Dai Thanh Supermarket opens its largest San Jose grocery store so far

SAN JOSE — Dai Thanh Supermarket will open its largest store yet in San Jose after taking over a former grocery site in the Seven Trees neighborhood.

The Vietnamese supermarket company leased the former Marina Grocery property at 4148 Monterey Road. It will be Dai Tranh Supermarket’s third San Jose location after the retailer exited its long-time downtown grocery store at 418 South Second St. in late 2022.

“We really want to help the neighborhood and make the area better like we did when we were operating on Second Street,” said Alanna Hua-Yamada, daughter of Thanh Hua, the patriarch of the family that operates the Dai Thanh grocery stores.

Dai Thahn Supermarket also operates stores at 1641 North Capitol Ave. in the Berryessa district and at 2040 Tully Road in East San Jose.

“This new store is much larger than the other ones,” Hua-Yamada said.

The former Marina Grocery space totals 27,300 square feet, a regulatory filing shows.

“Dai Thanh Supermarket has quite a following. They are very popular,” said David Taxin, a partner with San Jose-based commercial real estate firm Meacham Oppenheimer. “This is a very good location and they will do quite well there.”

In addition to its Vietnamese food-oriented items, Dai Thanh Supermarket expects to offer a wider range of items at the new site than is the case at its smaller stores.

“We will have more diverse food products,” Hua-Yamada said. “We will carry Hispanic foods for the first time. We have a Filipino foods aisle. We have vegan products. We will have convenience items. We have a big ramen section.”

A large meat, poultry and fish section was also visible during a walk through of the store by this news organization. The store will also sell beverages, such as alcohol.

While the new Dai Thanh Supermarket will offer plenty of frozen foods, the grocery store won’t initially have grab-and-go items that people can prepare at the store and then take home.

The store is expected to have about 65 employees, according to Hua-Yamada. The two smaller stores each have about 50 workers, she estimated.

Dai Thanh Supermarket isn’t relying on advertising to alert Bay Area residents about the new grocery store, according to Hua-Yamada. The enthusiasm about the store is organic.

“We are getting a lot of interest,” Hua-Yamada said. “A lot of people who shop at our other stores but live around here told us they are very happy about this new location. The community around here is promoting us constantly. It’s word of mouth.”

Dai Thanh Supermarket doesn’t typically use weekly advertisements to alert shoppers about deals, in another example of the grocer’s word-of-mouth approach.

“We will have good prices, but we are also going to offer the best quality,” Hua-Yamada said. “We don’t compromise on quality.”

The owners of the building where Dai Thanh Supermarket is operating in South San Jose knew they were planning to exit the site. So they approached members of the Hua family to inquire about leasing the space. A leasing deal was arranged.

Dai Thanh Supermarket is also working with local entrepreneurs to open small shops in the Seven Trees Center.

A pho merchant, sandwich shop and bakery are expected to lease small spaces, according to Hua-Yamada.

The day before the grand opening, Hua, the family patriarch, could be seen constantly walking through the store, offering observations and suggestions about what was needed for a successful launch.

“He can’t help himself,” Hua-Yamada said of her father, with a smile. “He has the business instincts of how to do things. He’s like having our own inspector.”

Hua said he is enthusiastic about the new supermarket and fully appreciates the work his younger family members are accomplishing.

“I am proud of them. They are doing great,” Hua said of his family. “It’s exciting.”