For many years, the HL Markt was the only one in our neighborhood. In 2001, we heard it would close soon, because a newer and bigger one would open in the new housing area ‘Camp King’. Some residents of the Rosengaertchen area signed a petition asking to keep the HL Markt open until the new one opens. By then, we had an aging population already, who had to do their shopping on foot, and quite a few of us relied on this small supermarket.

In November 2002, EDEKA Supermarket in Camp King opened its doors and the old HL Markt in the Rosengärtchen closed. Fortunately for us Asian food aficionados, the Asian market HanDok Kaufcenter 한독마트 moved in.

I used to shop at the HL Markt on a regular basis, so the photographer happened to catch me that day for the photo accompanying the article.

HL Markt Rosengärtchen – Schließung 2002

In 1995, when we moved here, German supermarket opening hours were still very limited:

Monday – Friday until 18:30 (closed for lunch) and Saturday until 13:00