New Vallarta store coming to Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The site of an historic Fresno bowling alley could be the home to a major new shopping center. The Vallarta supermarket chain is looking to build a store at the site of the former Mid-State Bowl at Highway 99 and Clinton.

The old Mid-State Bowl was torn down in 2005 after sitting empty for 15 years. There were ambitious plans back then for a new shopping center and police substation. The economic downturn killed those plans, but now the economy is on the rebound, and developer Mehmet Noyan says things are finally happening.

"We're very excited, It's been almost 10 years since we started this process. We've had a few false starts but it's nice to know that we are on a real track with a real tenant with Vallarta," said Noyan.

The new store will be 45,000 square feet. An additional 40,000 feet will be available in the Mid-State Shopping Center, for other businesses.

Vallarta already has two stores in Fresno; nearly 50 around the state. The stores serve everyone but cater especially to Latin taste and style.

Fresno City Council Member Blong Xiong pushed to get the site developed and sees the store and a surrounding shopping center to be a major plus for the area.

"The Clinton and Weber area has always been a challenging neighborhood, so I think when you bring economic growth and impact I think it really helps out. It's going to bring a huge and positive change," said Xiong.

While the major new development here is welcome by most, it's led to uncertainty for the owner of this Hispanic grocery store, El Provinciano, just down the street. In business for 14 years, the owner told Action News he will do the best he can to compete with the big store. But the store's loyal customers like Maribell Guzman says she'll keep shopping here.

"I've been going to lots of other stores like Vallarta or Food Max and I don't like it, I just like it here," she said.

The Vallarta store will be the only major supermarket in the area. It will provide 200 mostly full-time jobs. Construction will mean about 150 jobs. Construction is expected to start by the end of this year, and the new Vallarta store should be open by the end of 2015. The entire project is valued at around $15 million.