This is the first weekend that north Texans have a new place to shop for foods common to Asian-American communities.
The Cali Saigon Mall in Garland reopened at the corner of North Jupiter and Belt Line roads. It caters to the fast growing Asian-American population in North Texas.
Richardson residents Geirt and Kylie Peck did some of their grocery shopping Sunday at the Sieu Thi Thuan Phat supermarket where aisles and shelves are filled with Asian foods.
The supermarket is at the heart of the reopening of the Cali Saigon mall
It's food that I've grown up with so it's comfort food for me. For him it's something very different,” Peck said.
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A dismal economy forced the supermarket to shut down in Sept. 2010. However, a recovering economy this time around has produced different results.
"[It’s] three to four times better than 2008 when we had our first grand opening," Jennifer Nguyen, the mall’s spokesperson said.
The mall is important to the ever growing Asian population in north Texas.
According to the US Census Bureau, the Asian-American population in Dallas County increased 35 percent between 2000 and 2010. Neighboring Tarrant County saw a 60 percent increase. Denton County saw the population skyrocket 149 percent. And in Collin County there was a whopping 158% surge.
In Dallas County, the Census said there are 119,250 Asian-Americans. There are 84,561 in Tarrant County. There are 43,478 Asian-Americans in Denton County and 87,752 in Collin County.
The supermarket's new owner Hieu Tran moved from California and is bringing his 20 years of experience to manage the store into prosperity.
"I would like to bring my experience to Dallas to serve the Vietnamese and Chinese community," Tran said.
