{"slug": "unique-japanese-market-opens-doors-in-san-jose-to-enthusiastic-patrons", "title": "Unique Japanese market opens doors in San Jose to enthusiastic patrons", "summary": "Sakura Market, a Japanese-inspired grocery and convenience store, opened in downtown San Jose, offering a mix of retail, food, and beverages. The market fills a grocery desert left by Safeway's 2019 closure and aims to serve residents, students, and workers with a unique konbini-style experience.", "body_md": "**Getting your**\n\n[Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...SAN JOSE — Sakura Market has opened to the public for the first time, offering customers a unique blend of retail, food and beverage items, providing San Jose’s downtown core a unique bonafide grocery store that had long been lacking in the area.\n\n“As soon as I saw the sign that they were opening, I got really excited,” said Lia Cortes, a downtown San Jose resident who was among the first customers of Sakura Market for its soft opening on Wednesday. “They have a lot here.”\n\nThe [new market is now open](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/17/store-san-jose-market-japan-grocer-food-property-retail-jobs-economy/) at the corner of South First Street and Paseo de San Antonio, near a San Jose State University housing tower known as Spartan Village on the Paseo.\n\n“It’s beautiful, it’s a great space,” said Ashley Long, who lives downtown. “They have a lot of food items, groceries, and other stuff. They have matcha, which I love.”\n\nThe new [Sakura Market](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/07/san-jose-store-retail-jobs-economy-market-build-property-real-estate/) features a mini-mart, sake and beer bar, sushi buffet, instant ramen bar, and matcha tea shop. The store also offers a curated assortment of Japanese snacks, beverages, and everyday essentials.\n\n“It’s very cool,” said Kaylie Valenta, a San Jose State University student who lives in the SJSU housing tower next door to the market. “This is very different from your typical market. I got some grab-and-go. I’ll definitely come back.”\n\nCustomers arrived hours before [the market began operating late morning](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/04/14/store-san-jose-japan-market-grocer-food-property-retail-economy-jobs/), eager to check things out on opening day.\n\n“I’ve been looking for grab-and-go alternatives that are affordable,” said Mario Babasa, a San Jose resident who works a few blocks from Sakura Market. “I think they hit it on the head,” Babasa added, as he surveyed his newly bought goods.\n\nAfter [Safeway closed a small-format store on South Second Street in 2019](https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/09/former-safeway-site-in-downtown-san-jose-lands-local-buyer/), grocery options have been scarce for downtown San Jose residents.\n\n“We have been looking for a market to open in downtown San Jose for a while,” said Zoe Gallego, a San Jose resident who walked a few blocks from work to check out the Sakura site. “There’s really nothing here. I’m excited for this.”\n\nWhole Foods Market and Grocery Outlet operate on the edges of the downtown, but the core is a grocery desert.\n\n“I bet Sakura will be a huge draw and get a lot of business,” said Mark Ritchie, president of Ritchie Commercial, a San Jose-based real estate firm.\n\nSakura Market is inspired by Japan’s “konbini” convenience stores and is an updated version of the grab-and-go concept.\n\n“There is a huge appetite for entertainment and experience retail that is different from the luxury malls in San Jose,” Ritchie said.\n\nSakura Market is owned by Osaka Marketplace and functions as a small-format version of the larger store.\n\n“Our vision for Sakura Market is to create a space that fits seamlessly into people’s daily routines,” said Kazuhiro Takeda, chief operating officer and a director with Osaka Marketplace.\n\nThe new grocery store has been looking for cashiers, customer service workers, stockers, cleaning staff, bartenders, and sushi preparers, along with other roles, according to a hiring post.\n\nWages are expected to range from $18.45 to $21 an hour, depending on experience. Employee roles will include part-time and full-time positions, the post states.\n\nSakura Market’s new retail hub fills an empty space totaling 5,000 square feet that was once occupied by a Muji store that sold household, apparel and stationery items.\n\nThe new grocery hub is also poised to benefit from its proximity to the main San Jose State University campus as well as the Signia by Hilton hotel on the north side of the Paseo.\n\nWhile the challenges are plentiful, first-day customers were enthusiastic.\n\n“The grab-and-go is what got me,” Cortes said. “This is great.”", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/unique-japanese-market-opens-doors-in-san-jose-to-enthusiastic-patrons", "canonical_source": "https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/06/24/store-san-jose-market-japan-grocer-food-property-retail-economy-jobs/", "published_at": "2026-06-24 21:00:31+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-24 21:17:16.580906+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-products"], "entities": ["Sakura Market", "San Jose", "San Jose State University", "Osaka Marketplace", "Kazuhiro Takeda", "Safeway", "Whole Foods Market", "Grocery Outlet"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/unique-japanese-market-opens-doors-in-san-jose-to-enthusiastic-patrons", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/unique-japanese-market-opens-doors-in-san-jose-to-enthusiastic-patrons.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/unique-japanese-market-opens-doors-in-san-jose-to-enthusiastic-patrons.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/unique-japanese-market-opens-doors-in-san-jose-to-enthusiastic-patrons.jsonld"}}