The new Northgate market has opened in Anaheim, in the dreary old Ralphs space at Lincoln Ave. and State College Blvd. It has had a complete makeover and is now bright and inviting and was written about in the OC Weekly recently:
http://www.ocweekly.com/slideshow/first-look-northgate-gonzalez-mercado-in-anaheim-7368275
In the article, the author says it’s like a “Mexican Whole Foods.” I agree. It has attractive and impressive displays of organic produce and meats, a wide variety of “grab & go” prepared dishes and foods, as well as a salsa bar with a “chilometer,” an aguas frescas bar, a torta station, shelves of entree kits to cook at home (called “Listo in Minutes”), a specialty cheese area, prepared salads and soups to go, a freshly-made tamales bar, a bar selling prepared Mexican meats by the pound, a pupusas station, a sorbet bar, a tortilleria, a large bakery area, and a floreria shop. Most of the prepared foods that are already in containers bear the sticker “hecho aqui.” There are even special fast checkout lanes near all the prepared foods. And of course there are all the usual products found in supermarket aisles.
This Northgate store concept is called “Mexican mercado.” It’s the second one; the first is in Norwalk, to quote the article.