H Mart, a Korean specialty grocer that bills itself as the nation’s largest Asian supermarket chain, will open a store in Kakaako this year, adding to the mix of planned and existing grocery stores in the rapidly expanding residential area.

The family-run supermarket chain specializing in Asian food and products will be across the street from Down to Earth, a natural-food grocery store, set to open in April; and blocks away from Whole Foods Market, opening by June.

H Mart will occupy 22,800 square feet on two levels next to The Flats at Puunui at 458 Keawe St., with a ground-floor supermarket and second-floor food hall, called Market Eatery, offering ready-made products.

“There’s probably going to be over 5,000 new households in the area with all the construction underway. H Mart provides something that the market doesn’t have right now,” said Mike Hamasu, director of consulting and research for Colliers International, which leased the property. “It’s a unique offering. It’s a Korean market versus your standard U.S. grocery supermarket. Kakaako is going to continue to face rapid growth, so retailers are going to continue to be attracted to the area. You have a lot more residents moving to the area, which means they bring with them their disposable income.”

Condominium residents prefer convenience and do not like to travel far for basic day-to-day necessities, he added.

“If you’re in a high-rise development, you don’t want to carry 15 bags in the elevator,” Hamasu said.

Market Eatery is a concept created with Korean chef and author Deuki Hong, who will open Sunday BBQ (a Korean barbecue) and Sunday Bird, a popular San Francisco-based eatery offering Korean fried chicken. The food hall will have seven to 10 different dining concepts, comprising mostly local vendors, the company said in a news release.

H Mart President Stacey Kwon called the Kakaako location the “perfect setting” in the release, adding, “We are constantly striving to provide top-quality food and service to our guests and to promote our rich and robust culture.”

Down to Earth will operate a 13,000-square-foot location across the street on the ground floor of the midrise condominium Keauhou Lane, at the corner of Keawe and Pohukaina streets.

H Mart — short for “Han Ah Reum,” meaning “One Arm Full of Groceries” in Korean — is a New Jersey-based chain that started in 1982 as a small grocery store in Queens, N.Y. It has since grown to more than 60 locations throughout the country and 50 million customers a year. It plans to open 15 more stores over the next year.

“We don’t really see them as competition. It’s a totally different kind of retailer,” said Mark Fergusson, CEO of Down to Earth. “Because they’re a specialty retailer, they’ll bring people from a wide area, so they’re not just pulling people from the neighborhood. That’s why they’re a good kind of neighbor to have. They’ll be a destination for people who want Asian specialty products.”

Fergusson added, “At the end of Kakaako where we’re at, it’s basically a food desert. There’s a lot of residents and projected to be a lot more residents going to the area as more high-rise towers get finished and occupied. One day there’s going to be a railway coming right through the middle of it all.”