Japanese grocery store opens in downtown San Jose

A new grocer has come to downtown San Jose, erasing its reputation as a food desert.

Sakura Market, located on the ground floor below the San Jose State University dorms at 184 S. Market St. and next to the Signia hotel, opened its doors Friday. Part of the Osaka Marketplace brand, the specialty Japanese grocery chain is a modern convenience store. The 5,000-square-foot location focuses on quality, accessibility and everyday convenience by offering a curated selection of ready-to-enjoy meals, meats, vegetables and authentic Japanese food and beverages.

“We have work or school, we have our homes and residences and we also need our third spaces where community can gather and experience one another and be one with our outdoor environment or indoor environment,” San Jose Downtown Association CEO Brian Kurtz told San José Spotlight. “The name Sakura Market, the translation (is) cherry blossom. The symbol of cherry blossom is a new beginning or renewal. If that’s not what we are experiencing in downtown San Jose in this current time, I don’t know what is.”

Kurtz said Sakura Market’s opening couldn’t be more timely. The downtown has been in need of a grocer for years. He said locals will now have a place to buy food, produce and have something the community will “cherish.”

The location provides a wide selection of sandwiches, fried chicken, fresh sashimi fish, a wide variety of Japanese ice cream, Asian sodas, a matcha stand, Japanese beauty section and a do it yourself instant ramen bar, Grocery Division Manager Sho Okawa said.

Sakura Market’s grand opening comes on the heels of downtown’s well documented struggles to bring in a local grocery store to the area. A Safeway located on the once-busy corner of Second and San Fernando streets was the only grocery store in recent operation, until it closed in 2019 due to a lack of residents living downtown and high office vacancy rates.

Prior to Safeway, in 2011 a Zanotto’s location that’d been a mainstay on South Second Street since 1996 was forced to close its doors permanently, despite receiving a $1.65 million loan from the city after it temporarily closed in 2003.

“We feel lucky and proud that (Osaka Marketplace) chose our district here in one of the most diverse communities,” Tuan Nguyen, senior field representative for Assemblymember Ash Kalra, told San José Spotlight. “Japanese communities have given a lot to San Jose and we are excited about the next chapter after this one.”

Hundreds of people lined up outside Sakura Market, with some arriving as early as 6:30 a.m. to be first in line for the 10 a.m. opening. The variety of different selections made it exciting, and was worth the wait for the gift bag San Jose resident Meagan Magaoay said she received. The first 100 customers of the grand opening received a free Sakura gift bag, to bring more crowds to the opening. The gift bags included Japanese snacks, drinks, candy and beauty products.

Local resident Brandon Lan heard about the market because of his status as a San Jose State alumnus and decided to check it out.

“Sakura Market will provide a great opportunity for San Jose State students,” Lan told San José Spotlight. “If I was still an SJSU student I would definitely go here all the time.”

Business leaders and local officials are optimistic about the market’s ripple effects on downtown San Jose.

“Downtown is a very important place for people to gather together,” Kazuhiro Takeda, director of Osaka Marketplace, told San José Spotlight. “My expectation is this supermarket will become a trigger for an economic boost over here, and be great for the (SJSU) students too.”

Contact Gabriel Symkowick at [email protected].