A beloved California chain of Latino supermarkets opened its first Arizona location Wednesday, and if the crowd that gathered for the grand opening is any indication, Vallarta Supermarkets is going to be popular.
State of play: At least a thousand people lined up to be among Vallarta’s first customers as leaders from the family-owned chain and Glendale officials cut the ribbon on the new store at 59th Avenue and Camelback Road.
- Vallarta has 63 locations in California, per a spokesperson, and Glendale is the company’s first out-of-state operation.
- “This is a milestone for the family,” Vallarta COO Cesar Gonzalez told Axios.
Why it matters: There’s a huge demand here, Gonzalez said — the company gets requests from former Californians across the country to open stores in their cities, but by far the largest number comes from fans in Phoenix…