An exclusive look inside the Bay Area’s newest Filipino supermarket opening this week

DALY CITY, Calif. (KRON) — Since it was founded in National City (San Diego County) in 1989, Seafood City has been destined to open in this one Bay Area city, a.k.a. the “Pinoy Capital of the World”: Daly City. It was only a matter of time before North America’s largest Filipino supermarket chain opened in there.

Well, that has become a reality as the highly anticipated Seafood City in Daly City officially opens Thursday, July 31 at 9 a.m. Before the grand opening, KRON4 got an exclusive look inside the supermarket during an invite-only preview event Tuesday night.

Seafood City President Matthew Go said the Daly City location is among the few locations with a revamped food hall. A typical Seafood City would have other outside Filipino establishments such as Jollibee, Goldilocks and Chow King to complement the grocery store shopping experience.

The Daly City location looks to make everything in-house.

Filipino BBQ staple Grill City will still be there. New additions to the food hall include Noodle Street, Sizzle and Baker’s Avenue. These food hall changes will soon make their way to more locations.

Noodle Street is a Filipino fusion hot pot experience, blending Filipino classics like Kare-Kare into a noodle soup. Menu items include a Seafood Curry Vermicelli. If you need a recommendation, Seafood City Daly City assistant manager Emely Tripp said her favorite is the Bulalo.

“This is one of our (steps) to transform Seafood City,” Go said of the revamped food hall in Daly City. “We changed up our food hall. Besides the iconic Grill City, we also have Baker’s Avenue. We have Sizzle. We have Noodle Street. Our food hall has expanded.”

Daly City Councilmember Juslyn Manalo was at Tuesday night’s preview event — joined by other local leaders like San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President David Canepa and Daly City Vice Mayor Glenn R. Sylvester.

Manalo calls the opening of Seafood City a “momentous milestone.”

“It’s such a momentous milestone for our community,” Manalo told KRON4 as she holds a plate of Filipino favorites like lumpia, pancit and BBQ. “Daly City is the Pinoy capital of the world. To have Seafood City at their 38th store is amazing. When you bring in culture, food, amazing food and just the hospitality the Filipino culture brings, you’re going to feel it when you eat the food.

“They’ve joked around, saying this is probably going to be the busiest Seafood City ever.”

A mural showcasing Filipino culture will also be added, highlighting the Filipino-American experience. That’s something Daly City hasn’t had before, Manalo said.

Another addition, according to Manalo, will be a Chow King drive-thru, which is in the works. Chowking is a Philippines-based chain that serves both Filipino and Chinese dishes.

Seafood City is the latest Asian supermarket to open in Daly City. The much-hyped Korean supermarket Jagalchi opened at the Serramonte Center in March — riding the wave of popularity for Asian supermarket openings across the Bay Area.

“With so many things happening, with Jagalchi as a supermarket, now Seafood City? Daly City has always been so diverse with its food and its culture. Now we’re able to share it even more with our community and beyond,” Manalo said.

The grand opening will be at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 31, located at St. Francis Square Shopping Center. Seafood City Daly City is offering a free 15-pound bag of Calrose rice for $1 for the first 200 customers who purchase $35 minimum on groceries.

”It’s an honor that we’re able to open in Daly City,” Go said. This place is the Pinoy capital. It’s also Little Manila. So to be able to serve the community here means a lot to us. We’re honored we have that opportunity.”