H Mart in Davis Square, originally expected to open in June, now may open in September or October, according to managers with the Asian grocery chain. Although the Somerville store’s opening is more than three months late, there are no details on the cause of the delay, with attempts to find answers leading into a maze of phone extensions that end in hang-ups.
All construction and preparation was projected to be completed by Aug. 5, according to a Food Establishment Plan Review application filed with the City of Somerville. Preparation work began April 29, just days after the announcement of the store.
Yet there is no official opening date as workers are still “preparing for opening,” said the manager of the Brookline location, who did not give a name to Cambridge Day. A worker at the Quincy location said she thinks the Somerville location is opening on Friday – but is unsure.
The windows are papered over and there are no discernible signs of life inside. But awnings and an illuminated sign are up at the 244 Elm St. location, which moves it beyond the progress of a Middlesex Avenue, Medford, store announced in October. The Medford site is now the topic of a few frustrated threads on the discussion platform Reddit, with comments such as “It has been ‘coming soon’ for almost a year now, and hasn’t undergone much change since” (five months ago) and “I try to drive by it once a week, and last I checked they still don’t have shelves up.”
The H Mart website does not have information on the Medford location, but advertises that the Somerville location is “coming soon.”
With 42 part-time and full-time workers, the Somerville location will offer takeout food options within a nearly 20,000-square-foot store.
H Mart filed the proper documents with the City of Somerville, but the city has no information on the store’s timeline, deputy director of communications Grace Munns said.
A public records request showed no documents or city memos explaining or asking about the delay or showing curiosity about or interest in moving an opening along. The grocery store location is just one of several empty storefronts in Davis Square, most of them resulting from two developments that got far enough along to uproot shops, bars and restaurants before pausing indefinitely for lack of office or lab tenants waiting for the projects to be finished.
Nicholas Nitschke, the architect at the Somerville H Mart location, said he was not heavily involved in construction and is unsure what is causing a delay.
The Korean grocery store will replace bfresh, a small grocery chain, that closed in October. Online commenters shared their desire for a Trader Joe’s or H Mart to replace the store. Despite demand for this H Mart location, shoppers must await its opening for a few more days. Or weeks. Or months. Or more.
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The situation in Davis is the fault of the city, absolutely no excuses. Homes were proposed in a city with a crippling housing crisis and the city said no.
As for HMART… hurry up!!!!