Lotte Plaza Market, an international supermarket that specializes in Asian groceries, said it will open its Jacksonville store Sept. 12.
The market is being built-out in the former Best Buy at 9355 Atlantic Blvd., not far from Regency Square Mall in Arlington.
The city issued a permit Feb. 4, 2025, for General Sign Service Corp. of Jacksonville to put up the supermarket’s sign. That follows a permit issued Nov. 15, 2024, for Lotte Plaza Market to renovate the store at a cost of $8.99 million.
President Alvin Lee said by email July 15, 2024, that his group was scheduled to start construction in 2024 for a fall or winter opening but changes in the city permitting system resulted in a delay.
“We believe we are near the finish line and the contractors are ready to go once the permits are issued,” he said in July.
Hawkins Construction Co. of Tarpon Springs is the contractor renovating the 45,799-square-foot store.
Plans show interior and exterior renovations.
Inside, plans show grocery, meat, seafood and produce areas and at least seven food vendor stations and a food court area.
There also is space for a bakery.
Lotte Plaza Market stores offer meats, seafood, produce and specialty products, including packaged teas, sauces and fresh fruits and vegetables. They also have food courts and bakeries.
The stores carry Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Philippine, Thai and Indian products, among other foods.
The Maryland-based company has 16 stores comprising seven in Virginia, six in Maryland, two in Florida and one in New Jersey.
It opened in Orlando in 2019 and in Tampa in November 2023.
Lotteplaza.com says the company was founded in 1976 and opened in Maryland in 1989.
The company has a goal of opening 50 Lotte Plaza Market locations by 2030.
At the Richmond, Virginia, store opening in May 2024, Lee said the next opening would be in Jacksonville and then Miami.
The Richmond store has a French-Asian bakery and an Asian food court with Korean, Japanese and other kiosks.
Lee said by email July 15 that Lotte Plaza Market chose Jacksonville for its population and its difference from the rest of the state.
“A large, diverse population and a dynamic, growing environment are some of the things that attracted us to Jacksonville,” he said.
“Different in many ways from central Florida and south Florida, we believe Jacksonville has a unique vibe and cultural heritage different from the rest of Florida. I think the City will continue to enjoy steady growth into the future and we want to be a part of that,” he said.
Lee said the interior will look like the company’s new platform stores in Tampa and Richmond.
Best Buy built the consumer electronics store in 1999 and closed it in March 2021.
SW Jacksonville LLC, led by Maryland-based Sungwon Distributor LLC agent Sang Lee, bought the 3.4-acre site in January 2022.
Sungwon Distributor LLC is based in Jessup, Maryland. Sung Lee is the CEO.
Sang Lee registered with the state to do business in Florida.