A new grocery store and take-out food market is coming to the Near Southside, courtesy of one of Fort Worth’s most well-known chefs.

Called Hao's Grocery and Cafe, it’s a new concept from Hao Tran, who earned acclaim in Fort Worth foodie circles for her dumplings, and will open in early 2024.

The store will be situated at 1066 W. Magnolia Ave., on the ground floor of the newly built Highline on Magnolia mixed-use building.

“It’s in a great location – the ground floor of an apartment building, so we’ll have a built-in captive audience,” Tran says. It'll also face Magnolia Avenue, lending greater visibility.

Cho Bep is Vietnamese, Tran says, for “market to kitchen,” which is how she’s describing this one-stop shop for everyday grocery items, gourmet items, and take-away meals.

“It’ll be a full-service grocery store, with items like milk and eggs and wine,” she says. “But it’ll also be similar to a deli where you can take home sandwiches, soups, and ready-made meals - what I like to call market to kitchen meals.”

Her menu will definitely include the dumplings for which she is famous, in flavors such as pork and smoked beef cheek, plus banh mi sandwiches, barbecue bao buns, spring rolls, and Vietnamese soups, including pho.

But the menu won’t be 100 percent Asian. For instance, she's planning on making straightforward deli sandwiches with high-quality local bread.

The space will also be used for chef dinners, cooking classes, and a series of fun cooking contests, called “The Locals Cookery Club,” designed to bring together would-be cooks of all ages and backgrounds.

"Think of The Joy Luck Club meets Iron Chef,” says Tran, who is also a culinary instructor at Trimble Tech High School. “These events will be open to anyone, of any skill level, who wants to cook, loves to cook, and appreciates the art of food.”

Tran, who was nominated for Chef of the Year in CultureMap's 2023 Tastemaker Awards, opened a similar market in January called Hao’s Grocery & Café in the South Main area in a space that was previously The Table, a market and culinary studio opened by Hao and three partners which closed in 2022.

The new shop is only 900 square feet, which is small by conventional grocery standards, and yet it's bigger than her South Main store. She's planning on running the two markets concurrently.

"The new space has enough square footage for me to put in an efficient kitchen, which will allow me to expand my menu," she says. "I’ll be able to do a lot more there."