Aria International Supermarket in Tustin, which opened last year in March in the ginormous space previously occupied by Sears Home Essentials, has been sold to Ansar Gallery International, a shopping mall developer based in Bahrain. The market remains in operation, as is the in-store restaurant, butcher and bakery, but reports say that they no longer sell alcohol.
]
The Aria sign has now been replaced. Aria was previously owned by the people who still operate Super Irvine.
This is how I described Aria when it first opened:
Aria International Supermarket is huge–airplane hangar huge. Even after the market moved into the space previously occupied by Sears Home Essentials, there is still literally enough space for a fleet of Escalades that could all fit between the aisles. The produce selection is eclectic and seasonal, as it should be. You are just as likely to find Boar's Head meat in your sandwich as you are a great deal on a rice and koobideh meal. The former is served at a full service deli that boasts more cheeses than at the Trader Joe's. The latter is served at a food court that might as well be three football fields away at the opposite corner of the store. In between you'll find peach nectar from the Middle East, tofu from Japan, and marscapone from Wisconsin–and it's all here, in quiet, unassuming Tustin.
Follow Stick a Fork In It on Twitter @ocweeklyfood or on Facebook! And don't forget to download our free Best Of App here!
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.