Business owners are trying to cash in as the Asian population continues to grow in Collin County and across North Texas.
One way is through the development of "Asia-towns" in cities like Richardson, Plano and Frisco.
For Amy Gow, born and raised in Texas but with roots in Taiwan and China, it makes life a little easier.
"You relate through your culture a lot through your food," Gow said.
On a recent day she was searching aisle after aisle at Jusgo Supermarket for beef jerky to put in a care package for her daughter, studying in New York City.
"I wanted to send a little 'home' taste back to her," Gow said.
It's the same way Kenny Ly and his Vietnamese-American mother feel.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"She loves to cook at home so these kind of markets are her place to be," Ly said.
Data provided by the Collin County Asian American Chamber of Commerce show the number of Asians living in Collin County nearly doubled from 2002 to 2009.
And the growth has not slowed since.
According to the 2015 U.S. Census data, Asians make up 13.5 percent of Collin County's population.
The demand to cater to that kind of explosive growth keeps Plano-based developers, and father and son, Eric and Eddie Chen busy.
Eric Chen first opened Asia World Market in Richardson in 1989. Ten years ago, they moved up to Plano, redeveloping a plaza off Highway 75 and Legacy Drive.
Asian restaurants and salons fill the plaza – one that looks like any other in the area.
"We wanted to complement our surroundings," Eddie Chen said. "After all, we are in Texas."
The centerpiece is Jusgo Supermarket, filled with fresh produce, meats and seafood – and items sitting on shelves that weeks of travel to reach North Texas.
In the shopping center nearby called Legacy 100, construction crews are busy creating a Japantown, where a Japanese market, sushi restaurant and bookstore will soon open.
"The number of people, the mass number of people increased faster than probably anybody expected," Chen added.
Farther north, in Frisco, Houston-based NewQuest is planning to break ground on another Asian-themed marketplace located off Preston Road and Warren Parkway. This will be their second in the area. The other is in Carrollton Town Center and includes Daiso, a Japanese dollar store.
Copyright, 2013, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (Dustin A. Cable, creator)
Map data by OpenStreetMap, under CC-BY-SA. Image Copyright, 2013, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (Dustin A. Cable, creator)
