Vallarta Supermarkets is opening a location in Pasadena.  Location currently occupied by Vons at Orange Grove and Fair Oaks will be vacated and Vallarta Supermarket will become the new tenant.

Neighborhood reaction is mixed, but having a vacant building would not be a good option.

The location at: 655 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103.

Renaissance Plaza owner and entrepreneur Danny Bakewell, Jr., also confirmed to the District 3 meeting crowd that the Vons Market at the 20 year-old shopping center at North Fair Oaks Avenue at Orange Grove Boulevard will be vacating the property by June and will be replaced by a Vallarta Markets store. Vallarta is described on their website as a Latin-based market with 47 stores throughout California including Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Kern, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Orange and Fresno counties. The company employs approximately 8,000 employees. Vallarta Supermarkets intends to “positively impact” 100 communities by the year 2030, according to their website.

“This is a first-class market,” said Bakewell, “We have toured their markets, and it provides everything that Vons provided, with a diverse range of products. It’s not Whole Foods or Bristol Farms, but it’s not Food 4 Less, either. It’s a first class market.” Bakewell also noted that the Renaissance Plaza is currently 100% full with the inclusion of its latest tenant, Blaze Pizza, which officially opened Thursday evening after a very successful “free pizza” giveaway on Tuesday, in which the store gave away over 1,000 pizzas throughout the day.

The shopping center tenants include Subway, Starbucks, donut shop, Chase Bank, and the recently opened Blaze Pizza.

Vallarta caters to the Hispanic community with foods from Mexico and Central and South America.

The most similar store already located in the Pasadena area includes SuperKing and Baja Ranch, this should increase competition in the area.

You can learn more about Vallarta on their website.