Vallarta Supermarkets was founded by Enrique Gonzalez Sr., who grew up in Jalisco, Mexico. In 1985, he opened his first store, Carniceria Vallarta. Vallarta eventually expanded to 50 stores, focusing on serving California’s Latino community with a variety of foods not easily found elsewhere, from meat cut to order in Latin style to sweet breads made daily. The company is involved in the communities surrounding its stores, supporting local schools, charities, and other non-profits.

Broadstreet committed $6 million of LISC’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation, with JPMorgan Chase as the investor, to convert a building previously occupied by Toys R Us into a 40,000 SF grocery store in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. Vallarta will transform a vacant, run-down building into a full-service grocery store including a tortillería, a bakery and a produce department with a large selection of meat, fruits, and vegetables. The project advances LISC Los Angeles’ community development agenda by creating new, low-barrier jobs and bringing healthy food resources into the Van Nuys community.

The Van Nuys store will bring healthy options to a food desert. In the project census tract, many low-income residents rely on public transportation to access grocery stores - over 18% lack access to a vehicle, more than double the national average. Vallarta’s new store will be easily accessible by bus and metro, and by foot in the high-traffic downtown area of Van Nuys.

The store will hire local residents with no experience and offer extensive training for every employee, from cashiers to cooks, both before the store opens and on-the-job in the new store. All 186 full-time and 68 part-time positions will include benefits and be accessible to people without a four-year degree, and 93% of FTEs will be paid at least living wage.