Tashkent Supermarket Expands into Manhattan's West Village with Central Asian Culinary Offerings
Tashkent Supermarket recently opened its newest location in Manhattan's West Village, marking the expansion of the chain from its five New York City locations and a wholesale facility in New Jersey. The chain's origins trace back to 2012 when Odiljon Tursunov and his family launched the first store in Coney Island following Hurricane Sandy. Since then, the supermarket has grown to integrate a broad representation of Central Asian and post-Soviet foods.
The West Village store specializes in traditional items such as manty, plov, samsas, chak-chak, and kompot, sourcing products directly from the former Soviet Union. This includes cheeses from Georgia, bread from Ukraine, and nuts and raisins from Uzbekistan. A hot food bar in the store offers plov and samsas, presenting a blend of American and Central Asian culinary products. Notably, hot food prices have increased by at least $1 in 2025 due to rising Manhattan operational costs and the impact of congestion pricing on delivery logistics.
Since March 2025, social media influencers, including accounts like sistersnacking and babytamago, have helped elevate the store's popularity by introducing Central Asian cuisine to a wider New York City audience. The West Village location aims to serve not only longstanding Central Asian immigrant communities—such as Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen populations—but also a broader customer base interested in diverse culinary experiences. While Bukharian and Uzbek diaspora communities have a significant presence in neighborhoods like Forest Hills, this location extends the reach of Central Asian flavors within the urban food scene.
Historically, Central Asian cuisine reflects its nomadic and agricultural traditions, the influence of the Silk Road, and the culinary transformations during the Soviet era, which have collectively shaped the region's unique flavors and food availability.
