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Chang's Oriental Mart, Champaign, IL.

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Chang’s Oriental Mart
505 S. Neil (in the Royal Plaza)
For More Info:
(217) 356-9288

“A running chicken­ — a chicken that is raised on foreign lands who has plenty of space to run around. These chickens are much tastier and healthier for you, too!” explained Paul Chang, co-owner of Chang’s Oriental Mart at 505 S. Neil St., C. In his opinion, foreign food can be much healthier than some domestic, genetically modified foods which is why he chooses to sell it.

Located about 10 minutes away from campus, Wendy and Paul Chang warmly welcome the CU community to their very authentic Asian grocery store. The happily married couple have been running this store together for about 25 years. “We have been able to keep our business running for this long because we care about what our customers need and want,” he said. “After all this time, we have become friends with our customers.”

Although this store primarily sells Asian goods, they also sell affordable foreign products from countries across the world such as Africa, Europe and South America. The store is filled with different tastes you will definitely want to try or incorporate into food you already enjoy. Walking through the cozy isles, you can smell the fresh fish and Asian vegetables as you near the many bags of imported Jasmine rice next to the fresh plantains.

“There is no better rice than Jasmine rice. If my customers do not enjoy it, they can bring it back!” Chang said. There are different types of frozen fresh fish, lean chicken, tofu and different types of grains such as plantain flour from Ghana.

Some might argue that food from abroad is more expensive, but Mr. Chang said, “If you know anyone who has lower prices than we do, let us know!” After so many years in business, Mr. and Mrs. Chang have been very successful with their local grocery store. “Knowledge is power. Before you can sell a product you must be able to sell yourself. If you do not believe in yourself, then you cannot sell a product. Even if you are starting from scratch like I did, even if it means buying a donkey before you buy a horse, you must work very hard to become successful in life,” Chang said.