Greenville is about to get its first taste of Super G Mart, a North Carolina-based international grocery chain that is moving into the former Gabe's space at 555 Haywood Road. The store will mark the company's first location outside North Carolina, bringing aisles stocked with spices, fresh produce, and specialty groceries from Asian, Latin, Indian, European, and Jamaican cultures to the Upstate.
The Greenville store is expected to span 51,653 square feet, according to the Post and Courier, which reports the shop will operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, with shortened hours on holidays. The outlet notes that interior work is already underway after crews finished repainting the parking lot and updating the landscaping outside. On its own website, Super G Mart lists the Haywood Road address simply as “coming soon.”
Shoppers can expect more than just grocery aisles once the doors open. The same Post and Courier report describes an interior food court with three stalls, plus a bakery brought in from Atlanta, giving the store a dining component alongside its retail offerings. The chain describes itself as the largest international supermarket in North Carolina, selling spices, produce, grocery items, and household goods from around the world.
Jobs and a Former Gabe's Footprint
Super G Mart plans to hire between 65 and 75 employees for the Greenville location, per the Post and Courier's reporting. Job seekers interested in the new store can apply through the company, which advertises open positions on its website. The Haywood Road building previously housed a Gabe's store before Super G Mart selected the site for its Upstate debut.
Company representatives told the Post and Courier that Greenville's growth and its international communities factored into the decision to expand there, describing the city as strategically positioned for growth. FOX Carolina reports it has reached out to Super G Mart to confirm an exact opening date, though the company has not provided one publicly.
No Firm Opening Date Yet
While Super G Mart's own site still labels the location as “coming soon,” the Post and Courier's report indicates the store is expected to open around Thanksgiving. Neither source has pinned down a specific calendar date, so Upstate shoppers eager to browse the new aisles will need to keep watching for an official announcement.
A Family Business With Carolina Roots
Super G Mart is a family-owned company founded in 2008, according to the Post and Courier's account, and it currently operates three locations in the Carolinas. The chain traces back to Stephen Kim, who opened its first store in Greensboro on June 26, 2008, according to the Museum of the New South. Kim later expanded to Charlotte, opening a 72,000-square-foot store in a former Bi-Lo building on June 21, 2010, and the company added a Pineville, North Carolina location in 2022, per the museum's account.
The chain's growth has coincided with shifting shopping habits. The Museum of the New South notes that Super G Mart saw a 30% jump in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic as restaurants closed and more households turned to home cooking. Each of its existing stores employs between 80 and 90 people, according to the museum, a figure somewhat higher than the 65 to 75 positions planned for the new Greenville site. With the Haywood Road build-out already underway, Greenville residents may not have to wait too much longer to find out exactly when they can start shopping the shelves for themselves.
