PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN

[Updated on Feb. 10, 2025: Developers have updated the opening date to around April 1.]

Pennsylvania’s first Fresh International Market — a chain of grocery stores that aims to be a destination for global flavors — is slated to open by April 1 in Rockwell Park in North Point Breeze.

It will open in the 40,000-square-foot Apollo warehouse building at 7511 Thomas Blvd., part of the 24-acre, mixed-use complex that started active marketing for new tenants in 2021. Rockwell Park is across Meade Street from The Factory and the East End Food Co-op.

Known for its unique selection of international ingredients and authentic Asian cuisine, Fresh International Market imports products from more than 28 countries. This will be the 10th location, with stores located in Illinois, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Indiana, North Carolina and Florida. The first store was founded in Lansing, Michigan in 2011 by Bowen Kou; the company is now headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Also opening at Rockwell is the second location of Ineffable CaPhe, a Lawrenceville coffee shop offering a variety of Asian items such as bubble tea, banh mi sandwiches and rice bowls, Al Lardo, Rockwell Park’s principal, said in an interview. It will operate out of the grocery store rather than being a separate tenant at Rockwell.

He noted his family’s roots are in Wilkinsburg, where his wife’s family had a business for 80 years and his father owned rental properties. He told the Business Times that he looks forward to the new opportunity that the store will bring to residents in Wilkinsburg as well as Homewood to be able to buy healthy and fresh foods that are affordably priced.

“The location [of the Fresh International Market] is especially good because of the busway,” Lardo said in an interview. which is just a half-mile walk from Rockwell Park. “There’s a lot of people who don’t have cars in Wilkinsburg.”

According to Chad Wheatley, co-founder of the ForeFront Development Group, Rockwell Park was formerly used by Emerson Electric to create industrial heating elements and has since been refurbished for commercial use. The Apollo building was built in 1906.

“Located along the busway and bicycle routes, [we’re] well positioned for easy access for everyone to get to,” Wheatley said in a statement on Rockwell’s website.

“The opening of Fresh International Market at Rockwell Park marks a significant milestone for the Rockwell Park’s growth and development as a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship and community engagement,” Lardo said in the release.

Fresh International Market is opening just a few weeks after an Aldi opened three blocks east on Penn Avenue — offering the area two new grocery stores.

“We’re proud of the simultaneous delivery of these grocery options,” said Lardo, who also facilitated in the opening of Aldi. “From the Food Co-op and the International Market, I think there will be an attraction for the East End in general.”