Expanding Korean-American supermarket chain H Mart could to be preparing for an entry into Jacksonville.
An LLC linked to the chain bought the Timberlin Village shopping center at 8801 Southside Blvd. on Dec. 8 for $13.25 million.
Previously anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, the center is just south of the ramp to Interstate 95.
H Mart bought the property through GSC RE Jacksonville LLC. The LLC is managed by Il Yeon Kwon, the CEO and founder of H Mart.
Blue Owl Real Estate LLC of Chicago sold the property through Edison JAFL001 LLC.
Headquartered in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, H Mart says it is the largest Asian grocery chain in America with 97 stores. Industry website Supermarket News said H Mart is a $2 billion company.
Started in 1982 with a single store in Woodside, Queens, New York, H Mart says it offers a full line of Asian foods as well as a Western groceries. It also has food halls.
Timberlin Village totals 118,083 square feet of space and H Mart has been opening stores nearly that large.
H Mart opened a 100,000 square feet store on West Colonial Drive in Orlando in September in a former SuperTarget space. It opened a 70,000-square-foot store in Dallas in October.
“We’re trying to bring in what you would find as if you were in Korea, as if you’re in Japan, as if you’re in China,” Kwon said at the grand opening of the Dallas store, according to KERA News.
“So I think as long as you’re focused on that, as long as you’re focused on giving those kinds of experiences, people will recognize that.”
There are H Mart stores in Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
H Mart would join multiple Asian markets that have opened or are in development in Northeast Florida.
• Lotte Plaza Market opened in September in the former Best Buy at 9355 Atlantic Blvd. in the Regency area of Arlington. The 45,985-square-foot store includes a food hall selling Chinese, Japanese and Korean fare and the Tous les Jours French-Asian bakery.
• RD International Market opened in 2024 in a former Winn-Dixie at 7534 Beach Blvd. The 52,600-square-foot store features a food court and 70 live seafood tanks.
• The owner of Enson Market bought the Winn-Dixie supermarket along Old St. Augustine Road, indicating the conversion of the property for the Asian and international foods grocer. The grocery has locations in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia.
• Indian marketplace Patel Brothers plans to anchor the developing Shops at Racetrack Rd in St. Johns County. The chain has operated a store at 9551 Baymeadows Road in Jacksonville for about a decade.
Timberlin Village has been seeking an anchor tenant.
Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and its buybuyBaby stores closed there in 2023 after Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In July 2023, the andThat! Store in the center started a liquidation sale. It was part of Christmas Tree Shops LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 in May 2023.
PetSmart is one of the remaining tenants.
Timberlin Village was built in 1997 and 1998 on 10.31 acres. It last sold for $19.9 million in 2019.
Karen Brune Mathis and Dan Macdonald contributed to this report
