By 7:30 a.m. on Friday, October 9, people were already lined up outside 20558 Stevens Creek Boulevard. Hashi Market didn't open until 10. According to SFGATE, the line filled the parking lot and wound back and forth like an airport security queue. About 1,700 customers came through by the end of the day, and cashiers rang up roughly 300 transactions an hour for most of the morning. Uzumaru, a local Yosakoi dance troupe, performed out front.
The building had been empty since 2023, and Sprouts Farmers Market was its last tenant. A month after opening day, Hashi is the most visible sign of a larger change along the corridor. The spaces that stood empty longest are being taken by businesses opening their first regional location in Cupertino, and the city sees those stores before anywhere else does.
Why a New York Grocer Started in a Former Sprouts
Hashi Market launched in New York in 2024 and had six stores there before coming to Cupertino. The Stevens Creek store is its first in California and its first on the West Coast. The company is treating it as more than an outpost. Ava Liu, Hashi's head of operations, told SFGATE, "This is our flagship store in California, so we really put a lot of passion and energy and effort into this location." She said the company chose Cupertino because "it's a central place for California. Apple is here. Everyone knows it."
Hashi is one of several Asian supermarkets that opened in the Bay Area this year. SFGATE counted Tokyo Central in Emeryville in February, H Mart in Dublin in March and T&T Supermarket in San Jose in June. The Emeryville and Dublin openings drew far bigger crowds, about 8,000 and 10,000 people. Cupertino's 1,700 came to a 20,000-square-foot store from a chain almost no one in California had heard of, and Liu still said, "We have lines, but not like this."
The City of Cupertino featured the opening in its October 14 City Manager's Newsletter and linked to the coverage in SFGATE and USA TODAY.
What Fills 20,000 Square Feet
Hashi focuses on imported Japanese products, and its range goes well past a typical specialty aisle. Here is what SFGATE's opening-day walkthrough and the Hashi Market website describe:
- Hokkaido goods, including beef, rice, cheesecake, premium chocolate and melons priced at $59
- Grab-and-go kiosks, three large ones with chicken katsu bentos, curry bowls, salmon teriyaki and $26 A5 wagyu rice bowls
- A sushi wall along the far right side of the store, stocked with rolls and boxes of nigiri
- An in-house bakery
- Two full aisles of beauty and lifestyle products, with brands such as Senka, Canmake and Bonbory
- Seafood, meat, produce, snacks and sake, plus catering and party platters
SFGATE called the grab-and-go section "a boon" for tech workers nearby and for students at De Anza College down the road. Liu told the outlet that Hashi planned to start a 30% discount on sushi after 8 p.m., a practice that has worked in its New York stores. The store is open every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., so it runs later than most grocery options on this part of the boulevard.
The Longer Vacancies Down the Boulevard
Hashi drew the crowds, but it wasn't the first long vacancy on Stevens Creek to fill this fall, and it wasn't the oldest. The City's September 30 newsletter listed several other spaces getting new tenants along the same stretch.
| Address | Previous tenant | Empty since | New tenant | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20803 Stevens Creek Blvd. | The Vitamin Shoppe | 2019 | Preferred Bank, Silicon Valley Regional Office | 3,280 sq ft |
| 20558 Stevens Creek Blvd. | Sprouts Farmers Market | 2023 | Hashi Market | 20,000 sq ft |
| 19628 Stevens Creek Blvd., Marketplace | Not listed | Not listed | Jingege & YaoYao | 4,370 sq ft |
| 20488 Stevens Creek Blvd. | Le Boulanger | Not listed | Specialty's Café & Bakery | about 6,550 sq ft |
The Preferred Bank space had been empty about seven years. The bank chose it for its Silicon Valley Regional Office, the same approach Hashi took with its California flagship. It is open Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Jingege & YaoYao, a Chinese restaurant, opened in late August in Marketplace and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. It got there in time for the second annual Cupertino Restaurant Week, which ran October 5 through 11. The participating restaurants are listed at cupertino.gov/explore.
Specialty's Café & Bakery is set for the former Le Boulanger at 20488 Stevens Creek. By the end of September it had already submitted plans for its interior build-out, called tenant improvements. The space is close to a third the size of Hashi.
The Next Group Is Smaller and Clustered at Nineteen800
The next set of arrivals is clustered at Nineteen800, near Vallco Parkway and North Wolfe Road. According to the City's October 14 newsletter, four businesses had submitted tenant improvement plans and were going through permitting:
- CoCo Ichibanya Curry House, 2,804 square feet, 19900 Vallco Parkway, Suite 100
- LX Fitness, 1,600 square feet, 19900 Vallco Parkway, Suite 150
- More Yogurt, 1,567 square feet, 19900 Vallco Parkway, Suite 160
- Baby Café, 3,615 square feet, 10088 North Wolfe Road, Suite 100
Together the four add up to about 9,600 square feet, less than half of Hashi's single floor. The City describes the group as adding dining, wellness and family-oriented options for residents, employees and visitors. Stevens Creek is getting a few large anchors, and Nineteen800 is getting several small spaces that each fill one specific need.
Cupertino First, Then Milpitas, Union City and San Mateo
Hashi's flagship role matters for what comes next. The Mercury News reported that the chain was looking at other Bay Area sites. USA TODAY listed upcoming or renovating addresses in Milpitas, Union City and San Mateo, along with sites in Manhattan, the Boston area and Aurora.
Until those stores open, Stevens Creek has the region's only Hashi, and other parts of the Bay Area get their first look at the chain through how it runs in Cupertino. Hashi Market is at 20558 Stevens Creek Boulevard, in the former Sprouts at Cupertino Crossroads, and it is open every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
If you own a home near the Stevens Creek corridor, a storefront filled after seven years and a first-in-region flagship next door are worth factoring into your home's value. Real Smart Group tracks changes like these block by block across the Peninsula and South Bay. Get your free home valuation, and we'll show you how the latest activity near your address fits into today's numbers.
