Seeming miles of aisles greet shoppers as they enter Taaza Mart, which opened last month in a former Sprouts at Parker and Arapahoe roads near Aurora’s Arapahoe Crossings mall. The more than 20,000-square-foot space is packed with often hard-to-find Desi delicacies and ingredients used when cooking fare from Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. A halal meat shop offers chicken, goat, lamb and a variety of fish, including mackerel and pomfret.
The original Taaza Mart opened in Tampa, Florida, and Aurora is its first Colorado outpost. “There’s a large South Asian community here,” says owner Gopinath Kakarla, “and we felt this would be a good place to expand.” Kakarla, who also operated several successful Indian markets and restaurants in Minnesota, is happy with the reception so far. “Customers have been very pleased, and we’re already providing goods to some local restaurants, as well," he adds.The timing is right.