Food Bazaar

Food Bazaar was founded in 1988 by Francis An, a Korean immigrant who had lived in Argentina before settling in New York City. Upon arriving, he noticed that mainstream supermarkets were largely ignoring the food needs of immigrant communities — particularly the Latin American ingredients he had grown to love during his years in South America. His first store opened in Queens to fill that gap. The corporate parent, Bogopa Enterprises — a name meaning "Yearning for You" in Korean — operates Food Bazaar as a family-owned company across the NY, NJ, and CT tri-state area. The chain has grown to 32 locations, deliberately targeting lower-income, densely populated neighborhoods that larger chains have historically avoided. Each store is stocked to reflect the specific cultural makeup of its neighborhood, carrying ingredients sourced from around the world alongside mainstream grocery staples.