Tan A Supermarket

If I need small amounts of asian ingredients I always swing by Tan-​A but I prefer going to Grand Mart over in Midlothian. They’ve only got a small selection of asian goods– majority are products of China. They’re also pricey and unsanitary. They’ve got a ton of fish and meat products in dirty packaged boxes –so unappealing. The owner is incredibly rude, she always says horrible things towards her customers in vietnamese assuming other customers don’t understand vietnamese.
Don’t think im much of a fan!

After thorough searching, I have declared New Grand Mart on Midlothian my official Asian market. It has EVERYTHING and it is CLEAN. It has delicious Korean food prepared on site. It is truly a joy to shop there. New Grand Mart FTW!
Tan A, I just can’t with how filthy you are. I can still smell your pile of rotten fish in my nightmares.

I used to come here because this was the only Asian market that carried what I was looking for. Yes, they do have a wide selection of items but that’s about it. As soon as you walk into the store there will be two things you notice right off the bat. 1. The smell and 2. Cleanliness. The owners are very rude and do not care about their customers, they aren’t willing to help and there were even a few times when I heard them trash talking about the customer in front of me! Makes me wonder what they say about me when I leave!

UPDATE: they now accept debit cards — $ 15 minimum purchase!!!
Also, I have noticed that it smells less funky now.
Like I said in my previous review, Tan A is really your one-​stop shop for all your Asian ingredients and kitchenware (woks, strainers, chopsticks, dipping bowls, steamers, etc.). And I have discovered that they have a decent selection of soy products that more-​or-​less tastes like real meat but it’s totally vegan-​friendly so for all you herbivores out there, I encourage you to check out Tan A!
And don’t forget to check out their cookie/​candle aisle — the Pandas and Pocky is where the party’s at!

One star because they have 2 or 3 things that I can’t find anywhere else… but damn if they don’t make me feel like crap. Like, I understand not to take it personally, and customer service is not their thing. I mean, I honestly don’t care for overly friendly over the top customer service and I appreciate people just being thierselves, but these people are just plain MEAN. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I am not an Asian food store noob. I’ve actually been to grocery stores IN Asian countries, so I can’t agree with people who are saying all of them are similarly staffed. Lol Unfriendly is okay with me, but these people treat customers like stray cats they can’t get rid of. I can barely stand giving them my money in return for the items I can’t get anywhere else. barely. I still do it, but ughhh can’t someone else carry these items so I don’t have to deal with these angry jerks?

If a product is not labeled, expect to pay 3x what you think the item would cost. Also, check your receipts for any mistakes before walking out and make sure you get a receipt. We go here often (due to lack of options in close proximity to our home) and 1 out of 3 trips result in a mistake at checkout and ALWAYS benefiting the merchant. Shady.

I confess that I love this place. Not that I’m in there every day, or even every week, but when this former NYC resident has a need for something Asian-​kitchen-​wise, this is my only go-​to for Chinese/​Vietnamese/​Korean grocery stuff.
One reason I have not been a weekly habitué is their regrettable (for me) cash/​checks only policy. Seriously. Cash? Checks? What *are* those things, anyway? Imagine my joy at seeing that they’d started taking debit cards. I’m afraid this will now become a habit: stopping off at Tan-​A on the way to/​from the city, just in case. Kinda like my beer’n’phở problem w/​Mekong, where I simply cannot just drive by, I gotta stop if they’re open.
Sure, the staff at Tan-​A isn’t in the «official greeter» category. Frankly, that sh*t creeps me out at Walmart, so I still got a lot of NYC running in my veins. I don’t need help, I just need fish sauce. And kimchee. And some rice noodles. Oh, and that amazeballz Thai sausage. Oh, yeah, I wanted some new bowls, too. And some pot stickers. And …
Like I said, this could become a problem.

