You can smell the irresistible lure of fish fry along North Street.
In this busy urban neighborhood on the edge of downtown, an unusual business opened four years ago: Mini H Mart, selling Korean groceries and gifts along with ramen and bulgolgi plates in the restaurant section and — a neighborhood favorite — the $5 fish fry lunch special.
Everyone loves a great meal and a great deal. Mini H Mart has developed a loyal neighborhood following by offering both with one special, and it helps that it's big enough for two meals. The special runs until 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday in the restaurant portion of Mini H Mart, which serves lunch and dinner with Korean specials such as bulgolgi barbecue beef plates for $9.99.
Hyosook Lee and her, husband, Ansik Chang, opened Mini H Mart at 658 North St. in Marketview Heights after not being able to come to an agreement with their former landlord on Mt. Hope Avenue near the University of Rochester.
They chose North Street because a relative owns Ocean Seafood next door. Instead of Asian college students, as at their former locale, their clientele in the neighborhood is primarily African American and Latino.
Mini H Mart is their variation on a popular Korean American concept, H Mart, a Korean American supermarket chain operated by the Hanahreum Group that's found in several big cities.
The family emigrated to the United States about seven years ago with help from family and moved to Pittsford, where two of the couple's three daughters graduated from Pittsford Sutherland High School. One daughter now attends The College at Brockport and another is at the University at Buffalo. The daughters help out at the grocery store when they can, mostly on weekends when it is the busiest.
Saturday is Korean sushi day, when Lee makes the Korean-style treats as well as other Korean specials. Asian customers from around the region tend to visit the grocer on Saturdays.
And customers from all over travel for Lee's homemade kimchi, the celebrated dish of fermented vegetables heavily infused with garlic. There are always rotating varieties, with the Napa cabbage being a staple along with other vegetables such as cucumber and radish.
Mini H also sells Korean cookware and gifts, from clay pots to bling for your smartphone.
Business is steady but not booming, Lee said. It's a destination place for area Asians, but the shop isn't well known. The cash flow is OK because it's just the two of them — husband and wife — working the store, Lee said. Profit margins are small as very little is made from the $5 fish fry special, she added.
The Ocean Seafood market next door does help bring in traffic. New customers get to discover the unusual interesting combination of fish fry with a side of kimchi.
Mary Chao is the retail and real estate reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle. This month, the D&C mobile newsroom visits the north Rochester area of North Street and Hudson Avenue.
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October 28, 2019 at 03:24PM
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$5 fish fry bargain is just the start at Mini H Mart on North Street in Rochester - Democrat & Chronicle
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