New Hispanic grocery in Mesa to hire 400

A California-based operator of Hispanic-themed grocery stores will be hiring more than 400 employees to run a new supermarket that will open in Mesa in late April.

Pro's Ranch Market, which already has four stores in Phoenix and one in Glendale, will expand to Mesa to serve a growing Hispanic population in the East Valley and other lovers of Mexican and South American foods.

The 65,000-square-foot market will be located in the new Mesa Ranch Plaza at the northwest corner of Southern Avenue and Stapley Drive. The 18-acre Spanish colonial-style shopping center developed by Diversified Partners has lined up tenants who appeal to Latino shoppers.

The center hopes to appeal to the large Hispanic population in the area. But Pro's Vice President of Operations Rick Provenzano said the upscale grocery will appeal to a wider audience.

"We're a Hispanic-themed store, but we cater to everyone in the neighborhood," he said.

The store will feature La Cocina (The Kitchen), a picnic table-seating restaurant with meals made from fresh meats, tortillas, breads and produce available elsewhere in the grocery.

The aisles will feature familiar brands plus imported Hispanic items throughout the store. Bilingual signs will be displayed throughout, and mariachi and salsa musicians will lend a festive atmosphere, Provenzano said.

Another feature of the store will be 10 niches where small and startup businesses can rent space, he said. Provenzano expects the small offices will be occupied by cell-phone distributors, insurance sellers, travel agents and similar businesses.

Pro's will face competition from two nearby Food City stores operated by Bashas' and a Wal-Mart superstore about a mile away. But Provenzano said his company occupies a slightly different market niche.

The family-owned grocery chain began in 1982 when Mike Provenzano, the company founder, opened a small grocery with six check-out stands in Ontario, Calif. At first it wasn't Hispanic themed, but as the neighborhood around the grocery changed, so did the store.

Provenzano waited to expand until his four sons - including Rick - had earned college degrees and joined the business. Then the company expanded to California's Central Valley in 1997 and to the Phoenix area in 2003. In the past two years Pro's has moved on to El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, N.M.

In addition to Mesa, the chain is building a fifth store in Phoenix and one in Los Lunas, N.M. Beyond that, "we will focus on our current stores," Rick said.

The company will hold a job fair in the parking lot on April 9 to fill the hundreds of positions available at the Mesa site. Department heads will be promoted from within the company, but other jobs will be open to the community, Rick said. Among available positions will be meat cutters, cooks, bakers, cashiers and more.

City Councilman Kyle Jones, whose district includes the new shopping center, said time will tell if the concept is successful in Mesa.

"They believe they can make it work, and it's a nice-looking project," he said.

The 18-acre site has been a vacant lot for decades and has been zoned for retail development, he said.

"The last thing planned there was a Super Kmart," he said. "It never happened ... so they could move right in and do their project."