All around Purdue and West Lafayette there are a variety of international food stores.
One of these is Baklava Plus, a store located on Chauncey Ave and is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. This store has been here for around two years and is the only location and sells a variety of food from around the world.
“We have German, we have Italian, we have Spain, we have Indian, we have American, we have Middle East…most of the Middle East,” said Tarek Ali, manager of Baklava Plus
One of the most popular things sold there is the Baklava. The Baklava is made by bakeries which the store has a deal with.
“With international (food) it’s very difficult,” said Ali, “the products have so many sources that they have to deal with and they have to travel hours to get the product.”
The shipments with the goods travel up to five and a half hours and from many states. Ali said their goods come from Michigan to New Jersey.
Further off campus is the Asia Global Market. They are open from 10:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m on weekends. They sell a variety of different products.
The store, located on Yeager Road, has been here for over 40 years and is the only location.
“This store has history, a long long time, for this city and people,” said Sunny Wang, a worker at Asia Global Market.
The store was founded in 1974 by the Lin family from Taiwan, according to the Home of Purdue website.
When you enter inside you can see small cramped aisles filled with a variety of Asian products.
There are Asian snacks, many kinds of ramen and noodles, make your own boba kits, tea, coffee, dumplings, beef, fish and other frozen foods.
There is also a lower floor area with a small variety of fresh vegetables and fruit. The popular food products at this market depends on the person who comes in.
“Depending on the people, if Korean people like Korean food, Japanese people like Japanese food, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Africa,” Wang said. “The customers come from everywhere from this city.”
The store also has specials at certain seasons.
“In winter, hot pot is very special for the customer,” said Wang. “Most of the American people like kimchi too.”
The store often sees more families than college students on a daily basis and because of this, the store has created a good relationship with many of the customers.
“I see family more than college students, because of being a little far away from campus,” Wang said. “People think this store has more friendships with customers, like friends like family.“
One of the furthest international stores is Hana Market Inc. on Bethel Drive. This store is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m on Sunday.
When you enter you are greeted with a menu about korean fried chicken. To the right is an aisle filled with primarily Korean snacks and a freezer with soup kits.
By the snacks John Chang was shopping. Chang said he likes that he is able to buy Korean food here that he can’t get regularly at Walmart, such as bean sprouts. Chang also said he likes the variety of spices they offer.
This store primarily sells mostly Korean and Japanese products, Eddie Choe, owner of Hana Market Inc. said.
The popular things in the store are the kimchi, ramen,and drinks. The store receives a mix of college students and families.
“Half and half, nowadays a lot of local people,” Choe said. “Americans come here because the k food is really popular, like tteokbokki, stuff like that.”
The store often likes to try new products and prides itself on having a large variety of Korean products.
“Indianapolis has big stores, but we mostly focus on Korean products and Japanese products, so I will say we have the most variety of Korean products,” Choe said. “When a new product comes out, we always try the new product.”
The store receives new goods every week from different states.
“We get deliveries every week from different states, we get shipments from LA, Washington, New York, Chicago,” said Choe.
The market also sells fried chicken and has a carry out option with times from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
“Korean fried chicken, it's a franchise, it's called 92 chicken,” said Choe, “It's really, I will say the best fried chicken.”
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