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An estimated 10,000 shoppers were on track to pass through the city's newest supermarket during its first day of operations, according to a spokesperson for T&T Supermarket.

Canada's largest Asian food retailer officially opened its first Ottawa store Wednesday, a 51,000-square-foot facility in the city's south end.

The new location is the 18th for T&T Supermarket, which was acquired by Loblaws (TSX:L) in a $225 million deal announced in July.

The new store will employ 170 people and is located on Hunt Club Road, just east of Riverside Drive (map), which is Ottawa's fifth-busiest intersection with 60,000 vehicles passing daily, according to the company.

"When you step into our store we want you to feel like you're shopping in Asia with all its diverse food and flavours," says CEO Cindy Lee in a statement.

A $3.1 million construction permit was issued just under a year ago for the project, according to a local trade publication. VCL Construction was the general contractor.

In April, the city issued a $2.5 million construction permit for tenant fit-ups of the building.

With a 22-foot sushi counter and another 70 feet of counter space devoted to hot and cold food, the store claims to have the largest freshly prepared food section of any supermarket in Ottawa.

While some have questioned what impact the new store will have on merchants in Ottawa's Chinatown, the head of the area's business association says her members – which include three or four grocery stores – are unfazed.

"We've been talking about this for a long time," says Grace Xin, executive director of the Somerset Street Chinatown BIA.

She adds she doesn't expect T&T will have a huge impact on her member businesses.