Asian Dining & Market Choices Bloom in Pineville
Much like the Scotch-Irish immigrants before them, Asians moving to Charlotte first settled on the city’s east side. Not surprisingly, Asian-owned businesses followed to serve the growing population, particularly along Central Avenue—including the Viet My grocery in the mid-1980s and Saigon Square in 1994.
The most significant development, though, was the Asian Corner Mall, opened at North Tryon Street and Sugar Creek Road in 1999 in the former Tryon Mall by sisters Vienne, Ivy, and Megan Nguyen. For years, the Asian Corner Mall became an essential gathering place for the region’s Asian community.
While the Asian Corner Mall is mostly shuttered and slated for re-development, the east side continues to be home to the greatest concentration of Asian restuarants and markets But there is a new center of critical mass for anyone who is seeking authentic Asian cuisines—whether dining out or picking up groceries to cook at home: the bedroom community of Pineville, population 10,602.
In one sense, the emergence of Pineville as an Asian retail destination reflects the rapid growth of Asians living throughout the Charlotte area, Between 2010 and 2020, the Asian population grew by 89%, the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in metro Charlotte. Not surprisingly, the Asian population—with a still-significant population of Southeast Asians, in particular, still centered on the east side—has also become increasingly dispersed throughout the Charlotte area. The popularity of a town like Pineville as a center for Asian cultures has also been boosted by non-Asian suburbanites who have increasingly embraced Asian cuisines as part of their regular dining routines.
Pineville emerged as a retail juggernaut in the early 1990s. In 1991, Carolina Place mall opened with four anchor stores: Belk, Dillard's, JCPenney and Sears. (Belk, Dillard's, and JCPenney remain.) Then, in 1994, the segment of I-485 passing through Pineville’s town limits, and just north of the mall, opened to traffic. In the years that followed, largely undeveloped land adjacent to Pineville's two I-485 interchanges developed into one of the largest shopping districts in the state.
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Pineville, NC
Pineville, incorporated in 1873, was named for the large and abundant pines that cast their shadows over the community. At the time it was known as a mule trading center which was located at the intersection of two major Native American trading routes. During the 1880s and 1890s, Pineville became a booming agricultural and textile center. After the Great Depression of the 1930s, Pineville’s growth slowed substantially. Cotton production, and agriculture as a whole, declined in the Carolina Piedmont.
The growth of Pineville was greatly changed in the 1990s. Carolina Place mall opened in 1991. In 1994, the segment of I-485 passing through Pineville's town limits, and just north of the mall, opened to traffic. In the years to follow, largely undeveloped land developed into a large shopping district.
Pineville’s Asian Restaurants and Markets Map
Restaurants
Markets
Click on the icons in the map to view the restaurant or market profiles.
Early ’90s bring Asian businesses to Pineville
In the late 1980s and early 1990s—even before the Asian Corner Mall started serving the Asian community on the east side—Asian restaurants and markets began opening and moving to Pineville. A few of them remain open to this day.
Wan Fu, an upscale Pagoda-style Chinese restaurant, actually beat the mall by a couple of yers, opening in 1989 on Kettering Drive, just off of Pineville-Matthews Rd.
Thanks to a major road project on the east side—the widening of Independence Bouleverd—Japanese teppanyaki and sushi restaurant Nakato moved to Kettering Drive—almost across the street from Wan Fu—in 1990.
Hatoya Mart, a Japanese food grocery, opened in the Perimeter Center South on Polk Street in 1992.
By 1995, Thai House, which originally opened near the old Eastland Mall in 1989, had opened a new restaurant in Pineveille’s Tower Place shopping plaza.
In 1996, two restaurants opened in the then-Hannaford Plaza shopping center on Johnston Road (now the Johnston Road Plaza): Taipei South, serving authentic flavors of South Chinese cuisine; and Musashi Japanese Restaurant.
Through the 2000s and 2010s, other business came, adding to the diversity of dining options. Some stayed and others closed, including such stalwarts as Bombay Grille, which opened in 2000 and closed in 2024, and Tin Tin Buffet, which was open from 2002 to 2017.
