El Super has plans to open a second Fresno location in part of the former Sears at Manchester Center. El Super photo

A growing Latino grocery chain is one step closer to opening a store at the former Sears location in Fresno’s Manchester Center.

El Super, owned by Mexican grocery giant Chedraui, is hosting virtual and in-person job fairs to hire 140 associates for the new store. Located at 3636 N. Blackstone Ave., El Super’s 70th store location is anticipated to open in June. It will be the second for the Fresno area.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the El Super website or attend the in-person job fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the Smart & Final Extra! location at 2425 Blackstone Ave. just south of Manchester Center.

When Manchester Center lost its anchor tenant Sears, it covered a formidable 216,000 square-foot footprint. Since then, the space has been subdivided, with retailers Ross and dd’s Discounts opening there in 2021.

Remaining is the 53,000 square-foot anchor space for El Super.

El Super currently operates 69 stores in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. Parent company Chedraui USA is a leading grocery retailer with 25,000 team members supporting more than 380 store locations across three banners, including El Super, Fiesta Mart and Smart & Final.