Lotte Plaza Market held its grand opening on Sept. 12, drawing a line of customers eager to see what the Asian specialty supermarket has to offer.
The 45,985-square-foot store is in the former Best Buy at 9355 Atlantic Blvd. in Regency.
Maryland-based Lotte Plaza Market sells products from China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and other nations. Inside the store, there is a food hall selling Japanese, Korean and Chinese fare. The Tous les Jours French-Asian bakery also operates at the store.
“We’re actually the No. 1 Indian grocer in the Washington, D.C., area, Maryland and Virginia. It’s one of our fastest-growing categories,” said Alvin Lee, Lotte Plaza Market president.
“You would think an Asian market would only carry Korean or Chinese or Japanese products, but I think this is one of the unique aspects of our company. We want to try to serve as diverse of a community as possible, so that everybody can feel comfortable shopping here.”
Lee said the total investment in the grocery store was $17 million.
Lotte Plaza Market opened its first store in 1989 in Rockville, Maryland.
The company has operated in Florida for about 10 years, Lee said. It opened first in Orlando and two years ago in Tampa. A Miami store is set for an August 2026 opening. There are now 17 stores in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia.
The store’s product selection is designed to meet the needs of most families, Lee said, and prices are competitive with Walmart and Costco.
All of the product names are written in English.
The store has some paper goods but does not carry a wide variety of cleaning products.
It features familiar American products made for Asian tastes. There are Oreo cookies in several flavors. They include grape and peach, rose and a less sweet version of the traditional Oreo that is preferred in Korea.
The same goes for Kit Kat candy. Flavors include apple, lemon and green tea. Lay’s potato chips come in familiar American flavors, plus Kobe beef and chicken barbecue varieties.
There are large jars of ready-made Korean kimchi.
Cooks will find a range of mushrooms and tofu for a wide range of recipes. Rice can be purchased in a variety of styles and sizes. Some come in 15-pound bags.
The fish and meat selections are plentiful. Paper-thin beef and pork used for pho are available. There are more than 40 marinated meats for Korean barbecue dishes.
Meat is also cut in smaller portions, as it would be in many Asian households.
“We’re known for the smaller portions,” Lee said. “I like a steak like anybody. New York strip is my favorite, but sometimes it’s a little too much. With our cuts, you could portion it much better. You could control how much you eat.”
Lotte sells boba tea, Asian soft drinks as well as sake and Asian beers.
There is a large selection of cooking appliances, including tabletop gas and electric grills, rice cookers and bamboo steamers.
“Some people want a more authentic experience, and that’s why we have a lot of Asian-style cookware, so you could get that experience,” Lee said.
The market is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, including holidays.
SW Jacksonville LLC, led by Maryland-based Sungwon Distributor LLC agent Sang Lee, bought the 3.4-acre site in January 2022. The building previously was a Best Buy location.
Colliers International Florida Executive Director Jason Ryals said the purchase price was $4 million.
The city issued a permit in November 2024 for Lotte Plaza Market to renovate the space a cost of $8.99 million.
Hawkins Construction Inc. of Tarpon Springs was the contractor.
