Central Fresno loses another grocery store

Asia Supermarket on Blackstone Avenue has closed less than a year after it opened.

The store, near Ashlan Avenue, took over the former Vons space last spring after it closed.

Asia Supermarket’s original location, at 4818 E. Tulare Ave., remains open and a sign on the door at the closed store refers customers there.

The owner was not immediately available for comment about why the store closed. At the opening, she told The Bee that the store employed 60 to 70 people.

The closure is another chapter in the tumultuous grocery store scene in central Fresno. Vons’ closure in 2015 upset many area shoppers. Another Vons at First Street and Nees Avenue closed at the same time. The Save Mart at Clinton and Blackstone avenues also closed around that time and was replaced with a Smart & Final Extra! store.

Two competitors remain at Blackstone and Ashlan avenues – a Grocery Outlet and the new Walmart Supercenter.

Area shoppers also were angered by news last year that Trader Joe’s on Blackstone plans to move to a new shopping center at Friant Road and Fresno Street later this year.

The Blackstone Asia Supermarket is double the size of the original location. It carried products like jackfruit, lemon grass and rice, but also more traditional groceries like Kraft American cheese and orange juice.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 9:51 AM with the headline "Central Fresno loses another grocery store."