H Mart, The Korean Mega-Market, Opening Chicago Location

Only a day after Seafood City opened their first Chicago location on the city’s North Side, news has broken that another Pan-Asian market is heading to town. Signage for H Mart—the Korean-American mega-market chain with a location in suburban Niles—went up at a former office supply shop overlooking the Kennedy Expressway in the West Loop.

Signage in the window read "coming soon 2017." Messages to the H Mart weren’t immediately returned. Super H Mart in Niles is a deluxe version of the store with a bevy of quick-serve restaurants the serve Korean chicken wings, dumplings and more. It’s unclear right now if this new West Loop H Mart will carry the "super" designation or if there will be fast-serve restaurants inside.

This building at 722 W. Jackson Blvd. is smaller than the former Dominick’s that H Mart converted in Niles. There's also Naperville and Schaumburg locations. The West Loop spot may just be a garden-variety H Mart, carrying marinated meats and other goods for the home cook. Some of the draw for Super H Mart in Niles is neighboring King Spa, the Korean spa with a restaurant in the same strip mall.

Seafood City brass said their Filipino market would attract peoples from a variety of cultures, including Koreans. The two cultures share many of the same ingredients in their foods. However, now there’s a new player in town which will make it easier, especially for those living on the South Side, to grab what they need.

DNAinfo first reported the news.

UPDATE: The Tribune reported that there will be a food court inside. They also report the opening could happen later this year.

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