Worldly goods
International grocery store comes to south Oklahoma City
World Fresh Int’l Market co-owner Quan Nguyen shows where he plans to display food inside the grocery store being developed in south Oklahoma City.
Don’t bother bringing your passport, the cuisine of the world is coming to south Oklahoma City.
World Fresh Int’l Market, an international grocery concept, is set to open this year in a former Homeland at 10700 S Pennsylvania Ave. Owned by Quan Nguyen and Thang Truong, the pair hope to provide high-quality items from around globe to customers in Oklahoma.
“We’ve been thinking about this concept; we know the demand is here,” Nguyen said. “And then we saw this place was here. Everything is built and it is easy to make the concept work.”
The pair own Saigon-Taipei Market a short distance north at 1648 SW 89, which they will close when World Fresh opens. Nguyen worked alongside Thang Truong since 2005 at Saigon-Taipei, and he says the pair have known for several years there was a need to expand and offer more global options.
Thang Truong’s son, Franklin Truong, also is working to help make World Fresh into a global-themed grocer.
“Our goal is to be a true international market, and the great thing about an international market is it appeals to everyone,” Franklin Truong said. “I think in Oklahoma we are starting to diversify more and people’s palates are starting to open up. Oklahoma is starting to have a need for those products.”
An emphasis is being placed on ensuring World Fresh Int’l Market is up to the same standards as any mainstream grocer.
“A lot of ethnic markets aren’t up to par with American standards so there is a stigma sometimes of people entering those markets to do their daily shopping,” Franklin Truong said. “With us ... we are thinking, ‘How come the average American customer doesn’t come into our markets?’ and it’s because ... it’s not comfortable.
“So with this concept we are hoping to do everything great,” Franklin Truong said. “Have great variety and make it comfortable for anyone to shop.”
Foods from across the globe
Franklin Truong said an ethnic market often excels in the variety of produce and seafood available for purchase. Fruits, vegetables and fish from across the globe are expected to be sold at World Fresh, with some renovations being made to expand the produce and seafood sections of the building.
“If you go into Crest or Walmart or any American market, you aren’t going to have the variety of produce, variety of fruits especially, that an ethnic market like ours is going to have,” Franklin Truong said.
The store is 64,455 square feet, according to NAI Sullivan Group Vice President of Retail Sam Swanson IV, who helped Nguyen secure a longterm lease of the building. This more than doubles the square footage from Saigon-Taipei, which will allow for expansion beyond Asian market items. European, African and other items will fill the shelves at World Fresh.
“Being here, I have all kinds of friends from different ethnicities, and looking around there’s not a place where some of the minorities can shop at,” Franklin Truong said. “There’s not a big Korean market or big African market or big Indian market and there’s pretty big communities of those ethnicities here.
“Because some of our cuisines are similar, it all fits together,” Franklin Truong said. “We thought we could make a concept that makes everyone happy and can be a one-stop for everybody.”
Changing alcohol laws will enable the grocery store to offer some global beverages, according to Joe Donaruma, store manager.
“That will open a lot of doors to a lot of different nationalities with all the wines, a lot of wines, and certainly crafted beer,” Donaruma said.
As the owners and managers look forward to opening, Nguyen notes this isn’t a novel concept, it’s simply not as common in Oklahoma City. Other cities have similar global markets, and Nguyen feels south Oklahoma City is a great location for something similar. He hopes the central location within the state and proximity to international students at the University of Oklahoma will help bolster business.
“Here, we are probably the first ones doing this kind of market,” Nguyen said. “Because we are the first one, it could be a big thing.”