A sprawling new grocery store has taken root in the Northland, stocked with Thai mackerel, fresh taro and 50-pound bags of rice. Zoland Asian Market has opened its second location at 7613 NW Prairie View Road, giving Northland shoppers an Asian grocery store many had been asking for by name.
The new store spans 21,000 square feet, dwarfing owner Thang Piang's original Zoland Asian Market at 7925 State Ave. in Kansas City, Kansas, which measures around 3,200 square feet, according to the Kansas City Star. Piang has run that first store for six years, and the paper reports he spent two years searching for the right spot before landing in the Northland.
Piang told the Star that customers kept pushing him to expand there because the area lacked its own Asian grocery store. “People drive all the way (there) from Kansas City every single day,” he said, describing shoppers who were already making the trek to his original location before the new store existed.
A Historic Building With a Long Grocery Pedigree
The new Zoland store occupies a building with deep roots in Northland grocery history. United Super operated there for decades starting at least in the late 1950s before the space became Piggly Wiggly, then Bresette's IGA, then Calia's SunFresh Marketplace, the Star's reporting shows. In between grocery eras, the site also housed Community America Credit Union and design company Global Stone, according to the same account.
Inside, the shelves and coolers are filled with products the Star describes as serving customers seeking groceries from Thailand, China, Japan and beyond. Shoppers can find fresh nam hom coconuts and Ramune sodas to sip in-store, plus ready-to-sip boba cups and boba kits. The store also carries fresh taro, breadfruit, fruit-shaped ice cream and dried jujube, per the same report.
Fresh Meat, Seafood and Pantry Staples
The meat and seafood cases reflect requests Piang said customers had been making for years, including Thai mackerel, whole duck and silkie chickens. Fifty-pound bags of rice from several brands, including Three Ladies, line the dry goods section, the Star notes. Piang reported the store was busy during its first few days of business.
Piang emigrated from Myanmar to Kansas City in 2010 and worked as a sushi chef during his early years in the United States before opening his first Zoland store. “Every country has its own food and flavor,” he said, describing the philosophy behind stocking goods from across Asia rather than focusing on a single cuisine.
Part of a Broader Northland Shift
Zoland is not the only international grocer betting on the Northland's underserved shoppers. New World Fresh Market recently opened its second location in the area, taking over a former Sun Fresh building near Interstate 35 and Chouteau Trafficway, according to KSHB. That store stocks produce sourced from South America, Central America, Asia and the Mediterranean.
New World Fresh Market leaders cited demographic research showing the area's diverse residents were struggling to find groceries and ingredients tied to their own cultures, with one leader saying “this diverse community is extremely underserved,” per KSHB's reporting. That expansion also won approval for a 1% Community Improvement District sales tax to help fund shopping-center upgrades, and the company hired more than 100 employees from the surrounding community through open interviews, the station reported.
Hours for the new Zoland location are listed by the Star as 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays, though a separate online business listing cites different weekday opening times. Shoppers planning a trip may want to confirm hours directly with the store before heading out.
