Jagalchi

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

Rethinking the mall experience for the 21st century, Jagalchi brings a taste of Korea and renewed energy to Serramonte Center.

Location

Daly City, California

Client

Mega Mart

Expertise

[FPO] Retail [FPO] Consumer Experience [FPO] Lifestyle Brand Design

Opportunity

A vacant department store became an opportunity to reimagine big-box retail as an inclusive culinary and cultural destination.

Across the U.S., big-box retail vacancies have created challenges and opportunities. These vacant anchors, with expansive floor plates and high ceilings, offer untapped potential for reinvention. When JCPenney left Serramonte Center, Daly City’s de facto downtown lost a key anchor and community gathering place. International Korean grocery chain Mega Mart seized the opportunity to fill this gap by creating the largest Korean food experience in the U.S., where Korean culture and cuisine are accessible to all.

Why This Matters

01
A Lost Anchor
When JCPenney left Serramonte Center, Daly City’s de facto downtown lost a key anchor and community gathering place.
02
Untapped Big-Box Potential
Expansive floor plates and high ceilings offered Mega Mart the scale to create the largest Korean food experience in the U.S.
03
Culture Made Accessible
The ambition was to make Korean culture and cuisine accessible to all through a destination that moves beyond a typical grocery store.

Gensler understood our concepts more deeply and more thoroughly than we had anticipated, which genuinely surprised us. From the very beginning, the collaboration felt close and aligned, making the experience enjoyable.

Solution

Rooted in “Food is Medicine,” the design turns Korean culinary traditions into a contemporary, multisensory retail and dining experience.

Named after South Korea’s oldest and liveliest seafood market, Jagalchi positions itself as a healthy culinary destination in Northern California, home of the slow food movement. Rooted in the concept “Food is Medicine,” the design expresses this philosophy through a clear brand identity that celebrates fresh seafood, vegan temple cuisine, and rice-flour baked goods. Natural materials and skylights reduce VOCs while increasing daylight and lowering energy use. One of Korea’s first Michelin-star chefs brings ancient food wisdom to life through modern family recipes.

From brief to build: turning a former department store into a full-service Korean food venue at mall scale.

The existing department store had not been used for food preparation, service, or storage. To support a modern food hall, the design team coordinated major infrastructure upgrades, including increased power capacity, refrigeration, ventilation, grease receptors, and skylights. In parallel, the brand and interiors teams translated the “Food is Medicine” concept into signage, wayfinding, custom illustrations, natural materials, and a unified visual language that supports the guest journey across grocery, dining, bakery, and restaurant experiences.

Exterior Before

Jagalchi’s former state as an abandoned JCPenny.

Impact

Jagalchi repositions a vacant anchor as an inclusive culinary destination with measurable social, economic, and environmental impact for Daly City.

Jagalchi serves 500 restaurant guests daily, increased Saturday foot traffic by 30%, created 200 jobs, and diverted 550 tons of CO2.

What Changed Because of This

01
Community Destination
Jagalchi transformed an empty department store into an inclusive, sensory-driven cultural destination for food, gathering, and discovery.
02
Economic Activity
The project created more than 200 local jobs and helped lift Saturday foot traffic at Serramonte Center by 30%.
03
Environmental Reuse
Reusing the existing core and shell diverted an estimated 550 tons of CO2 while enabling a full-service food venue.

Jagalchi’s authenticity came from partnering with the client to create a brand that celebrates its cultural identity as a destination and brings communities together.

Recognition

01

CoStar News

CoStar covered Gensler’s perspective on transforming a former JCPenney into Jagalchi, a Korean food market and restaurant.

02

San Francisco Chronicle

The San Francisco Chronicle featured Jagalchi as a 75,000-square-foot Korean food complex in the Bay Area designed by Gensler.

03

Regency Centers

The Regency Centers featured Jagalchi’s opening in Daly City, CA.

Team

Project Leadership

Anna Han

As the Retail and Consumer Experience leader for Gensler's Northwest region, Anna brings nearly two decades of experience managing and delivering diverse retail projects, from custom flagship stores to national rollout programs and food hall conversions.

[FPO] Krista Reeder

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Jacqueline Zuhoski

As Technical Director, Jacqueline leverages her capabilities to successfully identify and implement solutions at all project phases. She is also a Design Resilience Leader, supporting Gensler’s Product Sustainability (GPS) Standards, which are part of the firm’s broader efforts to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by the built environment.

[FPO] Justin DeAbreu

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FAQ

01

Where is Jagalchi located?

Jagalchi is located at Serramonte Center in Daly City, CA.

02

Who is the client for Jagalchi?

The client is Mega Mart, an international Korean grocery chain.

03

What type of project is Jagalchi?

Jagalchi is an adaptive reuse retail and dining destination centered on Korean food culture.

04

What was the design concept for Jagalchi?

The concept is Yak Sik Dong Won, or “Food is Medicine,” expressed through food, brand identity, materials, and guest experience.

05

What food experiences does Jagalchi include?

Jagalchi includes fresh seafood, sushi, oyster bar, butcher, wines and Korean liquors, grab-and-go deli stations, house-made kimchi, POGU, and Basquia rice bakery.

06

How does Jagalchi benefit Daly City?

Jagalchi created more than 200 jobs, increased Saturday mall foot traffic by 30%, and transformed a vacant anchor into a cultural destination.

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Related Expertise

Retail Consumer Experience Lifestyle Brand Design

Rethinking the mall experience for the 21st century, Jagalchi brings a taste of Korea and renewed energy to Serramonte Center.

A vacant department store became an opportunity to reimagine big-box retail as an inclusive culinary and cultural destination.

Why This Matters

Rooted in “Food is Medicine,” the design turns Korean culinary traditions into a contemporary, multisensory retail and dining experience.

From brief to build: turning a former department store into a full-service Korean food venue at mall scale.

Jagalchi repositions a vacant anchor as an inclusive culinary destination with measurable social, economic, and environmental impact for Daly City.

What Changed Because of This