Spirits were high Saturday morning as hundreds of people eagerly waited in a long line to browse the shelves at the newest Japanese supermarket to open in the Bay Area.
Tokyo Central is now open to the public at the Emeryville Bay Street mall. The supermarket is best known for its wide selection of Japanese seafood, produce, dry goods, beverages and home goods. The store also offers a wide selection of ready-to-eat items such as rice bowls and onigiri made with fresh milled rice, sashimi sets and sandwiches. Hot foods are available from a buffet and sold by the pound. Customers can pick from a wide spread that includes noodles with vegetables, crispy chicken, shrimp tempura, seasoned tofu and takoyaki, among other items.
The new grocery store includes Waka Sakura Handroll Factory, a sushi restaurant that offers handroll sushi in single pieces and sets. The handheld pieces are made with high-grade Japanese rice and cuts of seafood such as bluefin tuna, scallops and crab. Its counter accommodates eight customers — first come, first served. Its 38-seat dining room serves as a space for Tokyo Central customers who purchase prepared foods. This area is accessible through a side entrance.
A police officer working the crowds said more than 700 people were in line at 10 a.m., when the store opened. The line grew rapidly in the last hour before opening, growing past a maze of retractable-belt line dividers and snaking around a Barnes & Noble store across the way and into the mall’s parking structure…