T&T Supermarket: Canada’s largest Asian grocery chain opens in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO - Canada's largest Asian grocery chain, T&T Supermarket, opened the doors on Thursday morning to its new location in San Francisco, the second such megastore in the Bay Area.

"I am so excited for T&T to be in San Francisco," CEO Tina Lee told KTVU as she toured around the store. "San Francisco is a foodie town." 

Famous for wantons, crepes

Why you should care:

Long lines began forming hours before the scheduled 9 a.m. opening at the supermarket at 2675 Geary Boulevard near Masonic Avenue, with crowds traveling from across San Francisco and from as far away as Concord to be among the first inside.

"I'm excited to have a T&T Canadian-style store come open here in San Francisco," customer Albert said while waiting in line. "They are famous for their wontons and their crepes, so it's definitely a must-try."

Inside the 50,000-square-foot space, store shelves and counters were stocked with fresh produce like Dragon fruit and Mino melons, fish, lobster, and crabs. The building had sat vacant for years before the grocery chain took over the property.

Fast permitting

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About a month prior to the grand opening, Lee – the daughter of company founders – gave San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie an advance tour of the location. 

Lee noted that San Francisco provided the fastest permitting process of any location the company has launched in the United States.

Customer Carissa Fei said she came early for the merchandise and variety.

"I like going to grand openings, there's a lot of great deals," Fei said. "And T&T delivers a lot of fresh foods and all sorts of different things. Like, this one has a cafe even."

Asian culture

The Geary Boulevard site is T&T's second store in the Bay Area, following the opening of a 55,000-square-foot South Bay location in San Jose in June. It represents the company's fourth overall store in the United States.

Founded in Vancouver in 1993 by Cindy and Jack Lee, the company now operates 38 supermarket locations across Canada, according to the company.

The company noted that back then, "buying Asian groceries was not that easy."

That's why the aim of the supermarket, the company stated, is to provide food that helps Asian families "connect with their past and build cultural traditions in their lives outside of Asia."