Logan’s Spice Corner
The poorly maintained singing robots were right. It really is a small world after all.
Tucked away in a little shop on the east side of Macy’s at 993 South Main in Logan is the Lotus Place, an international market that offers a taste of far away lands to the residents of Cache valley.
“I like working here a lot,” said Ikram Osman, a sophomore from Somalia, majoring in nursing who works in the stores during the evenings for her aunt.
“I get to meet a lot of neat people and get a lot of new recipes.”
Her aunt, Halima M Ali, also from Somalia, is the owner and primary operator of Lotus Place. Ali also enjoys working at the store. “I like to sell international food.”
“There’s no other store like this in Cache valley,” Ali said. “We get customers from Brigham City and even Ogden. It’s more convenient than going all the way to Salt Lake City. “
Lotus place has been in Logan for years now but not many people know about it. Until last May, it was owned and ran by Denya Wong and her family who sold it Ali.
Prior to the sell, the store was still named Lotus Place, but it was often referred to by its Chinese name Dong Fang.
“It used to be mostly oriental food,” Osman, who came to America eight years ago to go to school, explained. “We still have all kinds of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai food. But now, we’ve added a lot of other countries from Africa, India and the Middle East.”
“This place is good for international students who miss the food from home,” Ali said. “We have curry spices and beans from India, Fufu flour and pan oil from Africa and many different Asian noodles and sauces.”
The store is also popular with students who have returned from LDS missions with a taste for overseas foods and those who want to take advantage of the health benefits of a more varied diet.
“This food is healthy food,” Ali said waving her hand toward the shelves stacked high with various international fares.
Besides four shelves filled with sauces, noodles and many different kinds of rice, Lotus Place also has two large fridges, one full of dumpling and spring roll wrappers and the other with meats. An international selection of cool drinks is also kept in the back.
Also for sale are many Chinese movies on VHS left over from the Wongs’ time as owner. There are also many Chinese gifts, cards and trinkets. Customers who don’t find what they’re looking for can order it.
“We order from California every month and if people say they’re willing to buy something we’ll get it here,” Osman explained. “We also have a lot of baskets here so if people want to make gift baskets we can do that.”
-steveshinney@cc.usu.edu
Lotus Place is filled with spices and foods from all over the world, especially Asia. (Photo by Jennifer Wheatley)
Lotus place is an international house of spices and ethnic foods from China, Japan, Korea, Africa, and more. (Photo by Jennifer Wheatley)