Dive Brief:
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After many delays, Japanese grocery store Mitsuwa is opening its first Texas location in Plano on April 14, according to an article in the Dallas News.
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The California-based grocery has nine stores – seven in California, one near New York and one near Chicago, according to an article in Progressive Grocer. The chain's Texas-based store will cover 25,775 square feet.
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Mitsuwa's collection of small shops-within-the-shop — which include world-class ramen stands and Asian gift shops— will satisfy many who are Japanese, and be fascinating for shoppers who are not.
Dive Insight:
Plano, a fast-growing, deep-in-the-heart-of-Texas city a bit north of Dallas, is about to become Toyota's American home. But that's only one of the draws for Mitsuwa, a Japanese supermarket chain about to open its ninth U.S. store there. Plano marks the north side of Texas's “Silicon Prairie,” where high tech and telecommunications businesses attract increasing numbers of highly qualified, often Asian, workers. According to the U.S. Census, about 13% of the county where Plano is located is Asian — more than twice the national level of 5.4%.
Like its counterparts at home and elsewhere in the U.S., Plano's Mitsuwa Marketplace will feature small shops within the larger market. Most, including a ramen shop, a tempura maker, rice bowl restaurant, a bakery, an ice cream shop, a tea shop and a confectionery store, will reflect Japanese tastes. They will also represent novel introductions to the American supermarket scene, which may attract shoppers who are looking for a taste of a different culture.
The area's relatively young, highly affluent population helps attract specialty food stores appealing to either specific ethnic groups. This area also has a large number of stores that cater to the Hispanic population. City-Data.com has said there are more Hispanic residents in the Dallas area than people of other ethnicities. And this demographic has financial power; Forbes reported that 50% of Hispanics in that area own their homes.
Markets geared to Hispanic tastes and needs have long been a part of the landscape – so strong a part that many other-than-Hispanic families regularly shop them. Seeking better variety in shopping, 65% of non-ethnic shoppers saying they would cook more multicultural foods if supermarkets offered them. Mitsuwa is likely to have the same impact.