Asian supermarket H Mart coming to downtown Urbana

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - Asian supermarket H Mart will open in downtown Urbana sometime between this year and next.

Between 2024 and 2025 H Mart plans to open in downtown Urbana at 220 N. Broadway.

An “H Mart Coming Soon” banner was put at the former 35,000 square feet Save-A-Lot building last summer.

This will be the New Jersey-based H Mart’s first store in downstate Illinois and will feature a large selection of multi-cultural grocery products, a sit-down food court, beer and wine, home goods, and many other items.

According to Andrea Ruedi, Senior Advisor for Integrated Strategy Development at the City of Urbana, the H Mart project team has submitted their building permit documents to the City of Urbana.

H Mart is actively accelerating the general contractor bidding process.

Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin said, “We’re delighted that plans are progressing for H Mart in downtown Urbana. Residents will be able to shop for a wide variety of Asian and Western groceries and other essential items and enjoy the innovative food hall. H Mart is known for giving back to local communities and supporting non-profit organizations and youth programs. And the fact that the company is renovating a former supermarket in the heart of our downtown will help revitalize our community.”

Brian Kwon, President of H Mart added, “We enrich lives with our Asian heritage, food and culture. Carrying over from H Mart’s previous successes in East Coast area, H Mart Urbana will be newest food lover destination. H Mart will become a place to experience the best of what communities have to offer, providing a convenient ‘One-Stop Shopping’ place for diverse cultures and to the neighborhood, where different ethnicities of friends and neighbors can come, gather and enjoy. Our main priority is always to serve and satisfy the needs of the surrounding communities.”

In addition to grocery items, the store will include a mega food court called “Market Eatery”. The store’s food court will feature authentic and fusion Asian cuisines, bringing a new dimension to the one-stop shopping experience.