Super G and Alley 51 Change the Game
The next major development in Pineville was the December 2022 opening of Super G Mart in a former Super Kmart at The Centrum shopping center, across from Carolina Place. Super G Mart was preceded in Pineville by India Grocers and Triveni Supermarket, both on Polk Street, and by Patel Brothers in a standalone building across the large parking lot from Super G Mart. But at 108,000 square feet, Super G Mart is the largest international supermarket in North Carolina, and it has helped Pineville reach critical mass for becoming a cultural hub. “While nothing can re-create the same feel of the Asian Corner Mall, “It’s like the new Asian Corner,” said Vu (Tony) Van in an interview with the Charlotte Observer. Van is the co-owner of Lula Banh Mi & Bakery, which is located in the same plaza. Wholesale supply store Maxim Nail Mall, which left the Asian Corner Mall, also found a new home in the same plaza, bringing customers with it and adding new ones as well.
Then in May of 2024, Alley 51, a 25,000 square foot food hall, opened as part of Super G, though in its own space—with both its own street entrance and a hallway connected to Super G. The name was “inspired by the different food alleys of Asia—such as the Ramen Alley of Tokyo—combined with the locality of Pineville-Matthews Road, Highway 51,” according to Peter Han, vice president of business development at Super G Mart.
Great Wall: Traditional Chinese
Honey Buns II: Chinese buns (bao)
HoneyCow Dessert Lab: fruit teas, matcha jattés, dalgonas
Itaewon Bar & Food (Instagram): Korean fusion
Manila Grill: Filipino
Mini G: Selections from the Super G Mart
Mochinut: Mochi donuts. Japanese-style rice cakes (mochi) + American-style donuts.
Mukja (Instagram): Korean
Quicitop: Chinese jianbing (roasted cold noodles)
Rai Lay Thai Express: Thai
Saigon Cafe: Vietnamese
Tous Les Jours (inside Super G Mart): French Asian Bakery
Yume | Sizzling (Instagram) : Japanese
Today, diners can choose from a wide range of culinary styles. With a few exceptions, Asian restaurants are located east of downtown Pineville, mostly along Pineville-Matthews Rd. (NC Highway 51). Interested in hot pot? Yiding Hot Pot, also located in The Centrum shopping plaza, provides traditional Chinese hot pot, along with sushi, while KPot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot, across the parking lot from Thai House in in Tower Place, combines just what its name says. Another choice for Korean Barbecue is 704 Korean BBQ at McMullen Creek Market. Also located at McMullen Creek are Bon Chon, featuring Korean fried chicken and other traditional entrées, such as bulgogi, japchae, and tteokbokki; Rice & Spice, featuring Thai street food; MiGuo Bubble Tea, Chinese restaurant Quick Wok, as well as Mr. Tokyo Japanese Restaurant, specializing in sushi and hibachi dishes.
Located in Pineville Towne Market are two choices for Chinese: China Express and China Buffet. Asian Wok is located on Park Road across from Atrium Health PIneville (formerly Mercy South). For Indian, head to Sri Balaji Caffe, just west of downtown on Pineville-Matthews Rd. Or go north on Polk Street for two Indian chioces: Joy’s Biryani N Kebabs and the food truck Vindu on Wheels.
Carolina Place also hosts a handful of Asian options: Jasmine Smoothie World & Bubble Tea, Wasabi Sushi And Veggie Grill, Totally Tea, Sarku Japan, Stir Fry 88, and Ruby Thai Kitchen.
Since opening of Super G Mart and Alley 51, Desi District, an Indian restaurant and market, has opened in Pineville at Parkway Crossings, south of Carolina Place. Krazy Curry has opened at the Terraces at Park Place. In addition to serving up traditional Indian dishes, Krazy Curry also serves Nepali entrées, further extending the diversity of Asian cuisines available in Pineville. The next anticipated opening is Flame Bistro & Bar, near the South Carolina state line.