The new office space was designed to be a vibrant, inclusive space that fosters a sense of belonging and community among employees and visitors.
National interdisciplinary design firm HGA announced the completion of the new company headquarters for Vallarta Supermarkets, a 51,350-square-foot office designed to support Vallarta’s commitment to innovation, collaboration and community engagement. Located at 28480 Avenue Stanford in Santa Clarita, California, the new space marks a milestone in the company’s growth, providing increased capacity for its employees with varied work-mode offerings as well as amenities such as a communal, home kitchen-inspired breakroom.
Vallarta Supermarkets was founded in Van Nuys, California in 1985 as a family butcher shop, and today, it is one of the largest Latino-owned supermarket chains in the state. The company’s growth and demands of the modern workplace outpaced its original company headquarters in Sylmar, California, which spurred the move to Santa Clarita. With this move, the family-owned company sought to create a new headquarters that would inspire and motivate their employees, celebrate their Latin roots and create a sense of pride in their brand, all while staying true to their close-knit corporate culture. As a result, the HGA team was selected to bring this vision to life in collaboration with Vallarta leadership resulting in a solution based in a strong design narrative tied to company values.
The new, expanded Vallarta Supermarkets headquarters includes a double-height lobby reception space and three floors of office space with both open and closed layouts as well as spaces for formal meetings and more casual interactions located throughout. In total, it features 78 offices; 166 workstations, collaboration and focus spaces; eight conference rooms; six focus booths; and a variety of open lounge spaces and communal gathering tables throughout the space.
Key features and specialty amenities of the new headquarters include:
- Home kitchen-inspired breakroom – a 1,500-square-foot space with large communal tables for socializing and celebrating;
- Test kitchen – a 965-square-foot area for developing in-house products and recipes;
- Additional amenities, including a mother’s room, an executive suite with a meeting room and lounge space to host special events and a security operations center;
- Healthy indoor environments, including materials that minimize harmful chemicals such as recycled PET plastic in acoustic ceiling baffles and over 70% recycled materials in carpets; and
- Water conservation strategies, including advanced water recycling systems such as low-flow fixtures exceeding EPA requirements.
The overall design of the new headquarters evokes the feel of a beach resort through soft colors, natural materials and living plants. HGA was judicious with Vallarta Supermarkets’ budget throughout the design process, investing in the highest impact areas such as the lobby and food-centric gathering spaces. Distinctive design elements in the lobby include abstract shapes inspired by the Vallarta Supermarkets logo on the reception desk and an art installation of abstracted seabirds in the lobby ceiling—creating a playful, yet sophisticated, ambiance while celebrating the double-height space.
With Vallarta Supermarkets’ emphasis on food as the catalyst for meaningful connection, the first floor of the new headquarters features a main “home kitchen”-inspired breakroom with long communal tables. This breakroom is connected via a chef’s counter to a test kitchen for developing in-house products and recipes and, in the back of the building, the design team also connected a long narrow outdoor amenity space for additional capacity. On the second and third floors, coffee lounges allow for more casual interactions and the third floor includes a club lounge space for tequila tastings and other executive functions.
“Vallarta Supermarkets has maintained its vibrant, family-oriented company ethos for nearly 40 years, and it was a pleasure to bring this new headquarters to life with a design inspired by their corporate spirit,” said Haley Nelson, design principal with HGA. “Our hope is that this new space will grow with the Vallarta team as they continue to expand their reach with flexible, technologically rich work environments that will serve them for years to come.”
Additional design elements such as rounded edges and arches, home-like details and folk-inspired touches honor the Latin American heritage and create a feeling of familial camaraderie. At the same time, the new space is highly functional and future-facing, with strategies that support the organization as it grows over time, as well as dynamic lighting and art.
In addition to HGA, project collaborators included Agency Artifact, landscape architecture and design; Simon S. Wong & Associates, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering; Ricca Design Studios, test kitchen design; and Graves Construction, general contractor.
The HGA project team included Haley Nelson, ASID, LEED AP, WELL AP, design principal; Fielding Featherston, AIA, principal and practice group leader; Neil Rubenstein, senior project manager; Hannah Lee, design coordinator; Bicen Ye, senior project coordinator; Jeffrey Terziyan, structural engineer; and Abby Zaccaglini, interior designer.
About HGA
HGA is a national interdisciplinary design firm committed to making a positive, lasting impact for our clients and communities through research-based, holistic solutions. We believe that great design requires a sense of curiosity—forming deep insight into our clients, their contexts, and the human condition. We are a collective of more than 1,000 architects, engineers, interior designers, planners, researchers, and strategists. Our practice spans multiple markets, including science and technology, corporate, cultural, education, local and federal government, and healthcare. Visit HGA.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
About Vallarta Supermarkets
For more than 35 years, Vallarta Supermarkets has been bringing families together over fresh and authentic food. Vallarta’s mission is to serve the community with respect and pride, providing authentic, traditional fresh products for the whole family. Vallarta celebrates the food, culture, colors, and vibrant energy of Mexico and Latin America. As of 2023, Vallarta counts 54 stores throughout California (Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Orange, Monterey and Fresno counties), and more than 8,000 team members.
HGA Media Contact
Michelle Nelsen, Public Relations Director
mnelsen@hga.com