Denver’s Asian grocery chains surge, sparking competition among long-standing local markets

In 1946, Pacific Mercantile opened its doors in downtown Denver’s Sakura Square, becoming the oldest Asian market in the area at a time when finding miso paste, nori seaweed, or spicy gochujang meant knowing exactly which family-owned shop to visit. Eight decades later, the third-generation head of that same business is watching corporate giants plant flags across the metro area, and she’s not convinced the local pie is big enough for everyone at the table.

Westword reported that Teso Life opened in Aurora in October, selling Japanese and Asian snacks alongside a sudden cluster of chain stores that have arrived in Denver over the past twelve months. Not long ago, a dedicated Asian aisle at King Soopers would have seemed unimaginable; back then, Denver felt like a food desert for these ingredients unless you knew to visit Pacific Mercantile, Great Wall Chinese Market, or H Mart. Now, shoppers can find bamboo shoots and ramen at mainstream supermarkets, at two 85-Degree C Bakery Café locations in Aurora and Centennial, at multiple Daiso “100-yen” stores where prices start at $2.25, and at Hashi Market, a New York-based Japanese-themed chain planning a store at 12200 E. Mississippi Ave. in Aurora directly across from Great Wall.

This change marks a major change for a city where buying Asian groceries used to demand local expertise. But while the expansion delights shoppers hungry for variety, it has veteran grocers worried about whether the market can sustain so many players.

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Three Generations Face a New Kind of Competition

Jolie Noguchi, who runs Pacific Mercantile with her daughter Alyssa—the fourth-generation owner—has weathered previous waves of competition. H Mart arrived in Aurora in 2004 and Westminster in 2013, while Great Wall Chinese Market has operated since 1989. But the current influx feels different in scale and speed.

“When Alyssa told me about Hashi, she was showing me a video,” Noguchi said. “And she says, ‘Oh, my God, Mom! I think this one could hurt us.'”

Hashi Market, which describes itself as a blend of supermarket, mini department store, and catering service, plans to include a kitchen for fresh bentos and sushi, with ties to Japanese suppliers. The name itself carries dual meaning: “hashi” means chopsticks in Japanese, but also “bridge.” For Noguchi, that bridge leads to an oversaturated marketplace.

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“We feel like it’s crazy,” she said. “It’s like just popping up, all of a sudden. Is there a market for this many in Denver? I say no.”

Pacific Mercantile has built its reputation on showcasing local Japanese-American food and crafts, cultivating a loyal following of downtown and suburban Japanese and Japanese-American customers over its history. Alyssa is already planning countermeasures, including hosting pop-up events and adding a fresh bento kitchen to the store—an idea she’d been developing during Sakura Square’s eventual revitalization to differentiate the family business from corporate competitors with deeper buying power.

Aurora’s Havana Strip Becomes Ground Zero

The tension plays out most sharply along Aurora’s Havana Street, where Chance Horiuchi, executive director of the Havana Business Improvement District, watches the corridor transform into what he calls “our diverse global corridor” and a “global city.”

Every intersection of Havana sees between 40,000 and 60,000 cars daily, a traffic volume that has drawn Daiso, Teso Life, H Mart, Great Wall, and others to concentrate along the strip and throughout the city. The demographics match the merchandise, Horiuchi noted, including plenty of Asians of many persuasions. Other long-established smaller markets serving these communities include Little Saigon Market and Saigon Supermarket along the South Federal Vietnamese corridor, and M Mart on Aurora’s Koreatown strip.

“You can’t compete with a Teso Life,” Horiuchi said. “Small stores don’t have the same buying power. So, yes, that part is concerning, because I know that cuts the competition. I am concerned about the really small mom-and-pop shops that have been around for 40-plus years.”

Horiuchi embraces the new arrivals while acknowledging the increasing competition they bring, noting that the popularity of Asian culture and food makes it harder for smaller businesses to compete. But he acknowledges the economic pressure extends beyond specialty chains: Target and Five Below now carry Asian goods, King Soopers has expanded its Asian department, and even 7-Eleven—owned by Japan’s Seven & I Holdings—has begun selling viral Japanese-style egg salad sandwiches while overhauling its inventory to focus on fresh-made foods rather than rotating hot dogs.

The Wave Isn’t Cresting Yet

The expansion shows no signs of slowing. Dajoa Premium Market, a smaller gourmet Korean grocery store, opened in Aurora in Dec. 2025. Looking further ahead, One Plus One Chinese grocery store is slated to open near DIA at 18200 E. 64th Avenue, a property that will include both hot pot and pho restaurants and is expected to be completed in 2028.

For shoppers, the bounty means unprecedented access to authentic ingredients without trekking to specialized markets. Whether Denver’s appetite for Asian groceries can sustain both the corporate newcomers and the community institutions that paved the way remains the open question as the city’s culinary map gets redrawn.