Fubonn Shopping Center

Fubonn Shopping Center is an enclosed shopping mall in Portland, Oregon's Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood. It occupies a site at Southeast 82nd Avenue and Southeast Woodward Street and is organized around a broad Asian retail and dining proposition rather than a conventional department-store format. Its principal anchor is Fubonn Supermarket, a large Asian grocery and housewares retailer offering produce, packaged foods, kitchen goods, and related merchandise. The center has also included restaurants, specialty food and tea businesses, shops selling books and films from China and Vietnam, and other small independent tenants. The mall opened in 2006 under the ownership and leadership of Michael Liu. Contemporary reporting and reference material describe construction costs of approximately $15 million, although the available material does not identify a detailed financing structure or a current valuation. The location was selected on Portland's east side, where ample parking and vehicle access were cited as practical advantages over the city's traditional Chinatown and Old Town districts. Fubonn's opening coincided with a reported shift of parts of Portland's Chinese commercial and residential community toward the Southeast 82nd Avenue corridor. Fubonn has positioned itself as a regional Asian shopping destination and has claimed to be Oregon's largest Asian mall. The Oregonian characterized it as the eastside counterpart to Uwajimaya, reflecting its combination of a major Asian grocery store, prepared-food options, and culturally specific specialty retail. The center's appeal rests on the concentration of products and services that are less readily available in general-purpose suburban shopping centers, together with convenient parking and a tenant mix serving multiple Asian communities. The property has also appeared in public discussions about conditions along Southeast 82nd Avenue. Public officials have used the shopping center as a setting for media appearances and calls for responses to drug and sex crime in the wider corridor. These appearances concern the surrounding area and do not, on the available evidence, establish that Fubonn itself was involved in a scandal or criminal proceeding. Available reference material records 29 tenants in November 2011, but does not provide a reliable current tenant count. It also does not document a formal corporate parent, public listing, ticker symbol, current executive roster beyond the historical identification of Michael Liu, or a detailed expansion program. Fubonn remains best understood as a locally significant, multicultural shopping center whose identity is anchored by Asian grocery retail, specialty merchandise, and dining.

Fubonn Shopping Center opened in 2006 in Portland's Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood, at the intersection of Southeast 82nd Avenue and Southeast Woodward Street. The project was developed and opened under Michael Liu, who was identified as its owner, president, and chief executive officer. Reference material reports construction spending of about $15 million, establishing the center as a substantial east-side retail project rather than a small standalone ethnic grocery store. The center's location reflected both commercial and practical considerations. The Southeast 82nd Avenue corridor offered automobile access and parking, which Liu cited as a reason for locating away from Portland's historic Chinatown and Old Town areas. Fubonn's debut occurred during a reported movement of portions of Portland's Chinese business and residential communities toward the east side. The mall therefore became part of a broader change in the geography of Asian commerce in the city, although the available sources do not establish that it caused that migration. Fubonn was designed as an enclosed, multi-tenant marketplace anchored by Fubonn Supermarket. The supermarket provides the center's core grocery and housewares offer, while smaller tenants broaden the destination with restaurants, a tea shop, specialty shops, and merchandise such as books and movies from China, Vietnam, and other Asian markets. So Kong Dong Tofu & BBQ has been identified among the center's notable dining businesses. In November 2011, the mall listed 29 tenants, demonstrating the breadth of its early operating mix, though a current tenant total is not available in the supplied sources. The center has been described as claiming the distinction of Oregon's largest Asian mall. The Oregonian compared it with Uwajimaya, presenting Fubonn as an east-side counterpart focused on Asian groceries and related shopping. Its large produce selection and concentrated range of culturally specific products have been repeatedly identified as key attractions. Fubonn has also served as a backdrop for public commentary about safety and social conditions on Southeast 82nd Avenue. Public officials have made media appearances at the shopping center while advocating action against drug and sex crime associated with the wider area. These references describe the neighborhood context and should not be treated as evidence of a scandal involving the shopping center itself. The available material provides no verified information about later ownership changes, corporate restructuring, current management, financial performance, or a major expansion. Fubonn is consequently documented primarily as an operating local shopping center whose enduring identity is tied to Asian grocery retail, independent specialty tenants, and Portland's east-side multicultural commercial landscape.

• 2011

  Tenant roster reaches 29 stores

  [1]Fubonn Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Reference material records 29 tenants at the mall in November 2011, including the Fubonn Supermarket and a range of specialty retailers and restaurants.

• 2006

  Shopping center opens

  [1]Fubonn Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org

  Fubonn Shopping Center opens on Southeast 82nd Avenue in Portland's Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood under owner and chief executive Michael Liu.

A regional Asian-oriented shopping destination combining a large ethnic supermarket with specialty retail, dining, and culturally specific services on Portland's east side.

• Asian grocery and housewares anchor · 2006

  Fubonn Supermarket

  The shopping center's principal anchor is a large Asian supermarket combining fresh produce, Asian pantry goods, specialty foods, and housewares. Its breadth gives Fubonn the functional role of a regional grocery destination as well as a general shopping center. The supermarket's produce selection is specifically identified as one of the mall's popular attractions.

• Restaurant

  So Kong Dong Tofu & BBQ

  So Kong Dong Tofu & BBQ is a Korean-oriented restaurant identified as one of the notable food businesses in Fubonn Shopping Center. It contributes prepared dining to a tenant mix otherwise centered on grocery shopping, specialty merchandise, and small independent businesses.

• Specialty retail · 2006

  Specialty Asian retail shops

  Fubonn's smaller shops have included a tea business and retailers selling books and films from China, Vietnam, and other Asian markets. These tenants extend the center beyond food retail and support its positioning as a concentrated cultural and specialty-shopping destination.

• 2006

  East-side location selected for access and parkingStrategy

  Background

  The project was located on Southeast 82nd Avenue rather than in Portland's traditional Chinatown or Old Town commercial areas. Available reference material identifies parking availability as a factor in the location decision.

  Action taken

  Fubonn opened as an enclosed, Asian-oriented shopping center anchored by a supermarket and supported by specialty retailers and restaurants.

  Aftermath

  The opening placed a substantial Asian retail destination on Portland's east side and coincided with a reported shift of some Chinese commercial and residential activity toward the Southeast 82nd Avenue corridor.

  Reported construction cost. $15 million (At or around the 2006 opening; reported figure)

  Source

1. 1Fubonn Shopping Centeren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Fubonn Shopping Center official websitefubonn.com