A.R. Supermarket — Local services in Garden Grove

If you've ever wondered what supermarkets look like in South Korea, look no further than Arirang Market in Garden Grove, California. Although the markets in Seoul, Korea, are much larger, there is still a similar look and feel to both. I'm told that Arirang, which has been around for well over thirty years, is small compared to other Korean Markets found elsewhere in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

Virtually all Korean Markets rent out space to all sorts of vendors in front of the main store. That's the case with Arirang as well. You can purchase ladies' make-up, men and women clothing, eat lunch or have a snack, purchase insurance, and even buy electronics in the stalls in the front of the primary store.

Whenever we're in town, we take my mother-in-law to Arirang to get her major marketing done for the month. She speaks no English and doesn't drive, so visiting Garden Grove at least once a month is necessary. The prices at Arirang are reasonable, but compared to our only large Korean Market in Las Vegas (Greenland at Rainbow and Spring Mountain), the prices are low, and items and assortment are much more significant.

For first-timers, Arirang is a unique experience. The vast assortment of items is extensive and probably unrecognizable to non-Koreans. The sounds, smells, and imported foods are very different from what you'll find in an American Market. One thing for sure you will find is that Korean workers are not the friendliest of sorts (they have no patience) and sometimes can be downright rude by American standards. My wife, who is Korean, tells me "it's just their way," but I can't get used to it no matter they're way or not.

RECOMMENDED: Yes SERVICE: Fair to midland PRICE: $$ COVID: Practices pandemic regulations. PARKING: Convenient but always packed. REASON/INTENT: General...

A place where you'll be ignored by the Korean cashiers unless you're Korean. I was there this week and had a Korean cashier that didn’t even acknowledge or greeted me. She wasn’t busy and I was the only one in line so it’s not like she’s having a bad day. The minute a Korean couple came behind me she was super friendly, greeted them and was chatting away with them. I finished paying and even thanked her, and she still chose to ignored me. This has happened multiple times whenever there’s a Korean cashier, they aren’t friendly towards me and just chat amongst their Korean colleagues when I’m standing right there. Management should retrain the Korean cashiers to greet ALL customers regardless of their race!! Instead of discriminating and choosing who they greet or say hi to. Maybe their English isn’t that good, that’s ok. They can at least say hi or thank you but they always ignore you. I loved it when they had the Vietnamese cashier there. Although they don’t know which Asian I am, they always smile greeted me or say something to me after I've paid. I understand this is a Korean supermarket but you’re in an area where there’s many different type of Asian that comes here. In this day and age you’re still discriminating, I guess they only want Korean customers.

Their prices are great and when they had nicer Vietnamese cashier I enjoy coming here. I’d rather go to Hmart now because they don’t discriminate and acknowledge ALL their customers regardless...

My friend lives in Garden Grove and she told me that actually A.R. Supermarket is her favorite for getting Korean food and products.

That’s interesting because I was often shopping Korean food in H Mart nearby but never noticed this A.R. Supermarket so I went to check it out.

It offers a wide variety of products at prices significantly lower than the H Mart’s!!

Vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms are very fresh, with organic brands too. There’s also a wide selection of side dishes, meat, seafood, frozen food, sauces, snacks, instant noodles, shampoos and etc. Those items are often on sale. For example, Harim’s frozen ginseng chicken soup was $7.7 (dated 5/2024) on sale while it was priced at $9.9 on Weee even after a discount.

The store layout is okay, but the lighting isn’t as bright as H Mart’s, so it might seem not so modern, however, I don’t mind as long as it provides good products with great price.

There are a few shops aside in supermarket including shoes shop, Korean cosmetic chain store, women clothing stores and hair accessory shop. Overall, it’s a great place to shop at one stop and I definitely recommend it.

📍A.R. Supermarket (Korea Plaza) 9580 Garden Grove Blvd #300, Garden Grove, CA 92844

They also have a Fullerton location 📍 1701 Orangethorpe Ave,...