I’m not sure why this place has gotten such rotten reviews! Maybe because I don’t expect any customer service when coming to Asian places… you’re in, you’re out, move on.
I thought there was a good selection of the things I was looking for to fill my kitchen for Chinese cooking. I found Sha cha sauce, my preferred brand of sesame oil, white pepper, etc, all at slightly lower prices than the Global Food in Nova I’m used to shopping at. Maybe my experience/​expectation of this place will be higher after I check out this new Grand Mart place I keep hearing about…
Good selection of veggies and produce, good prices, and seemed fresh.
I paid with debit (I forgot the minimum charge). I’m pretty sure no one said a word to me at the cashier but that didn’t bother me. lol~

As a I predicted, a much larger Asian grocery store with more selection and cheaper prices has opened in Ricmond.
Tan A Supermarket now probably regrets for being so rude to their customers. Tan A is now much friendlier with some lower prices, but it is due to their lack of business.
Anytime you think of going here, remember all the times they treated you rudely!

I would normally give this place 5 stars, because it has everything (and I mean everything) you need for any type of Asian cuisine. But the woman who owns it must have graduated from the Joseph Goebbels school of customer service. She is a nasty, hot tempered piece of work — hence, 2 stars.

I detest coming here, and am in fact writing this review after knowing that the new grand mart is opening up in southside. I will gladly drive the 30 minutes to have better customer service. please grand mart open up soon richmond needs you!

As mentioned below: this place has terrible customer service. (which is what I expected.) However, they have everything you need for Asian dishes, as well as kitchen supplies, pretty much anything Asian. And those who say it smells: news flash ALL Asian markets smell like that.
On this particular day, the guy in front of me in line tried to use card and the lady angry yelled and pointed at the ATM. The man shrugged his shoulders and counted the cash he did have in his wallet… $ 26 dollars. His total was $ 37, the cashier was like whatever, I’ll take it, and let the man leave with his groceries. At that moment, I could not stop laughing.
Moral of the story, ca$h only players!

This supermarket has an impressive selection of seafood, especially fish. Standing there, you just want to buy some. A little pricy but you can’t beat the selection and freshness. They also carry a wide array of fresh vegetables you cannot find in regular supermarket. One thing I always have to go there for is the fresh peanuts!

I’ve been going to Tan-​A since they were at the small brick building down the street to the big building that used to be a Rite Aid. Customer service has never changed. They’ve always been mad RUDE.
It sucks because they are the biggest Asian Store in Richmond so if you need something and the other Asian stores don’t have it– you’ve gotta go here. I dread it everytime.
I have to give them props for having alot of stuff. Big selection of veggies– meat-​seafood– kitchen ware and goodies.
They usually have 1 or 2 registers opened. So on a busy day– expect to stand in line. No CC. But there’s a ATM in the front. The cashiers are the owners. They tend not to greet anyone. They ring up your items and literally throw them in the bag cause they dont give a shizzz.!! BTW, They are always yelling at eachother and barely ever smiles. They must hate eachother too ;p

Before coming to this store for the first time I had the Unilocal reviews in mind and knowing that overall it received about three stars. A bit dingy.
However, I was quite surprised at how clean the place was and the bountiful selection. The produce was fresh but lacked a bit of variety. Maybe because I went on a Sunday and certain items were out of stock.
I even tried to have a look out for the glares and rudeness but at the check out the cashier attempted to smile at me. That made me light up!
All in all not bad and I might schlep my way back to Tan A again.
Just remember to bring cash!

Well, before I get into it, let’s start with some nice comments. It’s nice that Tan A is just down Broad St from the main VCU campus. When I was new to Richmond, that made it easier for me to find my way to the store. It’s a large store that sells pretty much everything you need from an Asian grocery store. There are a lot of Asian snacks, which is what I mainly came for.
Now for the negatives… the prices are a bit high. It’s not the cleanest store (and I’m comparing to other Asian grocery stores, mind you). The employees are very unhelpful, most of the time I’d rather walk around aimlessly looking for a particular item myself than ask for help. When you go to the checkout, there’s usually only two lines, which move very slow because the cashiers are busy yelling at each other throughout the store. They also just throw your stuff and stuff everything into one bag.
No credit cards are accepted here, which is not too strange for an Asian grocery. Although nowadays, there’s usually a minimum rather than just «no credit cards accepted».
TL;DR: Unless you’re just wandering around and need more variety to choose from, I’d recommend going to Far East around the corner instead. There’s not as much selection, but overall, it’s a MUCH better experience.

