East Bay grocery runs are about to get a serious upgrade. H Mart is planning its biggest U.S. store yet in the Bay Area: a 100,000-square-foot, two-story location at Pacific Commons in Fremont that will combine a full grocery with a multi-vendor food hall, restaurants, and a bar. The company describes the design as its first “multi-level prototype” and says it represents its largest investment to date. Construction is expected to begin later this year, although the grocer has not provided an opening date. The scale of the plan signals a major new commitment to the East Bay retail landscape.
What H Mart Is Planning
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the flagship will sit on the west side of the Pacific Commons Shopping Center near Bunche Drive and Interstate 880 and will cover roughly 100,000 square feet across two floors. In a press release quoted by the paper, the company called the project “the largest investment in the company's history.”
Property Moves Signal A Push Into Fremont
Documents show an entity tied to H Mart CEO Il Yeon Kwon bought the shuttered Kohl’s property at 43782 Christy Street in Fremont for about $18.3 million last December, a transaction reported by The Real Deal. County filing details and local records indicate the deal was made in cash and highlight growing real estate activity linked to the company in the city.
H Mart’s Bay Area Footprint
H Mart has been investing in the Bay Area for years, opening its San Francisco Oceanview location in 2021 and later purchasing the Oceanview Village shopping center in 2024, per SFGATE. That earlier expansion helped establish the chain as both a grocery draw and a food hall operator in the city.
Why This Matters For Shoppers
The Fremont announcement lands in the middle of a broader wave of Asian supermarket expansion across the region, from Osaka Marketplace to Jagalchi, T&T, and Mega Mart, a trend local reporters have been tracking. KRON4, via Yahoo, notes that many of these openings emphasize dining and prepared food, turning big grocers into destination spots as much as neighborhood markets.
What’s Next
H Mart says construction is slated to start later this year, but has not provided an opening timetable, and neighbors and retailers around Pacific Commons will likely be watching how the project reshapes traffic and dining options. As the company rolls out its multi-level prototype, the Fremont location could become its largest single-store draw in the U.S., according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
