From the CHS Facebook Group, a neighbor posts: “HMart AKA M2M is opening on April 15”
Breaking news from the CHS Facebook Group — the Capitol Hill H Mart is finally ready to open Friday, April 15th next to the Broadway entrance to Capitol Hill Station.
“So hyped to have a variety of food this neighborhood wouldn’t offer previously,” said one excited… comm.. ent… er… hey, wait, is that a backhanded slap at Capitol Hill? Never mind.
But here’s the deal — you’re not getting an H Mart. You’re getting a M2M, H Mart’s “urban convenience format” the company has been rolling out in select markets.
“So fresh! So smart! Gateway to the authentic Korean cuisine,” Canadiangrocer.com reports about the M2M “tagline” adding that the format seems to have most of the things Hill shoppers have most anticipated about the new grocery — “a wide selection of Korean cuisine mainstays such as pickled cabbage (kimchi), Korean laver/seaweed, Korean cold and frozen noodles as well as baked goods.”
It has been a long wait for the new store to open. First reported by CHS in 2019, plans show a layout with more than 11,000 square feet of store space on the ground level plus a 5,000+ square foot mezzanine. The company has also been promoting its popular H Mart elements including bakery goods and BBQ chicken as part of the new Capitol Hill location.
For comparison, the still shuttered QFC grocery on 15th Ave E weighs in at around 17,000 square feet.
Elsewhere in Seattle, H Mart has opened its standard groceries and the District H concept, a sleeker, more urban spin on the company’s brand in smaller spaces. The differences across the brands typically include the availability and selection of fresh items includes meats, seafoods, and produce. You’ll find fruits and veggies and other fresh items across the array of stores but those planning more ambitious home cooking may need to keep QFC visits in their rotation. Think more Trader Joe’s than Safeway.
We’ll know more soon about how M2M differs from a regular H Mart but the store has posted hours of 8 AM to 9:30 PM with plans to be open every day of the year.
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Finally! I’m excited to check it out. And who’s going to be first to tell them about the typo (Your Neiborhood Asian Supermarket) in the signs across their windows?
Really looking forward to the addition to Capitol Hill. Hopefully m2m isn’t too different from H Mart
Sad that it’s not a full on grocery store. We really need a close by TJs, Met Market, Whole Foods or some other option beyond Krogers (who already ditched us on 15th ave)
Agree! I would really like to ditch the mediocre QFC, but I’m not sure that H-Mart will be a great alternative. Definitely worth a try, though.
The issue is theft and a city council that’s not business friendly. Unfortunately it’s current environment I would caution anyone against opening up anything in Seattle given the current regulation climate and lack of police response or a DA that will take action when your being stolen from all day everyday.
I will not support a non-union grocery store.
Is there a unionized grocer in cap hill‽?
Safeway
Do the work
Whoa, no need for an odious response. Why not participate in the thing that you started: a discussion. But I suppose you could always “troll” and dropout.
QFC and Safeway are both a part of Local 21.
Safeway and QFC are both UFCW affiliated workplaces.
That union is a joke. They completely screwed over the department store workers they failed to represent.
Central Co-op on 16th?
Lmao okay, I’m going to continue shopping wherever.
I will! Especially an Asian owned store. They don’t mess around with trouble makers.
Racist?
That’s your choice. Not everyone obsessed with unions.)
I thought the whole idea behind the name “m2m” is that the store is open “morning to midnight,” so it’s disappointing to hear they plan to close up shop at 9:30. Still, any new grocery option is welcome after decades of the QFC/Safeway near-duopoly.
No mention of the tour de jour bakery puts me a little on edge…
It’s Tous Les Jours, and it’s already open – passed by a few days ago, people were buying things.
So it’s finally opening (YES!) but….it’s not even a real H Mart?
I think this deserves some digging. At some point, the changed the concept and didn’t tell anyone, then said “oh btw it’s open tomorrow”? This is not normal corporate behavior. Really curious to know the backstory of what has been going on over the past two and a half years with this project.
I know, right? Years of planning and preparation for what the company consistently said would be an H Mart, all the way to putting up H Mart signage and promotional posters early this year, and then they suddenly switched them out for m2m just days before opening. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that something’s finally opening there, but that was indisputably weird. Would love to know what happened behind the scenes.
Yeah, get the boys down at the Times on the case! such a pressing story. I’m on the edge of my seat over here!!!!
I’m so excited about this. I haven’t really had a lot of Korean food but love to cook and am dying to try all the hot sauce/chili crisp options and see what other interesting ingredients they’ll have to work with. This neighborhood has been lacking a good specialty grocer for as long as I’ve lived here. It would be so nice to have an Indian grocer next.
There is an Indian grocer on Hiawatha near Judkins Park
Would be awesome. Agora on 15th is a good Mediterranean / greek speciality store, but Indian or Middle Eastern would be a very welcome option.
The locals be cruising the produce aisle at the “M4M Mart” 🍆🏳️🌈
https://wowseattle.com/category/market-weekly-ads/
Went to the new M2M Asian Mart today and was disappointed . They were supposed to be open at 8 am but at a sign because of technical or mechanical difficulties we had to come back at 10am . I get there at 10am and in certain areas things still weren’t on the shelf . At the bakery part one had to work around workers still stocking ? Also and upstairs sitting section we couldn’t go to yet and if we asked questions we were quickly rushed verbally like Can we help you , Can we help you over and over . So I might come there sometimes but still price wise I also think our Safeway and QFC are cheaper . Kinda wishing that we had got a PCC location there , because at least they are local :(
booo m2m for life
Shame on them for not having everything perfect on opening day!
I passed by around 11, got a nice hot deli lunch, perused the produce section. Everyone seemed excited, and the cashiers were nice.
I used to live next to the H-Mart downtown.
One awesome thing they did was that nearly all the prepared foods went ~30-40% off in the last few hours of the day.
No idea if they’ll do that here, but it was a great source of (not horribly unhealthy) inexpensive food on short notice.
Anyone know why they changed the Cap Hill store from H Mart to m2m? While the branding and concept itself makes sense they had already had H Mart signs and branding up then took it all down and replaced with m2m after delaying the opening.