CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-area chain of three supermarkets continues to grow its footprint as more Asian families move to Mecklenburg County.
According to new data released by the U.S. Census, the number of Mecklenburg County residents who identify as Asian jumped 50% in the last decade.
Walking around the largest of his three locations, located off The Plaza, Tony Liu, the owner of Asian Market, said families used to drive all the way to Atlanta to get their native cuisines.
Now, he said customers come from as far away as the Outer Banks and Columbia, South Carolina.
"Some people, they're from Wilmington," Liu said. "They're driving three-and-a-half hours every couple weeks."
He said many of their customers are mixed-race families.
"They come here. They're happy because they just stop by the one place," Liu said, describing the convenience of his market. "They can have whatever they want."
Liu opened his first location near Matthews three years ago, and, in addition to his location off The Plaza, he recently opened a third location near University and planned to open a fourth location.
He hopes to continue growing and serving Asian families and families of other races, ethnicities and cultures.
"So they're happy! We're happy!" Liu said. "Just to make [it] easy to getting whatever they want."
Contact Brandon Golder at bgoldner@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.