Rude and curt … lack of competition breeds contempt and arrogance …
EDIT: There is a new Asian market coming to Richmond on Midlothian Turnpike where Marshall’s used to be. The NEW GRAND MARKET is the name and they are slated to open in mid May of 2015. It will be much bigger than Tan A with better prices and more choices. Finally, some worthy competition that will kick this rude outfit to the curve. They may even open in West End once the Midlothian location gets going.
…
I think the rudeness is in part cultural but mostly due to their utter lack of even rudimentary command of English language and decorum. It kinda sucks if you have questions, but unless it requires a very simple answer, unsure of even that, don’t expect any nuanced answers. Instead, you will get a wave, telling you to go away, if not sure, don’t buy … The owner lady who is usually furiously pounding away at the cash register, is probably the worst offender, her level of rudeness is sublime and unsurpassed. They seem to do well despite the lack of service and social skills, galling to think she’s probably laughing all the way to the bank. So, if you have thin skin, don’t shop here.
They do have fresh produce and good price. If you know what you want, you ‘ll do OK here. Just don’t ask any questions.

A lot of variety of Asian food products! That’s all I can really say about the market.
There is a scent to the market but maybe because I’ve been going there for years now that it doesn’t bother me as much.
The thing I want to talk about the most is the service! The WORST EVER! They have no respect for the customers that come into their market. They throw your grocery like it’s nothing, disregarding that it could get smushed or whatever the case is. The employees there hate it when you ask questions and most of the time say no or they don’t speak English to everything, and I speak Vietnamese.
Overall, I usually try not to go to this market and instead go to the smaller ones near Phở So 1. If I must come here then I try to be quick with it and be in and out within 5 mins.

Tan A, Tan A. Where do I start…
Let’s start on a high note with some pros. The store is very large and there is quite the selection of Asian produce, snacks, and other grocery items. It’s relatively easy to find what you want, and it’s laid out sort of like you’d expect a grocery store to be laid out. There are a lot of different flavors of candy and snacks. Also, it’s very close to some very good phở restaurants, so if you wanted to get a lunch or dinner at one, you can easily hit it up on the way back (which is what I’ve been doing).
Now some not so high notes. The service is very spotty. Of the 3 or 4 times I’ve been here, only once did the cashier seem to even acknowledge my existence. Not even exaggerating, I’ve had times where not even one word was spoken to me. Including the price. I’ve had to look at the slightly angled cash register itself to see how much I owe. In fact, today I stood there with my $ 22 in hand after she scanned my items for about a minute while she turned her back and started to talking to an Asian family an aisle over.
Also, other people have mentioned it, but the back part of the store smells like fish. It smells this way because the back part of the store is packed with fish. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, but it’s a strong smell that most people don’t find too appealing. There are meats and crabs scattered about in the back too. I guess if you’re shopping for this kind of item then it’s perfect.
I know those last two paragraphs make the place sound deplorable, but really, it’s not so bad. The customers seem to be pretty nice and as I mentioned before, the selection really is quite impressive. We’ve bought snacks, tapioca pearls, tea mixes, mochi, ice cream, and some other odds and ends. I would buy the produce too if I needed an asian fruit or vegetable. We went to Far East around the corner and in comparison, Tan A is much larger, wider aisles, and laid out more intuitively. It’s too bad that the staff at Tan A are so difficult to work with. It certainly can’t be just because it’s an Asian Grocery Store because Far East’s staff was very helpful.
All that said, I still say to check it out if there’s something you’re looking for. They really do have a lot of items.

Awesomely fully stocked Asian market for your every Asian grocery & household goods needs! Fresh produce to frozen goods to all sorts of treats & cooking/​dining utensils! I wish it was closer to me! They have every kinds of noodles you could imagine. somen, udon, lomein, bean threads, pancit, soba… You could stock your shelves with any Asian spices you may need. There are great variety of meats and seafood too I will need to bring a cooler next time!
Be aware, and be ready credit and debit card users! Good thing I had with me that almost obsolete thing that substitutes cash… Called… hmmm…check! They only accept cash and in state checks.
Happy shopping!