Kasia Market brings international ingredients to the heart of New Jersey
MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP—To call Dennis Ahn and his wife Miki Park “ambitious” is an understatement. Ahn and Park opened their 30,000-square-foot Kasia Market on Route 206 in Montgomery late last year. (The name is a mashup of Korea and Asia.) Ahn also works with others to grow fresh produce at Tower Farms in Flemington, a 15,000-square-foot enclosed hoop-house facility, which he then sells at the market.
The couple and a team of over 80 employees at Kasia welcome customers seeking international vegetables, fruits, seafood, and meats that aren’t readily available at most supermarkets. As such, the multi-ethnic market draws Italians for beef tripe; Filipinos for pan dan; South Koreans for fresh kimchi; Indians for vindaloo, biryani, and tandoori dishes; and people seeking foods from a host of other nations.
Kasia even has The Hungry Tiger, a fast-casual lunch spot serving healthy choices like marinated chicken, made-to-order sushi dishes, homemade soups, broths, and various pita sandwiches. Customers can choose and build their own takeout dinner meals with meat, rice, and vegetables for as little as $12.
Raised in Old Bridge, Ahn, 45, was always passionate about food from his family’s home. He cites his grandfather, KyungDuk Ahn, as a mentor for teaching him people skills. After high school, Dennis Ahn enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia. Honorably discharged, he later enrolled at Rutgers University as a criminal justice major, graduating in 2002.
“I wanted to be a state trooper,” he explains at The Hungry Tiger, after we tour the wide range of grocery products, including dairy and desserts. But after facing some health setbacks, he went to work for his father’s chemical transport company instead, which is where he wound up spending most of his career. After his family lost the company during Covid, his father-in-law suggested that he and Miki open a Korean-Asian supermarket.
“MY WIFE, MIKI, AND I BUILT THIS PLACE. IT’S HER VISION AS MUCH AS IT IS MINE.”
Dennis Ahn of Kasia Market PHOTO: RICHARD SKELLY
“We have a lot of Chinese [products], a lot of Indian, a lot of European, even though the name Kasia refers to Korea-Asia.”
Eventually, he plans to start offering fresh, farm-raised tilapia as well, utilizing aquaponics to avoid waste. The nutrient-rich water from the tilapia will help foster the plant growth, offering an organic growth process.
The fish market here is extensive, reminding one of other large-scale fish markets around the state, and offering the full line of tuna, flounder, crabs, lobsters, clams, and even king-fish “which is very hard to get,” Ahn says. The sushi section is popular with people who take their meals over to the café area on their lunch or dinner hour.
Kasia offers copious meat products, with Ahn noting the “phenomenal” dry-aged steaks available. “Everything can be cut to order in our butcher shop … You can get the size that you want and the weight you want.” Customer response to the wide selection has been strong; one person recently commented to Ahn that they “haven’t had beef tripes [cow stomach] in years.’”
Healthy options are at the forefront storewide. A2 milk is a highlight in the dairy department. Featuring only naturally produced beta-casein A2 protein, many find A2 milk easier to digest than regular milk. Two distinct homemade soups are offered each day, along with bone broths from nearby Lima Family Farms in Hillsborough.
Ahn’s partners are his mother- and father-in-law, who run Korean markets in Bergen County.
Aside from its size and range of ethnic and hard-to-find food offerings, what makes Kasia Market unique?
“My wife, Miki, and I built this place,” Ahn says. “It’s her vision as much as it is mine, if not more so. We had a vision together, and without her—look at me, I’m born and raised here in New Jersey, so what do I know about Korean produce? My wife grew up in Bergen County and was raised in the Korean supermarket industry.”
Ahn says his vision for the future includes continuing to build a community for people and offering dishes that remind people of home.
“When we first opened, I had a Filipino lady come up to me in tears,” he says. “She said in 50 years, she hasn’t had a pan dan dish because she hadn’t been back to the Philippines. She was so grateful! It’s the best feeling in the world for me to be able to provide these foods.”
“Food is home, right?” Ahn continues. “All I’m trying to do is try to create a fun environment where people can come in and explore ethnic foods.”
KASIA MARKET
2311 US-206, Belle Mead
kasiamarket.com
