History

Our Family History: Yearning for Home

Francis An, founder of Bogopa was born in Korea. He migrated to Argentina as a young man, where he embraced the culture and lived for many years; later, he migrated to New York.

Upon arriving in the city, he quickly discovered that the needs of the minorities and immigrants were largely being ignored by most mainstream businesses in New York, especially supermarkets. Having enjoyed Latin American cuisine during his time in Argentina, he found that New York supermarkets simply did not carry a wide enough selection of the various ingredients needed to make many of the dishes that he had enjoyed in Argentina. Seeing a need for these items, he opened his first supermarket in 1988 in Queens, New York. The name Bogopa was chosen as the corporate parent name because it means “Yearning for You” in Korean. This phrase embodies the essence of our commitment to serving the very unique needs of our customers, many of whom are minorities or immigrants who have not forgotten their roots.

We manifest this phrase in many ways, including all of the following:

• We yearn to be the most reliable provider of “food from back home”.
• We yearn to bring you the freshest possible products.
• We yearn to give you customer satisfaction each time you visit us.
• We yearn to be a good neighbor in the community.
• We yearn to be a positive influence for our employees and our communities.
• We yearn to see you enjoy the tastes of home.
• We yearn to be your home away from home.