Viet Hoa Supermarket

Where to grocery shop when you live in Belmar?

Well, downtown Lakewood has both a King Soopers and a Whole Foods Market. But living in Belmar also gives you choices you wouldn't have if you lived in a newer, less-ethnically diverse suburb. 

For this post I want to focus on the Viet Hoa Supermarket. If you haven't ever been, it's on Alameda, just 1 mile east of Wadsworth Blvd, and it's my go-to store for Asian noodles, hot pepper sauces, fresh basil and frozen dumplings. They also carry a decent kimchi, perfect for homemade Korean tacos.

It's a big store, located in a more or less decrepit strip mall. The vast, empty parking lot is not sexy. There's no where to lock your bike, even though the location is very bike-able (it's connected to Belmar by bike path). It's pretty much the antithesis of smart urban design.

But thank goodness it's here, as it often saves me a trip across town to H-Mart, when I'm in need of a specific ingredient for a dish I'm craving.

Update March 2013

Viet Hoa has moved from the location mentioned here, but thankfully just a little bit down the road. The new location is at Alameda and Sheridan, on the northwest corner of the street.