Fort Worth foodies and H Mart fanatics must wait a little longer before they make opening day plans.
The major Asian grocer’s opening in Haltom City now likely is pushed back to the spring, City Manager Rex Phelps said. Local officials had expected the popular chain’s first store in Tarrant County to open in early 2026.
“There are some delays associated with opening stores,” said Phelps, who received an update from H Mart executives in mid-October when they opened a store in Dallas’ Koreatown. The Haltom City location is under construction at the southeast corner of North Beach Street and Loop 820.
“It takes a while. It’ll be a matter of months before it gets open. We do predict it’s going to be sometime in the spring of 2026.”
In the meantime, the rest of the 195,911-square-foot shopping center that will house H Mart and more than 40 specialty restaurants, retailers and other tenants, is nearly 100% leased, city officials said.
An estimated 23,549 square feet is still available, city spokesperson Nicholas Ballard said.
Some tenants are expected to open ahead of H Mart, said Robert Briggs, the city’s economic development director. McDonald’s became the first business to open in the center in late-October. Crews doing finish-out for The Kickin’ Crab Cajun seafood restaurant chain were at work last week.
The center’s restaurants will serve Korean barbecue, sushi, Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican and American food. A spot for Japanese cheesecake is also expected.
Retailers will include Teso Life, a Japanese chain that sells snacks, beauty items, kitchenware, home goods, stationery and toys.
H Mart’s opening schedule has been something of a mystery. The company has declined all requests for interviews by the Report since news of the store coming to Tarrant first broke.
H Mart has 89 stores nationally and eight in Texas. Its Haltom City store is 42,500 square feet and part of a 50-acre development that includes the shopping center and light industrial development.
Its stores are a favorite of foodies for their diversity of offerings. Products run the gamut from Asian foods to staples such as produce, dairy, meats, poultry, baked goods and “fish so fresh, it’s alive!”
More development continues around the H Mart, some on the books before the store plans were announced, and others drawn by the shopping center’s impending arrival.
A number of tracts in and around the 820-North Beach-Haltom Road corridor are under construction.
My Stomping Grounds, a bar and entertainment venue, is about 60% complete, with opening expected in spring or summer, Phelps said.
Three Marriott name-plated hotels are in the works in the corridor, Phelps said. A Pickleball Kingdom complex near the H Mart center is nearing completion as well.
“This whole corridor is going to be a place where people come to live, come to visit, come to work,” Phelps said. “All cities want regional-type draws that bring people to your city.”
Haltom City’s continued development has strengthened sales tax collections. Revenue now comprises 41% sales tax and 38% property tax, which has also done well, city officials said.
Scott Nishimura is a senior editor for the Documenters program at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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