Ethnic grocery stores on the rise

As Fresno’s population continues to becomes more diverse, the number of ethnic grocery stores in the area is also growing.

Walk down the aisles of any of these new stores and you will find frozen krill, Bulgarian sheep’s milk cheese or jackfruit the size of a small child.

Ethnic grocery stores are a hot trend in the supermarket business. The entire industry generated $31 billion in revenue in 2015, according to IBISWorld, a market research company. And conditions are expected to get better over the next several years.

But it isn’t just the growing ethnic populations that will drive the growth, it’s also a growing interest in different foods and the continued trend of eating more meals at home.

Lisa Herzig, dietetics program coordinator at Fresno State, calls the trend a taste of fusion.

“We are a continual melting pot, and the pot now includes spices, herbs, meats, delicacies from many different cultures that our taste buds get hold of,” says Herzig, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition. “And it is so unique and different that we want more.”

Two stores that recently opened are Asia Supermarket on Blackstone Avenue in the former Von’s location and Island Pacific Seafood Market on First Street, just north of Bullard Avenue.

Opening soon will be Shun Fat Supermarket on Kings Canyon Avenue, between Willow and Chestnut avenues. And moving into a new, much larger, building is the Karabakh Farmer’s Market on Fresno Street, north of Shaw Avenue.

Still in the works is the Vallarta Supermarket slated for the southwest corner of Clinton and Weber avenues. There are also an untold number of smaller neighborhood markets catering to the area’s Asian, Hispanic, Filipino and Middle Eastern communities.

At stores like Island Pacific, a Southern California chain with 15 stores, the region’s Filipino community was a huge draw. The chain has stores throughout the state and one in Seattle.

Inside Island Pacific, you’ll find one of the largest displays of fish in the city. The refrigerated case is packed with ice and includes more than 40 different types of fish.

“This is where we are going to come for fish, that’s for sure,” said Terese San Nicolas of Fresno, who was shopping with her husband, Joey. The couple bought parrot fish and mackerel to barbecue.

Another big attraction is the in-house restaurant called the PhilHouse that serves Filipino favorites such as the noodle dish pancit, chicken adobo and lechon, which is deep fried pork belly.

Raquel Ferrer of Fresno was anxiously waiting for the store to open. A native of the Philippines, Ferrer has missed many of the hard-to-find Filipino foods.

“It’s probably been more than 20 years since I have eaten lechon, and I’m excited about being able to get some today,” she said.

Asia Supermarket is opening its second store in Fresno. The original store at Chestnut and Tulare avenues carries Asian specialties, but it’s new store includes ethnic and non-ethnic foods.

Store manager Moua Lee said he wants the market to appeal to everyone. And if you have an interest in Asian foods, he and his staff will be more than happy to help.

“We’ve had people come into our other store with photos of a product they saw on the Food Network,” Lee says. “Or they are really interested in how to cook pad thai or pho.”

The new Asian Supermarket boasts an entire aisle of rice, more than 20 different fish sauces, a bakery, prepared food and a produce section that includes Asian vegetables.

“We encourage people to come in, look around and ask questions,” Lee said.

In southeast Fresno, the Shun Fat Supermarket is expected to open soon. The chain has 15 stores in California and Nevada that provide products imported from China, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam.

If you want to explore the flavors and spices of Armenian and Middle Eastern foods, then you will want to try the Karabakh Farmer’s Market. The store recently opened a new, larger store with a complete produce section, meat counter and prepared food. You can also get shawarma, a pita wrap, kebabs and perashki, a Russian fried bread.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Ethnic grocery stores on the rise."