RD International Market ‘soft opens’ with live seafood, fresh produce, home decor and more

Owner Steven Yuan expects to fully operate the supermarket with a food court, hot offerings and stocked shelves within a month in the Hogan area of Jacksonville.


RD International Market is an Asian and international supermarket in the Beach Boulevard Shopping Center at 7534 Beach Blvd. The 52,600-square-foot store is in a former Winn-Dixie.
RD International Market is an Asian and international supermarket in the Beach Boulevard Shopping Center at 7534 Beach Blvd. The 52,600-square-foot store is in a former Winn-Dixie.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
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A soft opening Feb. 3 brought customers into the RD International Market who shopped the food, décor and houseware aisles, the fresh produce, refrigerated foods, frozen and fresh meats and fish – and the 70 live seafood tanks.

Crab, eel, geoduck (a large clam), shrimp and other live seafood were available along with other fresh options.

Owner Steven Yuan said business was good. “There are a lot of people,” he said, surveying the renovated Winn-Dixie at 7534 Beach Blvd. 

RD International Market owner Steven Yuan at the front of his new store at 7534 Beach Blvd. It is Yuan's second location, with his first in Lake Worth south of West Palm Beach.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis

The Asian and international supermarket is in the Beach Boulevard Shopping Center along Beach Boulevard at Hogan and Parental Home roads near the eastern access to the Hart Expressway.

Winn-Dixie closed in 2017. Yuan has leased it as his second RD International Market, with the first in Lake Worth.

The city issued a permit June 2, 2023, for Master Contractors Inc. of Lake Worth to renovate the 52,600-square-foot store at a construction cost of $980,000. The architect is Sandra Puerta of Lake Worth. 

The food court area at RD International Market has yet to be completed.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis

Yuan equipped the store with new flooring, shelving, freezers, refrigerators, checkout stations and carts with swivel casters that allow for easy guidance.

Some shelves and cold cases were not full yet Feb. 3; the hot food area in the back was not set up; and the 13 food court tenants were not operating. The sign was up for one of the tenants, Teppanyaki House. Tables and chairs are being prepared for setup.

Yuan said the store should be fully open in 20 or 30 days with the food court open within a month. He is considering a grand opening event.

From housewares to meats

In addition to food, the store carries housewares, toys, décor, tea sets and tea tables and chairs.

Meats include traditional cuts as well as frog legs; duck feet; pork belly, intestines and snouts; and other specialty varieties.

A $79.99 Gold Tree decoration at RD International Market. According to Google Translate, the text in Chinese reads "Business is Booming."
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis

Produce includes mushroom varieties, bok choy tips and a large selection of vegetables and fruit.

The live seafood is sourced from its native areas, such as cold water from the north and warm water from Florida.

RD International intends to carry Florida-sourced fish and produce to the extent available.

Staff can clean and cut the seafood for customers and in the future will be able to cook it for eating in the food court or to take home.

Fruits and vegetables on display at RD International Market. The prices are shown on sheets of paper hanging above the items.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis

The store is open in time for the Feb. 10 Lunar New Year for the Year of the Dragon. The celebration concludes with the Feb. 24 Lantern Festival.

The Chinese New Year also is known as the Spring Festival.

RD International Market is stocking seasonal items for the celebration.

Hours are posted as 10 a.m to 9 p.m. daily but those may change. Yuan said the Jacksonville store has been opening earlier than that.

The state's second RD International

Last June, when starting work on the store, Yuan said the market would include fresh produce, a bakery, 13 to 14 food-court operators, a hot food bar, groceries and – its specialty – 60 fish tanks for live seafood, including lobster, shrimp and crab.

The first market opened five years ago in Lake Worth. It has 30 live seafood tanks. At 11,000 square feet, the Lake Worth store is about a fifth of the size of the Jacksonville location.

RD International Market owner Steven Yuan checks out customers at his new Beach Boulevard store Feb. 2.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis

Yuan and Irene Zhang, his sister and a company representative, expect the center to create 80 jobs.

The website says the market will host community events throughout the year.

“A lot of grandparents take the kids as a field trip to our store,” Zhang said previously.

While the store has a strong inventory of Asian food, the goal is to serve an international market.

“There is a large Asian population in Jacksonville,” Zhang said, in sharing how they chose the location.

Tea tables and chairs are on display in the aisles at RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis

While there are smaller Asian and international groceries, there is no large one with a wide selection of live seafood, she said.

“Jacksonville is a big city,” she said, and the Beach Boulevard address is conveniently located.

The U.S. Census reports that as of 2022, the Asian population in Jacksonville is estimated at more than 47,500, or 4.9% of the city’s population. That is up 35% from 35,200 in 2010.

RD International Market features 70 fish tanks for live seafood, including lobster, shrimp and crab.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis

The ZIP codes with the highest Asian population include 32256, 32246, 32207, 32258 and 32216, where the store opened, which is central to the others.

With Jacksonville’s waterfront and fishing, “it is a very good place to have a seafood market,” Zhang said.

The property owner is 1980 Union Port Associates LLC of New York City. Goldstein Commercial Properties Inc. is the landlord representative.

Bags of candy at the front of RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Gold Buddhas at RD International Market are $89.99. Google Translate says the text reads, "Five Ways to Attract Wealth."
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
The carts at RD International Market include the name of the store in English and Chinese.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Cookies on display at RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Sandalwood incense and other items on display at RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Fresh crab and calamari on a bed of ice at RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Kitchen items, like a Mandarin duck hot pot for $13.99, are for sale at RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Live crabs are available at RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
A tank full of live geoduck at RD International Market. Geoduck is a large saltwater clam.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
There are live seafood tanks inside RD International Market. RD International staff can clean and cut the seafood for customers and in the future will be able to cook it for eating in the food court or to take home.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
RD International Market is in the former Winn-Dixie space at 7534 Beach Blvd.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Enoki mushrooms and oyster mushrooms. According to Bon Appétit, "Enokis are unique among their mushroom peers because they're super mild in flavor; not at all like meaty oyster mushrooms."
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Pomelos and pineapples are for sale at RD International Market. According to Better Homes & Gardens, a pomelo is similar in flavor to grapefruit but less bitter, with a sweet, tart flavor profile. It is also called a Chinese grapefruit.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
A tea table and chairs set is $1,999 at RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Toys are available at RD International Market.
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis



 

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