Lucky Leaves But We May Have Lucked Out

The former Lucky location has been vacant since April 29, 2025

During the 40+ years we have lived in Foster City the Edgewater Place Shopping Center has always had a supermarket, first Alpha Beta, then Lucky Market, then Albertsons, and finally Lucky again. There never was a vacancy during these changeovers, however, because all the aforementioned stores are brands owned by or related to Save Mart Companies. Over the last several years Save Mart has been closing Bay Area stores that it calls "underperforming," which include Lucky's in Fremont, Millbrae, and Foster City.

The Foster City store, less than a 15 minute walk from our house, has been vacant since April 29th. Many of us had "there goes the neighborhood" fears, because having empty storefronts is a strong predictor of blight. But we were overly worried.

Osaka Fremont (Mehta/Chronicle)

The Osaka Marketplace is moving in.

A Japanese specialty grocery store is expanding with a new Bay Area location, becoming the most recent entry in a flurry of Asian supermarket openings in the region.

Osaka Marketplace has signed a lease in Foster City at the Edgewater Place Shopping Center. The location is the vacant 35,000-square-foot space at 919 Edgewater Blvd., where a Lucky supermarket previously operated. The incoming retailer is best known for its selection of Japanese and Asian goods, as well as fresh seafood and prepared foods.

The store is slated to open in November. This will be Osaka Marketplace’s third Bay Area location, with its other stores located in Fremont and Pleasant Hill. The company is currently working to expand in Northern California and Arizona.

The 123,000-square-foot Edgewater Place is currently in the middle of a capital improvement program to refresh its common areas and parking lot, among other amenities. The shopping plaza has attracted a variety of Asian dining options such as Chinese restaurant Rickshaw Corner, Yemeni Coffee house Sana’a Cafe and Ritha Indian Restaurant.

“We’re thrilled to join the Foster City community and bring our authentic Japanese grocery experience to Edgewater Place,” Osaka Marketplace owner Kazuhiro Takeda said in a statement. “From fresh produce and seafood to prepared meals and pantry staples, we’re looking forward to serving the community and celebrating the tastes and traditions of the neighborhood we now call home.”

The incoming store is located not far from San Mateo, known for its Japanese American heritage. It’s also the latest in a wave of Asian specialty supermarkets across the Bay Area that looks to satiate ever-increasing demand, as seen in the recent opening of the Korean grocery store Jagalchi at Daly City’s Serramonte Center, which drew hourslong lines. Future Asian grocery store arrivals include Tokyo Central at Emeryville’s Bay Street mall, T&T at San Jose’s Westgate Center and the long-anticipated H Mart in Dublin.

It's difficult for shopping centers to replace long-term anchor tenants who leave because they're experiencing profitability problems--look at San Francisco. It's even rarer to have a tenant upgrade. Foster City may have lucked out.