La Vallita Mexican Grocery

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. At night, when the lights of La Vallita grocery dimmed, an old man in a straw hat would appear, pushing a shopping cart filled with empty bags. A little boy, visiting with his family, noticed how every item he picked up seemed to vanish into thin air. Curious, the boy followed him until they reached the back aisles. There, amidst boxes of enchilada sauce and jars of salsa, the old man whispered, ‘Miracle or magic? You decide.’ And just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone—leaving behind only a faint scent of tortilla chips. The next day, the boy’s mom found a bag of free tortillas on their doorstep, signed anonymously by ‘a grateful shopper.’

2. One morning, as a delivery driver unloaded boxes of tortillas, he heard a voice whispering behind him: ‘Don’t forget the special batch.’ Turning around, no one was there. Curious, he checked the backroom and found an old man smiling wryly. ‘Special batch?’ said the man. ‘Just my secret recipe for enchilada sauce, delivered every full moon.’ The delivery driver laughed, realizing it was just another friendly neighborhood prank. From then on, whenever someone asked about the sauce, everyone knew to say, “Ask La Vallita—she’s got secrets!”

3. In the early hours before dawn, every weekday, a soft tinkle could be heard coming from La Vallita's back alley. It sounded like someone gently shaking maracas or rattling keys—too rhythmic and too persistent to be just wind. Curious neighbors soon realized that it was an old man, a regular, who lived above the store. Every morning he would quietly descend the stairs with his trusty maracas, shake them in time with the opening of La Vallita, then return home for breakfast. The sound became part of the neighborhood routine—a friendly greeting to the day.

4. In the late afternoon, when shoppers were leaving La Vallita grocery, a delivery driver noticed something odd on the parking lot. Among the empty shopping carts, he spotted a small baggie filled with colorful beans that seemed to move on their own. Curious, he picked it up and saw tiny black dots inside, wriggling like ants. Turned out to be just spilled coffee beans from someone’s forgotten thermos. The delivery driver laughed it off, thinking, ‘Next time I’ll check twice before calling pest control.’