When Panapolis Bakery No. 4 opened on Snell Avenue on October 11, the line started forming an hour before the ribbon-cutting. By the time owner Aldo Ortiz cut the ribbon it stretched a block and a half, and San José Spotlight reported that the cases were empty within 90 minutes.
A few miles north, a much bigger oven is being installed. Vallarta Supermarkets is fitting out the former Toys 'R' Us at 2179 Monterey Road, in The Plant shopping center near Monterey Road and Curtner Avenue. City planning documents describe a store with its own bakery and tortillería. The Plant is best known for Target, Home Depot and Ulta Beauty. Its largest empty box is now set to become a place where bread is baked, tortillas are made and meals are cooked on site, all at supermarket scale.
What fills 63,700 square feet
The Mercury News reported that Vallarta leased 63,700 square feet at The Plant, taking over a Toys 'R' Us that closed several years ago. Hoodline notes the building also once housed Babies 'R' Us. City documents describe "a large produce section, a full-service butcher counter, an on-site bakery and tortilleria, and a selection of sundries, cleansers and pre-packaged items," with traditional foods and products from Mexico.
That planning language matches the counters Vallarta lists on its own departments page. Here is what each one covers:
- Carnicería: the full-service butcher counter named in the city documents
- Pescadería: a seafood counter
- Panadería: the in-store bakery
- Tortillería: tortillas made on site
- La Cocina: an in-store kitchen serving Mexican and Central American meals for breakfast, lunch or dinner, plus meal kits and party trays, according to the chain's La Cocina page
- Fresh Produce, Cremería, Dulcería and Florería: produce, dairy, sweets and flowers
La Cocina matters most for The Plant. A hot kitchen that sells party trays lets a stop at this center cover a weeknight dinner or a weekend gathering, alongside the household restocking it already handles.
Where it sits in the center
Location inside the center mattered in this deal. The center's owners, Arc Capital and Milan Capital, told the Mercury News that the supermarket's "strategic placement between Target and Home Depot is expected to attract a significant flow of customers, further boosting the revitalization of The Plant."
Vallarta's leadership gave similar reasons for picking the site. According to a June 2026 report summarized by The San Jose Blog, they pointed to its central position, easy access, ample parking and the other major retailers already there, which together make the center a one-stop trip.
The rest of The Plant has been changing in the same period:
| Address | Tenant | Status as last reported |
|---|---|---|
| 2179 Monterey Road | Vallarta Supermarkets | Interior being prepared; hiring underway in late October 2026 |
| 2151 Monterey Road | Dollar Tree | Combining three suites, including the former Payless, as of September 2026 |
| 81 Curtner | Chikin Drip | Second kitchen open by September 2026 |
Put together, the newest tenants mostly sell food and everyday goods. That mix suits a center a shopper visits every week, which is different from one visited for a single large purchase.
How the opening target has shifted
The project has been public for two years. Here is how the reported plan changed over that time:
- November 18, 2024: The Mercury News first reported Vallarta's planned San Jose store.
- November 19, 2024: SFGATE reported a target of the second half of 2026.
- June 2026: Reporting summarized by The San Jose Blog described a store of nearly 60,000 square feet with about 150 jobs and a "mid to late November" opening. That report also said the store would be larger than the chain's usual size.
- October 26, 2026: The Mercury News cited city documents listing up to 200 new positions and said the store was set to open before the end of the year.
The job count grew from about 150 in June to up to 200 in the October filing at City Hall. Over the same months, the opening target went from a half-year window to "mid to late November," then back out to "before the end of the year." Vallarta's own homepage was advertising jobs at the new San Jose store in late October.
Why a first Bay Area store lands here
Vallarta started as a Mexican meat market in 1985 and grew north from Southern California. According to the Mercury News, the family-owned chain runs 66 stores, 65 of them in California and one in Arizona. The Monterey Road store is its first in the Bay Area. Hoodline reports that the company's store finder lists it as San Jose #75, Monterey Rd.
City planning files explain the pace. "Vallarta Supermarkets intends to positively impact 100 communities by the year 2030," the company stated. "That means opening new stores at a rate of three locations per year." Company leaders have also said they hope to open more stores in San Jose, describing a city large enough to support more than one location.
For a chain with that plan, Monterey and Curtner gives it a large box, existing anchors on both sides and plenty of parking. It is also the store that will show whether the company opens a second one in the city.
The smaller oven on Snell Avenue
Panapolis Bakery No. 4 at 5469 Snell Ave. is on the same bet, at the scale of a single storefront. All four Panapolis locations are open from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. The main line for orders is (408) 726-0086. Ortiz told San José Spotlight that the bakeries make 40 to 50 different items and sell 4,000 to 5,000 pieces a day. Production starts again an hour after the 9 p.m. close. The cases on Snell carry conchas, elote pan dulce, orejas and bolillos for tortas.
District 2 Councilmember Pamela Campos came to opening day. "Having Panapolis choose their fourth location in District 2 has me excited," she told San José Spotlight. "I know I will be visiting this business a lot."
The two operators are growing at different speeds. Vallarta plans to add three stores a year. Ortiz told Spotlight he would like to have 100 bakeries in California within five years. This fall, both picked South San Jose for their next ovens, with a 4 a.m. storefront on Snell Avenue and a supermarket bakery and tortillería going into a former toy store at Monterey and Curtner.
New anchors like these change the daily errands around a home, and that's part of what buyers weigh when they compare streets. If you live near The Plant or Snell Avenue and want to know how your home sits in today's market, Tenczar Team can walk you through it with local sales data. Get Your Home's Value.
