By Beth Mack
January 18, 2022 (updated)
The Charlotte area is home to a sizable, growing population of Asians. In tandem, the vast flavors and dishes that can be found in Asian cuisine have consistently been featured in up-and-coming food trends.
Lucky for us, not only has this equated to more authentic Asian restaurants, but markets as well. Markets offer the chance to try everything from popular snacks, beverages, exotic produce, less common meats/seafood, and provide hard-to-find ingredients you need to prepare traditional Asian dishes.
Charlotte is home to Asian mega supermarket, Super G Mart, but there are several great grocery stores and markets in the area, many of which offer items from specific geographic areas like Southeast Asia, Korea, India, Japan, and the Philippines. If you are lucky, some even offer freshly made foods so you can get some authentic Asian bites and groceries in one stop.
Asian Market + New Asian Market
A little over three years ago owner Tony Liu opened the first of his three Asian Markets, New Asia Market (formerly Grand Asia Market), located in Stallings. The largest of the three stores is located in Sugar Creek at the corner of The Plaza and Eastway Drive, and rivals the well-known Super G Mart in size and amenities. The meticulously organized store, with walls of bright yellow, gives off an IKEA-type of vibe, offering everything from fresh produce, an impressive selection of both fresh and live seafood, fresh meat and poultry, frozen items, noodles, spices, sauces, snacks, beverages, beer, and sake. Liu opened an on-site restaurant featuring bubble tea, steam buns, roasted duck, and a host of rice and noodle dishes. Should you purchase fresh or live seafood, they will even cook it for you. In addition to Asian items, you can also find some other international flavors such as Mexican, Caribbean, and Cajun. The smaller University location does not offer fresh or live seafood, but does still has a good variety of fresh produce and grocery staples. Similar to the Sugar Creek store, the Stallings location offers the same amenities, in addition to a more robust food court area complete with a bakery.
Sugar Creek location: Asian Market, 4430 The Plaza Charlotte, NC 28215
Matthews location: New Asia Market, 4400 Potter Rd. Stallings, NC 28104
University location: Asian Market, 9630 University City Blvd Suite J Charlotte, NC 28213
Vieng Keo Asian Market
Family-owned and operated, the Vieng Keo Asian Market (V & K Market for short) has been serving west Charlotte since 2006. The store features Southeast Asian staples ranging from noodles, spices, snacks, sauces, frozen items, and a host of fresh produce, herbs, and eggs shipped directly from Florida every Wednesday. You can expect to find more exotic produce such as rambutan, longan, and jackfruit. During the warmer months, they also offer an assortment of live plants such as avocado, guava, and mango. In recent years, they have expanded with a store in Gastonia (VK 2) and one in Mount Holly (VK 3). A stop at the market is not complete without grabbing some authentic Laotian food from their on-site food truck, JP LaoFood ToGo.
Airport location: 2626 Little Rock Rd. Charlotte, NC 28214
Gastonia location: 712 E. Franklin Blvd. Gastonia, NC 28054
Mount Holly location: 605 E. Charlotte Avenue Mt. Holly, NC 28120
Kim Anh Oriental Groceries & Gifts
Located in the Whitehall Business Park just off Arrowood Road in Southwest Charlotte is Kim Anh’s original market. Opened in 2016, this mid-sized grocery store packs a robust variety of noodles, spices, sauces, snacks, beverages, and frozen items to round out its selection of fresh produce, herbs, eggs, noodles, and meat. If you get there early, you can choose from their selection of housemade, ready-to-eat packaged foods at the front of the store. If you happen to be in Plaza Midwood, you can stop by their second store located off Central Avenue next to the iconic Landmark Diner.
Southwest Charlotte location: 3615 Whitehall Park Dr. Suite F Charlotte, NC 28273
Plaza Midwood location: 4421 Central Ave. Suite H Charlotte, NC 28205
Anh Dao Sakura Oriental Market
Tucked off of South Boulevard in Charlotte’s Lower Southend neighborhood is the Vietnamese-owned Asian market, Anh Dao Sakura Oriental Market. The mid-sized market offers a good variety of noodles, spices, sauces, frozen items, snacks, and beverages, in addition to fresh produce, herbs, meats, and noodles. You can also find a small selection of housemade, prepared packaged foods such as summer rolls, spring rolls, baked goods, and rice dishes. A modest selection of Asian beers and sake round out the experience without having to go to one of the larger Asian markets.
4325 South Blvd Charlotte, NC 28209
Hatoya Japanese Grocery
To find the flavors of Japan, look no further than Hatoya Japanese Grocery in Pineville. Browse their extensive selection of fresh produce, sauces, ramen, noodles, fresh miso paste, spices, and frozen foods. They have everything you need, should you want to make your own sushi or sashimi, including frozen sushi-grade fish and seafood. You will also find a large selection of sake and some Japanese beers.
605 N Polk St. Pineville NC 28134
Filipino Mart
Even the island country of the Philippines has representation in the Charlotte Asian market scene. Located near the PNC Music Pavilion in a quaint strip mall is Filipino Mart. The small market features noodles, sauces, spices, and snacks all direct from the Philippines. The main draw is the assortment of frozen items ranging from meat and seafood to lumpia. You can also find frozen baked goods from one of the Philippines’ most well-known bakery brands, Goldilocks. While there are no freshly prepared foods available, they do operate a catering service for some authentic Filipino cuisine. It’s a great market to visit to learn more about Filipino food.
