PROVIDENCE – Downtown residents and visitors who have longed for more grocery stores in the area will soon have a new option as owners of a Japanese grocery chain have announced plans to open its first Rhode Island location this spring.
Maruichi Japanese Food & Deli will occupy more than 6,000 square feet on the ground floor of the six-story Nightingale Building located at 113 Washington St., between Mathewson and Clemence streets.
The space has sat dark since its most recent tenant, Rory’s Kitchen and Market, shut its doors in October 2023 when owners cited “personal reasons” as the cause of the Massachusetts-based specialty organic chain closure.
Once Maruichi is up and running, it will be open seven days a week and offer a full range of Japanese groceries, sushi-grade fish, Japanese cuts of meat and prepared foods such as onigiri, sushi and sashimi, bento boxes and seaweed salads, among other dishes from Japan, according to a news release.
There will also be an in-store cafe serving Japanese snacks, coffee and teas, and matcha lattes. Additionally, the store plans to host celebrations of Japanese culture throughout the year, highlighting imports such as sashimi from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market and Miyazaki Wagyu beef.
Mariuichi operates under the parent company Fuji Mart Corp., which is based in Stamford, Conn., and the Providence location will be the company’s first store in Rhode Island. The first Maruichi store opened in 1991 as a small business known as “Fuji Mart” in Greenwich, Conn., and now the company runs several grocery stores and restaurants throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey.
“Maruichi is all about bringing the experience of shopping in Japan to American customers,” said Joshua Nakama, vice president of Fuji Mart Corp. “We're constantly searching for curious communities that are eager for our unique brand of authenticity and accessibility. We're lucky to have found that in Providence. Maruichi is excited to bring both the everyday and the hard-to-find of the Japanese culinary world to Providence and the Rhode Island community."
The Providence location is part of the company’s strategy to expand demographically, culturally and within the industry, Nakama said in an emailed statement to Providence Business News.
Nakama said the company wanted a location that catered to a more diverse client base. The Nightingale Building fit this description as it’s located near a public transit station, schools such as Johnson & Wales University, as well as the city’s food scene, he said.
He also said that while the Asian demographic within Rhode Island is small, it is growing and the average customer is more interested in authentic Japanese food than a decade ago.
But also, even though people seem to be most interested in ramen and sushi, Nakama hopes to expand their palettes and knowledge about Japanese food and culture.
“We think we're uniquely poised to offer Rhode Islanders an experience beyond just ramen and sushi while still remaining accessible,” Nakama said.
(UPDATE adds paragraphs 8-12 with additional comment from Joshua Nakama.)
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.
