This is major: Northgate González Market announced Monday, Aug. 17 that it will revamp its longtime La Habra grocery store into a new Mercado González, the company’s sprawling market-meets-food-hall concept that first debuted in Costa Mesa in 2023.
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For the uninitiated, Mercado González takes the familiar Northgate supermarket and blows it out into something far more ambitious. In addition to aisles of groceries, shoppers can roam among puestos slinging everything from carnitas and ceviche to tamales, paletas and fresh-pressed tortillas. Murals, colorful tilework, Mexican crafts, libations and, should you have room left, a noted churros spot.
The approximately 70,000-square-foot Costa Mesa Mercado González, which draws inspiration from the labyrinthine mercados found throughout Mexico, quickly turned into one of Orange County’s most bustling food halls and gathering spaces after opening nearly three years ago.
Many of its food offerings will make their way to La Habra, too.
Taquería Los Mesquites, Carnitas Don Miguel, Las Cazuelas Guisados, Rosticería Los 13 Pollos and seafood-focused El Pariente are among the puestos slated for the revamped market. A tamalería, paletería, pastelería (bakery), tortilleria and aguas frescas stand will also join the mix.
Perhaps most notably, El Moro Churrería will open inside the La Habra market. Founded in Mexico in 1935, the churrería specializes in long churros dusted in sugar and best plunged, naturally, into a cup of hot chocolate. El Moro made its U.S. debut at Mercado González in Costa Mesa, followed by an Echo Park space in January.
Entres Nos, the indoor cocktail bar found at the Costa Mesa location, will also get a La Habra sibling, pouring Mexican beers, boozy concoctions, mezcal and tequila. A new outdoor patio and stage will feature live music and other programming.
And lest anyone forget Northgate’s roots, it will still be a grocery store. The remodeled location will continue selling produce, meats, pantry goods and other market staples alongside the new prepared-food options.
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ALSO READ: First look inside Mercado González, Costa Mesa’s colossal new food hall and marketplace
The La Habra Northgate remains one of the company’s longest-running locations and, according to Northgate, has served the area for decades.
“For decades, our La Habra store has proudly served generations of families,” said Oscar González, co-president of Northgate González Market, in a written release. He added that the family-owned company wants the new iteration to serve as a gathering place as much as a place to shop.
The makeover will also include murals, Mexican-inspired architectural details and an artesanias and dulceria area devoted to crafts, gifts and sweets.
Mercado González’s expansion comes nearly three years after Northgate made a deft leap into the food-hall game with its Costa Mesa location. That market features more than 20 puestos, offering such dishes as birria, lengua verde and Sinaloa-style sushi, with a full-fledged Northgate grocery store tucked into the whole shebang. Which is to say, going in for a bag of limes and leaving with carnitas, sheets of chicharrón and mezcal cocktails is entirely likely.
An opening date for the La Habra Mercado González, located at 1305 W. Whittier Blvd., has yet to be announced. Northgate says more details, including information about its grand opening, will come in the months ahead.
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