HOLLAND, Mich. — After over 10 years of serving the Holland community at 650 Riley St., DB International Market is relocating to a larger space at the Holland Town Center at 12330 James St. Suite A20.
The business's last day at the Riley St. location will be on August 17.
Khamtanh Sayavong's brother first opened the Asian grocery store on Butternut Dr. in the early 2000s, marking nearly 20 years of the market's existence.
Khamtanh took over when she, her husband, and their three kids moved from St. Petersburg, FL to Holland in 2007. Though of Thai descent, she grew up in Laos and came to the United States with big goals in 1984.
"I left Laos when I was 13 and then came here when I was 15, so I had to start everything all over," she said at the market Monday. "I have a dream. I really want to be like a distributor of a wholesaler."
While DB International Market might not be a wholesale distributor yet, the grocery store has since evolved into a family business.
"Twenty some years later, it's going to be me, my brother, and my mom now," said Khamtanh's daughter, Alissa.
At 10,000 square feet, the new location will double the size of their current storefront, a change prompted by community requests for more Asian grocery options.
"We're trying to reach more countries in a sense, because we've gotten a lot of requests from people asking for, like, Indian spices, Middle Eastern," Alissa explained. "There have been a lot of requests to have an Asian store like this because there are only certain products that retail stores like Meijer and Walmart can get access to."
The Sayavong family offers a range of Asian ingredients, from preserved duck eggs, to shrimp flakes, and even cooked silkworm. They're aiming to introduce new flavors to the West Michigan community.
"We actually do hot, cooked foods on Thursdays and Saturdays. Yeah, so there are certain dishes that other restaurants around here locally won't make because they can't access to it," added Alissa. "I can tell new customers about my family and how I grew up, and just to have them try new things that were staples for me growing up."
With hopes of serving the community for another two decades, Khamtanh expressed her gratitude for the support they have received.
"Just feels so special because whatever food we make, seems that everybody likes it, and they really want to get to know more," she said. "It's something that makes me feel grateful."
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