named Il Yeon Kwon left South Korea in the late 1970s and moved to New York, and he remains CEO of the family business.

Who owns H Mart?

The chain of Asian supermarkets is operated by the Hanahreum Group, headquartered in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.