Grocers get room to grow

Grocers get room to grow

Feeling a little international? Check out the Triangle's expanded international grocery scene.

Grand Asia Market, which opened off Buck Jones Road in 1997 helping to keep the local Asian population stocked with essentials from home, opened its new doors this week at South Hills in Cary.

The best feature? Room to breathe. With more than triple the space of the old location, owner Jenny Chen can stock more rice noodles, soy sauces and hard-to-find Asian produce. At 21,000 square feet, the store is drastically different, with wide aisles, brighter lighting and more shelf space. It also has six checkout lanes and a bakery at the front of the store with European- and Asian-style breads, cakes and pastries -- such as sweet rice cakes, sesame rolls and chestnut cakes.

The store also has more space for its meat and seafood departments -- already packed with more of Grand Asia's displays of live fish and lobsters.

And for those who get hungry while they shop, Grand Asia has expanded its restaurant. It still serves Chinese standards, such as Kung Pao shrimp and General Tso's chicken, only the kitchen is bigger. And there are more than double the number of tables and chairs.

Meanwhile, Neomonde, the Lebanese and Mediterranean bakery and restaurant on Beryl Road in Raleigh, also is enjoying some more elbow room.

Neomonde owners -- four brothers -- recently updated the restaurant and added more space for eating Neomonde's signature pita bread, hummus, tabouli and baba ghanouj.

Sam Saleh, one of the brothers, said the restaurant and grocery section expanded by 3,000 square feet, after they moved the baking operation to the company's Morrisville location.

Now there's triple seating space in the dining room and more than double the retail space to sell Neomonde's pita bread, Mediterranean cheeses, olive oils and preserves.

Beaver Creek Commons, the shopping complex being built at U.S. 64 and N.C. 55 in Apex, is starting to come alive with its two big tenants.

Lowe's Home Improvement this week opened its seventh store in the Triangle at Beaver Creek. The $18.5 million store at 116,000 square feet has 40,000 items.

And a 175,000-square-foot Super Target has opened at the 400,000-square-foot shopping center. It's the area's 10th Target.

Spiral sliced and glazed hams are on the menu at the new Honey Hams and More's first Triangle location at Brier Creek Commons in North Raleigh. ... Also in Brier Creek, California Closets, which specializes in organizing living spaces, has moved from Durham to a larger showroom. ... Brenda Lewter has bought The Bootique on Third Street in Smithfield and added Michael Stars tees, Citizens for Humanity jeans and Michael Simo apparel.