The lines at the cash registers are 15 deep or more, and the aisles are traffic jams of shopping carts, making the trip from one to the next an exercise in logistics. But this is no last-minute Christmas-buying frenzy at the toy store or baked ham outlet.
In one patron's cart sits a whole rockfish, recently removed from its packing crate of ice, cleaned and wrapped. In another, cartons of imported Fuji apples and Fuyu persimmons, traditional treats for holiday gatherings. A third is piled high with fresh vegetables, including a Korean radish the size of a small watermelon.
Elmer Castro helps cashier Oksun Lee bag groceries at the Korean Korner market in Wheaton. Paul Yi, general manager, prides himself on the store's selection of fresh produce.
(Photos Juana Arias -- The Washington Post)
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On an otherwise bland, suburban intersection in Wheaton sits the Korean Korner supermarket, a teeming monument to the shifting demographics of metropolitan Washington. Though under Korean management and stocked primarily with Asian foods and housewares, the market also caters to the area's large Latino population, as well as to Asian communities. In the background, the music playing for shoppers was the Christmas tune "Feliz Navidad."
"This is our biggest day of the year," said Paul Yi, the store's general manager, who fields questions from employees over his walkie-talkie in both Korean and fluent Spanish. Only a smattering of English is overheard in the aisles, amid the polyglot of Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog (the primary language of the Philippines) and Spanish.
Along one wall, Yi shows off a glassed-enclosed kitchen where six women wearing employee badges and matching green shirts prepare party platters of fried dumplings, vegetable cakes, glass-noodle salads and other catering orders.
The market had 40 orders for tempura platters on this day alone, he said.
Small, family-run international markets have dotted the landscape for years, providing food staples and other necessities for dozens of immigrant communities.
More recently, several large international supermarkets, with square footage rivaling the big U.S. chains, have opened in the region. Super H Mart, Grand Mart and others provide cuisines of all stripes under one roof, including Salvadoran, Japanese and Middle Eastern.
Korean Korner, which opened in Wheaton 11 years ago, is threading a needle. While much larger than the average family market and with plans to expand further, it nonetheless sticks to its roots of selling Korean and other Asian prepared foods and ingredients.
But it draws from all walks of life by offering a fish section that rivals dockside markets, a wide array of fresh and marinated meats and an array of produce that in some cases costs half what major supermarkets charge.
For Yi, produce is his biggest weapon. Unlike many U.S. groceries, he places fresh fruits and vegetables up front, making customers walk through them to go anywhere else.
He presents an array of traditional and specialty items, many purchased directly from California dealers and all with his involvement.
"Produce always comes first" with buyers, Yi said. "I don't understand why the American markets do some of the things they do."
It appears he knows his customers well.
