:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/VLI2BRCFTJG3CKAXIAJ3ODR5C4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/BXM4ETKJUFAS63WM6KBF7GQKY4.jpg)
DeKALB – James and Mary Ruby Filipos’ market carries everything from ramen noodles to milkfish, and coming soon: eel.
The Filipos’ business, Ruby’s Asian Market, 1406 Sycamore Road in DeKalb, opened in September and carries more than 500 authentic Asian products, most of which are imported, James Filipos said.
“We’re expanding all the time ... “he said. “When we’re done we should be at 650 items.”
Snacks, sauces, spices, drinks, noodles, fresh produce, frozen foods, desserts, seafood and a premium line of teas are already in stock at Ruby’s Asian Market.
The couple grew tired of making trips to Naperville to buy their Asian ingredients, and decided it was time to have them imported and sold in their own community.
“We’ve had a decent start. People seem genuinely excited that we’re here,” James Filipos said. “There’s a portion of the market that obviously wasn’t being served.”
A cook himself, James Filipos believes having a variety of merchandise in his store will go a long way in his neighbors’ kitchens.
“I’m all over the place,” he said. “I’m Greek and my wife is Filipino so I’ve got both those bases covered and I would say I basically specialize in comfort food.”
From new visitors jumping up and down in excitement to praises from regular customers, the Filipos’ market seems to be providing a needed service, he said.
“Most people are just delighted that they have something like this close to home, that they’re not having to drive an hour away to pick up the things that they like,” he said. “It’s been a pretty even mix of a customer base. Aside from the Asian community we have some of the ‘foodies,’ I call them, who like to come in and they do a lot of cooking.”
With the business up and running, James and Mary Ruby Filipos no longer need to make hour-long car trips to get their groceries, and neither does the rest of DeKalb County.
“We played around with the idea of opening our own business for a lot of years,” James Filipos said. “As consumers of these products, there’s just nothing around here.”