1980s: The present site of the Mekong Plaza on Dobson and Main was Tricity Mall. The mall was closed in 1998 and demolished in 2006.
1997: The Chinese Cultural Center was built by BNU Corporation in Phoenix. Complete with tiled roofs mimicking the Forbidden Palace in Beijing and a Chinese-style garden, the Chinese Cultural Center was a landmark for 20 years before a Scottsdale-based real estate investment firm bought the complex and stripped it of its Chinese elements. It was the closest thing to an Asian district the metro Phoenix area had at the time.
2001: TheMotorola semiconductor chip manufacturing plant closes in Mesa. After it’s closure, many nearby business begin to die off, including the Target would eventually become Mekong Plaza.
2008: In October, Mekong Plaza opens with only one-third of its storefronts occupied.
2011: Winglee Exotic Fruits Market, owned by Walleye Lai, opens across the street from Mekong Plaza.
2012: Ryan Winkle starts working as a community organizer in West Mesa. He helped create a “Small Wonders Map” of Mesa with Local First Arizona. Mekong Plaza is included on the map.
2014: Six years after its opening, Mekong reaches full occupancy for the first time as the district grows.
2017: The City of Mesa identifies the corridor surrounding Mekong as a redevelopment area and begins brainstorming ways to help the area. Its unique cluster of Asian businesses presents a branding opportunity.
2019: Mesa’s office of economic development put out a public survey with a list of options for the brand name and the area was dubbed the Mesa Asian District.
2019: Matthew Ma, along with his parents, opens Happy Bao’s in Mekong Plaza.
2020: HMart opens in the Asian District. The Mesa store is the only location of the popular Korean and pan-Asian grocery chain between Texas and California.
2022: Grace Liu opens her shop, E.T. Tea & Popcorn Chicken. She actually chose its location in the Asian District in 2018.
2022: Mekong Plaza breaks ground on a more than 35,000-square-foot expansion. Kadhima Tung paints the plaza’s first mural featuring a Chinese zodiac theme.
2024: Shela Yu adds another mural to Mekong Plaza featuring a dragon floating above hills lined with saguaro and yucca.
June 2025: Mekong Plaza expansion is expected to open, which will bring a dozen new shops and restaurants, including Chinese hot pot chain Haidilao.
Written by AZCentral
Interested in real estate in Mesa, Arizona? REACH OUT! As a Phoenix native, Mesa resident and an award-winning, top Arizona REALTOR®, I love chatting the market with you. Thank you.
