{"id":366306,"date":"2026-06-18T22:11:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T22:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/366306\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T22:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T22:11:16","slug":"san-jose-cult-favorite-tt-supermarket-makes-its-california-debut-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/366306\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose: Cult favorite T&T Supermarket makes its California debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cult of T&T has come to California.<\/p>\n

San Jose\u2019s Westgate Center is the home of the state\u2019s first T&T Supermarket, a store wildly popular throughout Canada for its hot-from-the-fryer whole chickens; dumplings ready to eat or take home (the store mascot is the cuddly Bao); fresh mango-topped tarts and cakes; high-end seafood and produce; hot meals from the serve-yourself buffet; and imported Asian snack and beauty products.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People line up to go inside T&T Market at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/p>\n

Jack Lee, who founded T&T Supermarket Inc. with his wife Cindy Lee, smile during the opening ceremony of T&T Market at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Lion<\/p>\n

Lion Dance Me performs during the opening ceremony of T&T Market at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Kyle<\/p>\n

Kyle Chak, of San Martin, was first in line to go inside T&T Market at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. This is the first T&T Market in California. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"T&T<\/p>\n

T&T Market opens at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Guests<\/p>\n

Guests tour the new T&T Supermarket in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, June 17, 2026, during a media preview event. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 6<\/p>\n

People line up to go inside T&T Market at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the latest Asian-themed superstore to plant a flag in the diverse Bay Area, and hundreds of shoppers \u2014 both the curious and the converted \u2014 lined up early Thursday morning to be among the first inside after a parade of lion dancers. From now through Sunday night, the outdoor stage will feature pan-Asian acts including dance, taiko, K-pop and martial arts to keep the crowds entertained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a momentous milestone for T&T,\u201d CEO Tina Lee said at a media preview before the throngs converged on the site. She said she\u2019s wanted to expand her family\u2019s British Columbia-based market chain to California for years, since back when she attended UCLA, and knew the Bay Area audience would be receptive.<\/p>\n

Among the early shoppers was the mother-daughter duo of Xiaoxia Tang and Katherine Wang. They had shopped at T&T up north, so Wang was able to tick off the store\u2019s strengths. \u201cI like that they offer fresh food. And it\u2019s very clean and organized,\u201d said Wang, who was planning to head first for a milk tea while her mother perused the produce.<\/p>\n

Some in line had heard about T&T but were new to the experience. \u201cAs a Taiwanese person, I have trouble getting specific ingredients, so I\u2019m excited for this,\u201d Pamela Lin of San Jose said as she neared the doors.<\/p>\n

RELATED: We sampled snacks at 7 of the Bay Area\u2019s wildly popular Asian mega-markets<\/a><\/p>\n

Others were happy to have a store like this in the neighborhood. Zack Baumel, who lives nearby in Campbell, said he\u2019s been driving 25 minutes to another Asian grocery.<\/p>\n

San Jose resident Noel Victoria of San Jose had been eagerly anticipating the opening. \u201cI was passing by every day during construction,\u201d he said with a wide grin as he emerged with a cart that included live oysters, a box of ramen kits and Filipino snacks like SkyFlakes soda crackers.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1993 in Vancouver by entrepreneurs Cindy and Jack Lee, the T&T chain operates 37 stores across Canada, plus three in the United States.<\/p>\n

Before the chain opened its first two U.S. markets in Washington state, residents were known to drive across the Canadian border to fill up on favorites, especially on long holiday weekends. In parts of Canada, three- to five-hour drives to the nearest T&T are common, devotees say.<\/p>\n

\"Businessmen<\/p>\n

Businessmen with T&T Market throw soccer balls into the crowd during the opening ceremony of T&T Market at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An employee makes a crepe during a media preview event at the new T&T Supermarket in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan attends the opening ceremony for T&T Market at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Dungeness<\/p>\n

Dungeness crabs are seen in a seafood tank at the new T&T Supermarket in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, June 17, 2026, during a media preview event. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Guests<\/p>\n

Guests tour the new T&T Supermarket in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, June 17, 2026, during a media preview event. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A variety of cakes on display inside the new T&T Supermarket in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, June 17, 2026, during a media preview event. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An employee stocks vegetables in the produce section ahead of the grand opening of the new T&T Supermarket in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, June 17, 2026, during a media preview event. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Hot<\/p>\n

Hot food items are seen in the Asian Self-Serve Foods section of the new T&T Supermarket during a media preview event in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A wall graphic detailing the origin story of the T&T Supermarket stores and its namesakes, “Tina & Tiffany,” is on display during a media preview event at the new T&T Supermarket in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 9<\/p>\n

Businessmen with T&T Market throw soccer balls into the crowd during the opening ceremony of T&T Market at Westgate Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, June 18, 2026. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

The market was born out of necessity, Tina Lee explained, as her mother became weary of shopping at so many stores \u2014 one for produce, one for meat, one for seafood, one for baked goods and so on \u2014 for her family. She recalled her mother saying, \u201cI\u2019ve had it. I need an Asian version of Safeway.\u201d The T&T stands for Tina and her sister, Tiffany.<\/p>\n

This San Jose market location was three years in the making.<\/p>\n

Lee took an interest in the Westgate space, formerly home one to one of Walmart\u2019s neighborhood groceries, but decided it was too small. So executive vice president Jeff Kreshek of Federal Realty, owners of the center, flew north to check out one of the newer T&T\u2019s in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like nothing I\u2019d ever seen,\u201d said Kreshek, adding that he packed his suitcase full of T&T goodies to take home. \u201cWe worked it out. We expanded the space\u201d \u2014 to 50,000 square feet. \u201cWe\u2019re so happy to bring this to the San Jose community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turns out the location holds sentimental appeal for the T&T sisters. At Saratoga and Campbell avenues, the store sits mere miles from where they visited their \u201cAuntie No. 1\u201d in Saratoga on summer vacations, Tina said.<\/p>\n

Two more Bay Area T&T\u2019s are in the works. A store at San Francisco Centre is slated to open later this year, and a Millbrae one is planned for the second quarter of 2027.<\/p>\n

Details: Open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 1600 Saratoga Ave., San Jose; tntsupermarket.us\/eng<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cult of T&T has come to California. San Jose\u2019s Westgate Center is the home of the state\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,7,413,421,181,23,100,412,5347,88,90,89,198,11515,94685,200,420,6994],"class_list":["post-366306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-food","tag-food-and-drink","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-restaurants","tag-retail-development","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-shopping","tag-social-alert","tag-south-bay","tag-things-to-do","tag-west-san-jose"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}