Hundreds of early-bird shoppers have gotten a sneak peek at the new Asianfresh Food Market in Cherry Hill ahead of the store’s grand opening this weekend.
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A colorful mural by Chinatown artist Chenlin Cai welcomes shoppers into the sprawling store at 2005 Route 70 East, the second location of the popular specialty market offering hard-to-find Asian imports.
Stocked with a wide variety of fresh produce, seafood, and specialty products from across Asia, the new store expands on the offerings available at the two-story flagship on 10th Street in Philadelphia that opened in 2019.
“Anyone with an Asian background can come and find something that they need,” including Cambodian, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Thai staples, spokesperson Karen Louie said.
For siblings Eric Alindogan and Daffodil Evans, the opening of Asianfresh creates another option for them to hunt for the best bargains in South Jersey.
The pair primarily cook vegetarian Chinese and Filipino dishes, they said, which often requires trips to multiple grocery stores to get all of the necessary ingredients at a reasonable price.
“We’re just doing research right now,” Evans said as they moved through the aisles, carefully filling their cart while mentally comparing products and prices to other international grocers in the area.
The store’s grand opening event will kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will include a durian eating contest — the winner of which will get a one-minute shopping spree for free drinks and snacks in the store, Louie said.
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Given the “overwhelmingly positive” response to the store since its soft opening on Sept. 3, she said they’re prepared for Saturday’s event to be packed.
Once officially open, the store will welcome shoppers daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., boasting large refrigerated and frozen food sections alongside aisles of items ranging from snacks to housewares.
Similar to popular big-box warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s Club, Asianfresh also sells a number of items in bulk, both to individuals and to local restaurants, Louie said.
The arrival of Asianfresh in South Jersey comes just months after the Korean grocery store H Mart reopened down Route 70 after extensive renovations.
The major investments by both international grocers has come as the demand for these types of products continues to grow nationwide.
Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the U.S. and Cherry Hill Township’s Asian population has followed that trend — growing by 32% between 2014 and 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
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