Anthony Vu and friend Vivian Nguyen picked off deal after deal as the pair walked the aisles of Seiwa, a new Japanese grocer in Costa Mesa.

“It’s normally $5. It’s only $2.99 here,” said Vu, a Garden Grove resident as Nguyen, of Westminster, picked up a bag of green tea Kit Kat bars.

“I’m coming out here with a cart full,” Vu added as the two shopped.“Their prices are good, much less than other places.”

The grocery store opened Friday, just down the street from Mitsuwa Marketplace, another Japanese market.

Seiwa sells items commonly found in Japan, such as those green tea flavored candy bars, umaibo salad sticks, frozen eel, frozen sushi-grade fish and rice. While items are packaged for home use, many come in bulk proportions for restaurants.

The Orange County store is Seiwa’s first. The chain is owned by Hidejiro Matsu, founder and former owner of Gardena-based Japanese market Marukai Market. In 2013, Don Quijote purchased the members-only Marukai chain, which has a dozen locations.

Seiwa joins a crowded marketplace of new grocery providers. Discounters Grocery Outlet and Aldi, which will make its Orange County debut later this month, could force the industry to to adjust prices downward. The Japanese grocer’s edge could be its specialty goods and low prices.

Manager Kenichi Ota said Costa Mesa was a central location for Orange County’s Japanese community.

“We have a great selection of specialty Japanese goods – more than 500,” Ota said. “Most of the items are made for us and are all from Japan.”

While Vu and Nguyen liked the store’s wide selection and cheap prices, some shoppers found the store difficult to navigate.

“A lot of things are written in Japanese, which I don’t read or speak. It’s been an interesting search,” said Brian Tillman of Huntington Beach.

Newport Beach resident Kazuko Kayek was disappointed there was no fresh fish section at the store.

MITSUWA DIFFERENCES

Just down the street is Mitsuwa, a popular Japanese market that, at 60,000 square feet, dwarfs the the 14,000-square-foot Seiwa.

Mitsuwa’s format includes a food court, bookstore and gift section which Costa Mesa store manager Dwaine Yamasaki said makes it “a one-stop shop.”

“Seiwa is more of a wholesale store. There’s no food court. Just basic items,” Yamasaki said. “Prices are actually pretty good there, but you have to buy in bulk, kind of like at Costco.”

Hosana Ishitobi of Huntington Beach agreed with the big-box store comparison. On Friday she bought eggs, milk, snacks and fruit at Seiwa. Ishitobi said she spent about half of what she would have spent at other Japanese grocery stores.

“We go to Mitsuwa and Marukai a lot. This store is much cheaper,” she said.

Bulk items at Seiwa include a 50-pound bag of rice for roughly $30 and a 5-gallon jug of soy sauce for $51.99. To compare: the same jug of Kikkoman less-sodium soy sauce can be bought at Round Eye Supply, a restaurant supplier, distributor and bulk food wholesaler, for $63.32.

Seiwa goods also can be purchased in smaller amounts such as a 5-pound bag of Nishiki rice for $6.49 or a 34-fluid ounce jug of soy sauce for $4.19.

Yamasaki said people shop at Mitsuwa not just for grocery items, but to try cooking Japanese food for the first time.

Seiwa, at 3151 Harbor Blvd., took the place of a former Fresh & Easy. The grocer filed for bankruptcy in October and shuttered nearly 100 stores in November. Seiwa purchased its Costa Mesa location, and discounter Grocery Outlet bought a location in Orange, set to open by June 1.

Seiwa will soon open locations in Torrance and Houston as well.

Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans