At long last, the empty shell of a store in SF's Anza Vista neighborhood that was, for years, destined to be a new Whole Foods, has come alive as something decidedly more exciting.
T&T Supermarket, Canada's largest Asian grocery chain, just opened its second California location in San Francisco Thursday morning, with doors opening at 9 am for a waiting crowd. The store, as was first announced in the spring of 2025, takes over the vacant former Best Buy space at City Center (2675 Geary Boulevard, entrance on O'Farrell), next door to Target.
T&T was first launched by Cindy Lee in Vancouver, after Lee grew annoyed by having to go to four different stores in Vancouver's Chinatown to get her food shopping done. As daughter Tina Lee, the chain's current CEO explains, "It's Vancouver, so it rains a lot. And my mother wanted to create one store where someone like her could find everything they needed under one roof, and where food shopping could be a fun and pleasurable experience."
The store is named for Cindy's daughters, Tina and her sister Tiffany, and and it was Tina's younger brother, Jason Lee, a 20-year resident of San Francisco, who helped encourage the chain's expansion to Northern California. T&T currently operates two stores in Washington state in addition to its 37 in Canada, and just opened its first California store in San Jose in June — with others planned in Newark and Millbrae as well.
SFist got a look inside Wednesday night at a grand opening preview party, and got to sample from the hot bar as well — which features basic, mostly recognizable Chinese American cuisine that I'd say is a step above Panda Express, with the addition of some tasty pork meatballs, some fried saba, and beef brisket with daikon.
More exciting may be the take-home steamed bun selection, and the chain's viral "Papa Chicken," a butterflied and fried whole chicken sold hot in bags.
The produce section features fresh jackfruit (currently in season), durian, jumbo-sized Ganlu pears, and two sizes of pre-peeled garlic packages.
Fresh seafood and meat is in abundance, with all the displays meant to be visually enticing. There are tanks filled with live lobsters, catfish, and crab, and cases filled with fresh shrimp, clams, geoduck, scallops, and more.
T&T is also known for its bakery, which features a case filled with colorful pastries and confections including egg tarts, mousses, and a cake that's customized for this location featuring the SF City Hall dome.
There are also multiple aisles devoted to dried noodles, ramen, and rice, as well as a wide array of frozen dumplings. There's a special running for the opening featuring giant tubs of Japanese Ramen Masters Collection ramen, which come with your choice of a squishy toy, Labubu keychain, or a Pokemon card.
And there is a wide selection of Lay's potato chips and Kit Kat and Pocky flavors not often seen outside Asia. And a significant section of the store devoted to health care and beauty products from across Asia.
T&T Supermarket joins a parade of popular Asian markets opening around the Bay Area, including H Mart in San Francisco and Newark, Tokyo Central in Emeryville, and Jagalchi in Daly City.
