A recent column for My Annoying Opinions explores whether the arrival of a major retail giant will disrupt the established ecosystem of immigrant-owned grocery stores in the Twin Cities. The author, writing about a return visit to the Shuang Hur flagship location on University Avenue in St. Paul, raised questions about the economic survival of smaller, locally-owned Asian markets as H Mart prepares to enter the Minnesota market.
The tension centers on a specific geographic cluster. H Mart has reportedly purchased space in the Midway Marketplace off University Avenue, placing it just a five-minute drive from Shuang Hur and only a few minutes further from Dragon Star. This proximity creates a new competitive reality for existing businesses like Shuang Hur, Dragon Star, and Kim’s, which have historically co-existed and thrived in this specific corridor.
Shuang Hur undergoes a significant remodel
Despite the looming presence of a massive competitor, the Shuang Hur flagship in St. Paul appears to be leaning into modernization. According to My Annoying Opinions, the store has been “spruced up significantly” through a recent remodel. While the core product mix remains consistent with what was observed during a 2018 report, the layout is now described as shinier, more organized, and more clearly defined.
The store’s fundamental structure remains familiar to long-time customers. Visitors enter through a produce section stocked with greens essential for East Asian cookery, leading toward a fish and seafood section and refrigerated meat cases. The aisles continue to provide a wide array of spices, sauces, condiments, noodles, and rice, while the freezer section maintains a large selection of dumplings and seafood. The family-owned business has operated since 1992, positioning itself as a community cornerstone that offers authentic ingredients at prices intended to be affordable for every family.
The remodeling efforts are not limited to the St. Paul location. A member of the store’s owning family notified My Annoying Opinions that the Minneapolis location has also undergone a significant remodel, though the author noted they have yet to visit that specific site to verify the changes.
The competition between local networks and retail behemoths
The author of the My Annoying Opinions piece noted that while the absence of a major Korean grocery giant was initially felt when moving from Colorado, the Twin Cities eventually developed a robust network of smaller and mid-sized East Asian groceries. This network, supplemented by larger stores like Ha Tien, has allowed for a form of “one-stop shopping” for diverse households.
However, the arrival of H Mart introduces an “extinction-level event” possibility for some smaller retailers. The concern is that a major player will inevitably “suck business away” from existing stores in the immediate vicinity, and potentially even from larger, more distant retailers like Ha Tien. This presents a classic economic dilemma: the convenience and scale of a specialized behemoth versus the resilience and community integration of a distributed network of local owners.
The counter-argument suggests that a more diverse market can support multiple tiers of retail. While H Mart may dominate certain segments, the specialized offerings and established community ties of stores like Shuang Hur may provide a level of niche service that a larger corporation cannot easily replicate. Whether the Twin Cities market is large enough to sustain both the new giant and the existing local ecosystem remains an open question.
