A former Best Buy at 1470 Mountain Ave. in Duarte has a new identity: Vallarta Supermarkets' 66th store, which opened its doors on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, bringing with it 200 new jobs and a sprawling lineup of fresh and prepared foods for the San Gabriel Valley community.
A Massive New Grocery Footprint in the San Gabriel Valley
The 45,839-square-foot store marks Vallarta's first location in Duarte, according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, which reported that the building had sat as a shuttered Best Buy before Vallarta moved in. The Los Angeles Times later noted that the Duarte location takes the place of that same vacant big-box space, amid a broader trend of specialty markets filling gaps as conventional grocers pare back locations, sometimes in communities that have lost a go-to supermarket, as outlined in the Los Angeles Times.
Vallarta celebrated the opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community celebration on Wednesday, according to a company announcement carried by PR Newswire. That same release detailed the economic impact for the area, stating the Duarte store will bring 200 new job opportunities to the community.
Fresh Tortillas, Pan Dulce and a New Sushi Concept
Shoppers walking into the new Duarte store will find corn and flour tortillas made in-house, decorated cakes and pan dulce from the panadería, fresh ceviche, and cuts of marinated meat, per the Tribune's report. The store also carries traditional cheeses, seafood and aguachiles, rounding out a prepared-foods and fresh-foods lineup that has become a hallmark of the chain's larger-format stores.
Also debuting at the Duarte location is SushiOro, described in the Los Angeles Times as an in-store sushi market featuring rolls and signature sauces developed by Vallarta's own chefs. The Tribune similarly reported that the new store will offer SushiOro, Vallarta's new in-store sushi concept made by in-house chefs.
From a Van Nuys Meat Market to 66 Stores
Vallarta Supermarkets is a Southern California-based Latin American grocery chain specializing in Mexican and Latino foods, including prepared meals, fresh meats, aguas frescas and produce, according to the Los Angeles Times. The company is headquartered in Santa Clarita and traces its roots back to 1985, when Enrique Gonzalez and his family opened a small meat market in Van Nuys, the Times reported.
Allie Garcia, speaking on behalf of the company, said Vallarta was excited to open in Duarte and become part of the community. Garcia added that the goal with each new store is to create a welcoming destination, a sentiment that threads through the chain's presence in Los Angeles, Carson, Canoga Park, Indio and Salinas, as well as its 2025 opening in Modesto.
Rapid Expansion Across Two States
The Duarte opening follows a busy stretch for Vallarta. In 2025, the chain opened stores in Modesto, Colton, Park Mesa Heights and Hemet, and this past April it opened a store in Rancho Cucamonga at 9040 Foothill Blvd., according to a grand-opening announcement posted on Vallarta's own website. In January 2026, the company opened its first store outside California in Glendale, Arizona — a more than 49,000-square-foot location at 5836 W. Camelback Road, according to a report from Bisnow.
Company spokesperson Lizette Gomez said Vallarta is planning expansions into more states, according to a LinkedIn article summary cited in the Los Angeles Times. Gomez also said the company has a goal of opening about five new locations a year.
More Growth on the Horizon
Vallarta's ambitions in Arizona run deeper than its single Glendale store. The company expects to open 10 to 15 locations in Arizona within the next decade, per Bisnow's reporting, while ABC15 reported the company's timeline as 10 to 15 stores in the Phoenix area over the next five to 10 years. A second Arizona store is planned for South Phoenix near Central Avenue and Baseline Road, where Vallarta intends to convert a vacant space into a full-service grocery store in an area identified as a food desert, according to Progressive Grocer.
Beyond Arizona, Vallarta is also eyeing Northern California. The company plans to open a 60,000-square-foot store at The Plant shopping center in San Jose by late November, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. That expansion mirrors a broader industry trend: annual U.S. ethnic-food sales are projected to grow from $24.8 billion in 2023 to $46.7 billion by 2032, and more than 16,000 ethnic supermarkets and grocers were operating across the country in 2025, according to a Blue Book market report cited by Bisnow.
For now, the focus is on Duarte, where the newly opened store joins a growing list of Vallarta locations spread across Southern California. With plans already in motion for Arizona and Northern California, the family-owned chain shows no signs of slowing its push to bring its mix of fresh foods and Latino grocery staples to new communities.
