Seafood City, the nation’s biggest Filipino supermarket chain, opened in Chandler on Thursday.
It’s the California-based company’s first Arizona location and brings more than 100 jobs to the area.
Doors opened at 9 a.m at the store located at Chandler Fashion Center, 3111 W. Chandler Blvd.
An hour before its opening, hundreds of people stood in the line wrapped around the outside of the mall. At the front of the line was Alex Hapan of Mesa. He said he and his family came from across the Valley to line up at 4 a.m. in anticipation of the store opening.
Congressman Greg Stanton, Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke, Maricopa County Supervisor Mark Stewart and representatives from Sen. Mark Kelly’s office attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony as well as Seafood City President Matthew Go and Jenny Lynn Ho-Vijungco, the Honorary Consul of the Philippines in Arizona.
Stanton addressed the eager crowd: “Only in Arizona, in the middle of summer, 100 degree heat this early, that you get hundreds and hundreds of people waiting to come into Seafood City to enjoy everything inside,” he said.
Seafood City houses a food hall, which offers several types of Filipino cuisine, including: Grill City, for barbecue, grilled meats and seafood; Bakers Avenue, for freshly baked breads and pastries; Slurp Alley for noodle and hotpot; Crispy Town for Filipino comfort food; and more.
According to a press release last month, the Chandler location will also feature a new crab market concept.
Seafood City has about two dozen stores in California and more than a dozen in several other states and Canada.
Local Filipino-American Jonathan Garcia says the new location gives Filipino residents a way to find community.
"Having Seafood City here, it's giving us a lot more rep. You know, we have a lot of Asian places, but we don't really have just a Filipino supermarket, and we can find a lot more things here in Seafood City, and like honestly, this whole cafeteria. There's like so much things to pick pick from, which normally you wouldn't be able to get to," Garcia said.
Garcia says the store features a wider variety of products compared to other out of state locations.
May Coy came to America six years ago, and says the new store gives residents the chance to experience Filipino culture.
“That's our culture that we always smile despite of challenges, trials. We always share food. That's our tradition, though. We love to share our food to everybody," she said.
Coy says Seafood City gives locals an opportunity to make new friends and celebrate family. She says prior to the new location, it was difficult to find Filipino ingredients and products.
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