Lucky Asian Mart LLC is expanding the region’s culinary landscape, as Spokane entrepreneur Stephanie Nguyen and her son, Jonathan, bring in Asian grocery favorites from the West Side to Eastern Washington.

Just after 2 a.m. on Thursdays, the Nguyens climb into a van and head west to Seattle, so that Lucky Asian Mart, located at 8915 N. Division in North Spokane, is stocked with fresh produce, baked goods, meal boxes, and other specialty imported items in time to open the store later that evening.

“Every Thursday morning we go to Seattle,” co-owner Stephanie Nguyen says. “We’re closed in the morning and we make it back here at 7 (p.m.) for a fresh night market.”

Although it's a demanding routine, Nguyen says the nearly 20-hour trip is crucial and defines the new grocery business, which opened Nov. 28 in a renovated 1,300-square-foot former gas station.

On the return trip to Spokane, their van is packed with fresh produce including Taiwanese cauliflower, green papaya, bitter melon, taro, lemongrass, Thai basil, eggplant, lotus root, and fresh herbs, along with bakery boxes from Brea, California-based retailer 85°C Bakery Cafe, Vietnamese sandwiches, and freshly prepared meals containing a variety of items including broken rice, shrimp dumplings, vegetables, and sliced chicken.

By the time doors open Thursday night, she says, the store's shelves are full. Within days, many are left empty, ready for the next Seattle run.

“When it’s gone, it’s gone,” Nguyen says. "We bring food for the weekend. We don’t keep it old.” 

Nguyen explains that the market has quickly become a magnet for shoppers seeking fresh, hard-to-find grocery items, adding that if customers can't find what they need, she will special-order it.

“I give customers my cell phone number and they text me an image,” Nguyen says. "I send it to my vendor and ask, ‘Do you have this?’ And if they do, I bring it in. I want everyone to feel like this store is for them.” 

Lucky Asian Mart carries a large range of international foods and drinks from Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, China, Thailand, and India, including snacks, noodles, spices, and specialty ingredients for dishes such as hot pot, curry, and pho.

The store's most popular section is the ice cream section, she says. While much of the store’s inventory is sourced through weekly trips to Seattle, some frozen products arrive from California-based JFC International Inc., a major Asian food distributor, every Monday.

“We have a variety of ice cream from different countries,” Nguyen says. “We have well-known brands of ice cream with different flavors including boba tea, peach, and melon flavors. … It runs out really fast.”

One wall of the market is dedicated to frozen foods, which Nguyen says is stocked for family meals and gatherings. Customers will find fish cakes, shrimp balls, dumplings, fish, tofu, eel, squid, pork belly, oxtail, quail, and whole chickens.

“The fish is nice and clean,” Nguyen says. “You don't have to clean it up. You just fry it or bake it however you want.”

Nguyen says she also enjoys sharing recipes and cooking advice. Customers frequently ask how to prepare items ranging from pho to stir-fry dishes. If needed, she shares YouTube tutorials and helps customers locate the right spices and noodles for their dish.

“Food is the language of love,” Nguyen says. “People ask, “How do I cook this?’ So I will show them how to cook it. And YouTube is a big thing. A lot of things you could go to YouTube for.”

Although the grocery store is a new venture, Nguyen isn't new to business ownership. She moved from Orange County to Spokane in 1998 when her son was an infant and has worked in the nail industry for about 27 years. Nguyen owns Foxy Nails #30 LLC at 10208 N. Division, Suite 102. 

“My specialty is nails,” Nguyen says. “I've been doing nails since '91. But this is new to me.”

Before launching the night market, Nguyen says she and her son researched the grocery business carefully and started slowly. According to tax records on file with Spokane County, the 70-year-old former gas station building where the market operates was purchased by Nguyen in 2022 for $750,000. Nguyen says she invested $400,000 into renovations, refrigeration, and inventory before opening the store in November.

This summer, Nguyen plans to roll up the garage doors at the property and extend the market space into the parking lot with rolling racks of food.

“Spokane is so beautiful and it’s very nice in the summertime,” she says. “I’ll open it up so people can have fun outside.” 

In addition to its Thursday night market, which operates from 7 to 10 p.m., Lucky Asian Mart is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Small Bites

Bluebird’s Cottage has opened at 18 N. Bowdish Road, in Spokane Valley, where the café and floral shop offers coffee, breakfast wraps, baked goods, craft beverages, boutique floral arrangements, and a build-a-bouquet bar, according to its social media page. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tokyo Sushi & Asian Cuisine has opened in the former Toro Sushi location at 328 N. Sullivan Road, Suite 5, in Spokane Valley. The restaurant serves Japanese dishes including sushi, teriyaki, and a variety of yakisoba dishes, according to the company’s website. The restaurant operates Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturday from 12:30 to 10:30 p.m., and Sunday from 12:30 to 9 p.m.