Apna Bazaar, a Northwest Austin–based Indian grocery store, moved in late April into the space vacated by Dollar General last June.
Jozito George, who owns the store with his wife, Theresa, said his lease was up in the suite next door to the former Dollar General location, and he decided to move into the larger space, growing his business' footprint from 1,700 square feet to 11,500 square feet. The grocery store was located at 8650 Spicewood Springs Road, Ste. 133B, and will have a new suite number, 132.
Within in the store, George created three retail spaces at 400, 430 and 800 square feet to lease to other businesses such as a ladies' boutique, hair salon or snack bar to sell goods and services. He said his goal is to create a mini mall with a variety of services.
"There's a lot of demand for boutiques," he said.
George opened Apna Bazaar five years ago, selling grocery items from Indian and other Asian nations. In May 2011, he opened Maharaja Indian Caf in the same shopping center and focused on serving dishes popular throughout India. George sold the restaurant in February, opting to focus on the grocery store and add more products from nations in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia such as Turkey, Iran and Sri Lanka.
"It was too much to handle both businesses," George said. "Customer satisfaction is the main thing."
He said the restaurant's new owners are planning to open a Korean and sushi restaurant called Hanarum in June.
For more information, call Apna Bazaar at 512-249-0202.