Corporate Asian Chains Reshape Denver Grocery Market

Hashi Market, a New York-based chain blending supermarket and department store formats, is preparing to open a location at 12200 E. Mississippi Ave. in Aurora. The store will sit directly across from an existing Great Wall Chinese Market location. The company, which operates under Chinese management, plans to include a kitchen for fresh bentos and sushi, leveraging ties to Japanese suppliers. The name Hashi translates to chopsticks in Japanese, a term that also means bridge.

The arrival of such corporate entities marks a sharp shift in the local retail environment. For decades, shoppers seeking items like miso, nori seaweed, or gochujang sauce relied on independent, family-run stores. Pacific Mercantile, a downtown Denver institution since 1946, and H Mart, which opened its first Aurora location in 2004, dominated the sector. Other long-standing establishments, including Great Wall Chinese Market and various Vietnamese and Korean markets, served specific communities without direct competition from large national chains.

In the last year, a wave of new corporate entrants has disrupted this balance. Teso Life opened in Aurora, while 85-Degree C Bakery Café established locations in Aurora and Centennial. Daiso, a Japanese retailer known for low-cost goods, has expanded its Colorado footprint, and Dajoa Premium Market opened a gourmet Korean grocery store in Aurora in December 2025. These new stores offer a wide array of Asian snacks and packaged foods, competing directly with the specialized inventories of older mom-and-pop markets.

Jolie Noguchi, the third-generation head of Pacific Mercantile, views the influx with a mix of cultural appreciation and economic anxiety. Her daughter, Alyssa, who is preparing to take over the store, identified Hashi Market as a potential threat after watching a promotional video. Noguchi questions whether Denver can support such a high density of similar businesses. She describes the rapid expansion as intense, noting that the market feels saturated with new options appearing simultaneously.

Chance Horiuchi, executive director of the Havana Business Improvement District in Aurora, acknowledges the competitive pressure. She notes that smaller stores lack the buying power of major chains like Teso Life. Horiuchi points to the high traffic on the Havana corridor, where intersections see 40,000 to 60,000 cars daily, as a factor that draws these large companies. She observes that Asian goods are now common in mainstream retailers, including Target, Five Below, and King Soopers, which has expanded its Asian department.

Further expansion is already in the pipeline. Seven & I Holdings, the parent company of 7-Eleven, is updating its U.S. strategy to include fresh-made foods like Japanese-style egg salad sandwiches. Additionally, a One Plus One Chinese grocery store is slated for construction near Denver International Airport. This project, located at 18200 E. 64th Avenue, will include hot pot and pho restaurants and is expected to be completed in 2028.