11855 N. Tryon Street Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28262
Patel Brothers
The national grocery store chain has two locations in Charlotte, one in Pineville and the other in the University area. At both, you can explore the expanse of flavors and foods of India. Peruse aisle after aisle of spices, dried legumes, prepared curries, snacks, beverages, frozen items, different varieties of rice, breads (such as naan and kati), beverages, fresh dairy such as paneer and yogurt, and an ample selection of fresh produce. The larger of the two, the University location, features a small hot food section and bakery to get your fill of samosas and chai while shopping for an added treat.
Pineville location: 10701 Centrum Pkwy Pineville, NC 28134
University location: 8109 University City Blvd Suite A Charlotte, NC 28213
Super G Mart
One of the area’s best-known Asian markets is none other than Super G Mart. Located off of Independence Boulevard and Centrum Pkwy in Pineville, the behemoth grocery stores boast large offerings of delicacies from all over Asia in addition to foods from the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, and more. The store is ripe with fresh produce, rice, noodles, sauces, snacks, beverages (including beer, sake, and wine), fresh meat and seafood, a small section of live seafood, and a massive frozen foods section. At Super G, it’s not what you can find, but what you can’t find. For something of more substance, try the steamed buns and banh mi at Honey Buns, the Korean Restaurant for some traditional dishes and housemade kimchi, or Hong Kong Bakery for Asian desserts and cakes. The new international food hall, Alley 51, is now also open at the Pineville location serving up a variety of Asian street foods.
Independence location: 7323 E Independence Blvd Charlotte, NC 28227
Pineville location: 10500 Centrum Pkwy Pineville, NC 28134
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India Grocers
Explore the flavors and foods of India at locally owned, India Grocers. The scrupulously organized store has two locations, one in Pineville and the other in the University area. Whether you want to try your hand at cooking an Indian dish from scratch or simply enjoy prepared frozen items, each store has what you’re looking for. With a large variety of spices, rice, legumes, fresh paneer and yogurt, dried fruits, nuts, flours, frozen foods, sauces, chutneys, and fresh produce you will not leave empty-handed.
University location: 8215 University City Blvd Suite F Charlotte, NC 28213
Pineville location: 509 North Polk Street Pineville, NC 28134
Rice N’ Spice
Those in the Concord area can get their fill of Indian groceries at Rice N’ Spice Market. In addition to offering a variety of rice and spices, the market also features fresh produce, frozen foods, snacks, beverages, lentils, flours, and more. The market, which opened in 2018, may not be as large as some of the other Indian markets, but still provides a great selection of ingredients and foods.
10070 Edison Square Dr. Concord, NC 28027
Triveni Supermarket
If you want to pick up some Indian ingredients and enjoy some freshly prepared Indian food, Triveni is the place you are looking for. Unique for Indian markets in Charlotte, they also offer a fresh meat section, complete with halal meats ranging from goat and lamb to quail. They also offer an in-house bakery for fresh breads, cakes, and sweets. Round out your excursion with a trip to their food court where they serve up biryanis, curries, an assortment of appetizers. On weekends they even offer breakfast. The smaller location in the University area operates more as a restaurant while also offering a small selection of grocery items.
Triveni Supermarket: 300 S Polk St. Pineville, NC 28134
Triveni Express: 9539 Pinnacle Dr. Suite #100 Charlotte, NC 28262
Suvidha International Market
Also joining the list of Indian-focused markets in the University area is Suvidha International Market. Located off of University City Boulevard, the mid-sized store is full of fresh produce, dals, rice, flours, spices, sauces, pickles, snacks, and fresh halal meats. To help satisfy your craving for Indian food without having to cook, the regional grocery chain has a food counter where you can get freshly prepared snacks, tandoori dishes, and curries.
10008 University City Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28213
Pepero
Half Korean market and half Korean restaurant, the family-owned business has been serving up authentic Korean food and groceries in Matthews since 2005. The market offers a variety of snacks, noodles, spices, sauces, drinks, frozen foods, and some fresh produce. Additionally, they offer prepackaged house-made foods to take home such as kimchi and Korean pancakes. To get your fill of authentic Korean food, the restaurant has an extensive menu with items like japchae, bibimbap, bulgogi, jajangmyeon, jjamppong, and a variety of jjigaes (Korean stews).
10920 Monroe Rd. Matthews, NC 28105
S and L Market
Located off Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood is a gem of an Asian market that offers food predominantly from Southeast Asia. The family-owned market packs a good variety of fresh produce, noodles, sauces, spices, snacks, beverages, and frozen foods in its small space. They offer some house-made prepackaged food such as summer rolls and baked goods, so get there early for the best selection. The market does have a $10 minimum purchase when paying with credit or debit cards so you might want to stop by the ATM if you are just browsing.
Plaza Midwood: 3101 Central Ave #3 Charlotte, NC 28205
West Charlotte: 423 Bradford Dr. Charlotte, NC 28208
Asian Shwe Myanmar Market
Want to check out the foods of Myanmar (formerly Burma)? There is a store just for that located in South Charlotte. While the foods of Myanmar are similar to other southeast Asian countries, there are some unique Myanmar items, such as kits to make the infamous fermented tea leaf salad (lephet thoke) or fish noodle soup (mohinga), that you can find at this small, family-owned market. Their offerings include beverages, snacks, noodles, sauces, spices, and a small selection of fresh produce, frozen meats, and frozen foods. They also offer some housemade, prepackaged items such as a rice dish and baked goods.
8829 E W.T. Harris Blvd. #115 Charlotte, NC 28227
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