New 'triple in size' Super Happy Mart store to open in Harmon this December
A second Super Happy Mart store is scheduled to open in Tamuning-Harmon in December, and business owner representative Jae Kim of Jae Hoon Corp. said the new store will be three times the size of the current Barrigada location.
Kim told members of the Tamuning Municipal Planning Council at a meeting Thursday that the store will be located along Adrian Sanchez Street, also known as Hamburger Road, on the lot that housed the old Perez Brothers Inc. cement plant.
He said the store expects to employ about 165 full-time and part-time employees to start, then will eventually increase that number to 200.
Super Happy Mart has applied for an exemption for an off-premise liquor license with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board because the number of licenses for Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon village already exceeded the cap.
On Thursday night, the Tamuning Municipal Planning Council held a meeting at the Tamuning community center to take public comments on the proposed license exemption.
A similar exemption was approved for Don Don Donki before it opened the large mall along Marine Corps Drive and Airport Road earlier this year.
Super Happy Mart attorney Nicholas Ennis said one of the requirements for an exemption was to submit a community impact assessment.
"The store will have a very positive impact. It will increase employment, and the owner has a track record of bringing in good products, and giving back to the community," Ennis said.
Tamuning Mayor Louise Rivera said the council is not required to vote on the liquor license exemption, but instead submit a letter to the ABC Board confirming a public meeting was held and that no opposition was received.
She said village residents still have 30 days to submit any concerns.
The mayor said the comments from council members were very positive, and they welcomed the new business.
Kim said Jae Hoon Corp. has been in business on Guam for 30 years and has been very responsive in giving back to the community.
Rivera said she knows personally that the Super Happy Mart owners have helped the Mayors Council of Guam with its fundraising efforts for many years.
"They've helped the whole island," she said.
Kim said they want to be the "Number 1 Korean supermarket in Guam, with the best prices."
He added that the liquor section at the Barrigada supermarket "is very small," but they need the liquor license because as a Korean supermarket that will also cater to Korean tourists, "we need to have Soju."
