The newest Asian-themed shopping center in town will feature multicultural cuisine including, for the vegetarians, the Korean BCD Tofu House; for the trendy folks, the Beverly Hills-based Tokyo Table restaurant; and for the sweet-toothed ones, Beard Papa’s, an Asian cream puffs chain with flavors including green tea and pumpkin.
Anchoring the two-story Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center will be the 25,000-square-foot H Mart, the first in Orange County, according to marketing director Scott Kaiserman. The Korean supermarket may step into the territories of 99 Ranch, which has two stores within a few miles of where H Mart will be on Jamboree Road and Alton Parkway. H Mart has about half a dozen stores in the nation, but only one other California location in Diamond Bar.
“Irvine has a really strong multicultural diverse population, so we thought there was a great fit for this type of a center,” Kaiserman said. According to the 2000 Census, 29 percent of Irvine residents identify as Asians or Pacific Islanders.
The supermarket is planned for an early July opening, Kaiserman said, but other stores, including the Guppy Tea House Café, are expected to be ready for customers starting this month. The center is expected to be fully in business, or close to it, with 42 tenants in mid-September for a grand opening.
The center is about 70 percent leased, Kaiserman said, and the remaining spots are for a bank, a restaurant, a retailer, a dental office and a law office.
There will be a historical moment as a popular Taiwan-based bakery and coffee stop, 85C Bakery Café, makes its debut in the United States at the center. According to its Web site, its first shop in Taipei brings in about 2,000 guests daily.
“They’re like a Starbucks in Taiwan. They’re everywhere,” said Irvine resident Lani Hendrickson. Recalling her visit, she said the café is “like a French bakery, but it’s lighter and tastes healthier. It’s really good.”
The bakery, which has grown to more than 300 locations in a little over three years, is known for its pastry, coffee and bread, said Stephanie Peng, who interned in the Taiwan bakery. That store had about 70 types of bread, said Peng, who is helping her parents launch the Irvine location.
“In Taiwan, after about four hours, if the bread’s not sold, they toss it out,” Peng said. She said that chefs from Taiwan will fly in to train the chefs at the Irvine bakery.
Irvine has at least three other major shopping centers that are primarily filled with Asian tenants. At the intersection of Culver Drive and Irvine Center Drive is a plaza that includes 99 Ranch, Sam Woo Restaurant and Morning Glory. On Walnut and Jeffrey are two Asian shopping centers that include another Lollicup, Yogurtland and A&J’s Restaurant.
For more information about the center: diamond-jamboree.com
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Contact the writer: ctran@ocregister.com or 949-553-2913
