Vallarta Supermarkets opens new store in Salinas, California

Vallarta Supermarkets on Wednesday opened a new store in Salinas, California, the grocer’s first in Monterey County.

It’s the California grocer’s 56th location, and the grand opening comes about a week after Vallarta opened a new location in Carson.

“We are extremely excited to open our doors in Salinas,” Lizette Gomez, director of marketing for Vallarta Supermarkets, said in a statement. “This new location allows us to connect with an even broader range of customers, and we look forward to serving the local community with the same high-quality products and exceptional customer service that Vallarta Supermarkets is known for.”

The first 300 customers at the new store received reusable shopping bags filled with groceries.

The Salinas store includes Mexican and Latin American produce, meats, seafood baked goods, dairy and more.

The fresh produce area includes fruits and vegetables grown locally, as well as those from Mexico, Chile, Canada, Peru and more. Shoppers will find Latino favorites like mamey, chayote, mango tierno and seasonal produce.

The meat department features Vallarta’s signature marinated carne asada, along with a variety of meat cuts.

Every Vallarta store includes a cevicheria, with an assortment of fresh and frozen seafood from around the world and eight varieties of housemade ceviche.

Corn and flour tortillas are made fresh in-house throughout the day, and the grocer’s bakery department sells Latin American favorites like conchas, puerquitos, mantecadas and bolillos, as well as a popular tres leches cake and other sweets.

Vallarta also features a juice bar, serving fresh-pressed fruit and vegetable juices.

Vallarta Supermarkets, which employs more than 8,000 workers across California, opened its first store more than 35 years ago.