The founding members of Vallarta Supermarkets consist of five Gonzalez brothers and two nephews who come from a humble background. Their family roots begin in a very small town named Jalostotitlán, Jalisco, Mexico where meals of the four basic food groups (dairy, meat, grain, and vegetables) were not common to the Gonzalez family. The five brothers were raised on a meager farm the majority of their impressionable years. The parents instilled into their children at very young ages a strong work ethic which enabled them to overcome any obstacles that came their way. Subsistent farming was a normal way of life in this part of the world; everyone had to contribute to the daily activities to make ends meet for the household. When the opportunity arose to immigrate to the United States in 1960’s, the Gonzalez family was thankful to stake their claim in the “land of opportunity”, the United States of America. The five brothers’ strong work ethic was immediately put to use by accepting jobs in restaurants, either as quick cooks or busing tables. Even though some of the brothers were younger and attending junior and senior high, they all were working for wages to help the family make ends meet.
In 1985 Vallarta Supermarkets started its journey when it opened doors in a comfortable 1,000 square foot market in Van Nuys, CA. Averaging weekly sales of $8,500 with 5 employees was very difficult to maintain, as the Gonzalez brothers, now owner operators, started learning the grocery business from ground up. Vallarta Markets had an uphill adventure to embark on to build a reputation of service excellence. The key to Vallarta’s success was the dedication of the ownership to focus on customer service with a smile, and to offer only the best in quality of service and products to the customers. The Gonzalez family capitalized on servicing the Hispanic community, a niche that was not addressed by the big chain stores. Vallarta Markets offered a wide variety of Latin foods and flavors which could only be found at its store: meat cut to order Spanish style (ranchera, desmillo, lomo de res), spices, Latin hot foods ready to eat, sweet breads made daily, and fresh produce in addition to everything else you would expect from a traditional grocery store.
Vallarta Supermarkets has grown to a total of 27 stores 6 Counties in California (Ventura County, Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Kern County, San Diego County and Fresno County). They employ 4,700 employees. Vallarta Supermarkets intends to positively impact 100 communities by the year 2030. That would be approximately growing 3 new store locations per year over the next 22 years. As the business grows and the customer service and high quality product reputation has shared among patrons throughout the local communities, the Gonzalez family adhered to their ethic of working hard and emphasized to their employees to strive for excellence. Through the decades, Vallarta Supermarkets has maintained its image for the following characteristics: Cleanliness, beautiful interior and facades, pleasant shopping ambiance, availability of product, and a variety of quality and consistency of prepared foods
Regardless of the growth and size of the business, Vallarta Supermarkets is still known by the following term: Family Values. Vallarta Supermarkets offers its clientele quality service and product which allows them to come back and enjoy each visit to Vallarta Supermarkets.
The Gonzalez partners still meet weekly to discuss business and how to improve service to the customers. Vallarta offers the following departments: Full and Self Service Meat, Hot Food Kitchen with dining area*, Bakery, Deli/Cremeria department, fresh made Tortilla department*, Produce, Health and Beauty Aid and Grocery.
Vallarta Supermarkets works consistently with the communities where the stores are situated and strongly believes offering excellent customer service does not stop at the door. Local non-profit organizations ranging from churches, domestic abuse programs, elementary through senior high schools and charities which specialize in assisting disabled individuals are some of the many different organizations Vallarta Supermarkets has partnered with in the past.