Nevada’s 1st H Mart opens with long lines, showgirls — PHOTOS

Dragons and showgirls heralded in customers during the opening of Nevada’s first H Mart.

On Thursday, city, state and H Mart officials celebrated the grand opening of the newest outlet of the Asian supermarket and appliance chain at 2620 S. Decatur Blvd. The line of customers stretched across the shopping plaza, which also includes Paris Baguette and Chipotle, inching out onto the sidewalk along Sahara Avenue.

Line leaders, Mel and Alex Laureano, said they had been waiting since 4 a.m. They postponed their regular shopping day to stock up at H Mart, saying they typically visit out-of-state locations to get their fix.

“We go to California fairly often; the last thing we do is go to H Mart,” Mel Laureano said. “We like to stock up on the Korean snacks that we don’t have here, and the ice cream that we don’t have here, and then we just take it immediately home.”

As self-proclaimed “foodies,” they both are most excited about the food hall, which is packed with offerings like boba, barbecue meats and other Asian cuisines.

At 9:30 a.m., the festivities began, with remarks from H Mart President Brian Kwon, U.S. Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., Vegas Chamber Business Development Executive Sheri Sakamoto and Las Vegas Korean American Association President Alex Kim.

“This one took a while for us. We had a lot of delays,” Kwon said during his remarks. The location was announced in April 2023.

Following, a group of Las Vegas showgirls performed to “Viva Las Vegas” and a Chinese dragon dance was performed, which led the first group of customers inside the store.

What to expect inside

Inside the 53,395-square-foot store is a variety of items, including groceries, appliances, beauty items and a food hall. Additionally, during the grand opening event, there were discounts on items such as Hello Kitty toilet paper for $11.99 and a 5-pound box of Honey mangoes for $3.99.

Walking in, customers are first greeted by a dishware and utensils section, which includes such items as rice cookers, pans, hot plates, whisks and bowls. Additionally, on the wall behind is a Las Vegas-themed Welcome to H Mart sign.

To the left are some such home items as pillows, laundry detergent, dish soap, Asian beauty items and even Sanrio plushies, which caught local Joanne Lee’s eye. Lee was there shopping for everyday items, but got sidetracked at the aisle of plushies.

“I have a whole list of items,” Lee said. “A lot of side dishes, kitchenware even, ramen stuff. Stuff we probably wouldn’t have found elsewhere.”

Past the plushies and houseware is where the food section opens up. First up is produce.

Aside from typical fruits and vegetables, H Mart shines with its specialty offerings, like jackfruit, durian, Korean watermelons, kohlrabi, mushrooms and an entire section dedicated to kimchi and other pickled vegetables, as well as a large section dedicated to tofu.

Next up are the 12 aisles of food offerings, ranging from dry goods to frozen items. Each aisle is separated by Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Western items.

One full aisle is dedicated to ramen, another just chips and other snacks, one for sauces and another for beverages. In the frozen section, there is a dedicated area for dumpling, ice cream and even fish cakes.

Behind the aisles of goods is a large meat and seafood section, with live offerings.

Again, typical meats are available, but also things like bulgogi, marinated pork and beef, even marinated chicken feet. As for seafood, there are live crabs, including giant king crabs, live lobster, cuts of fish such as flounder, croaker, salmon and weakfish, mussels, clams and more.

Endcaps are filled with grab ’n’ go meals, desserts and other supplies and utensils.

In the front is the checkout section, but to the right is the food hall, which includes a dining area and offerings from BBQ Chicken, Hanmo Tofu, Jopok Topokk, Moobongri Soondae Express, Paik’s Noodle, Saku Japanese Eatery and Tiger Sugar.

The location will be open daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.