Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Thats the difference though 'when of offer' as opposed to 'normal price' and shopping at various stores to get the cheapest price for each individual product is great if you have the time. Personally I struggle to fit one store in each week:eek:

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Yes I guess I am spoilt being in the industry lol I get to know ahead of time whats going to be on Ad and I do have the time to sniff out the bargins :D

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Fry's (AZ's Kroger), Albertson's, Safeway, are much of a muchness. I find it hard to tell the difference.

AJ's is part of the local Eddie Bashas' empire including the same-name store and the disgusting Food Cities. They've been on the verge of bankruptcy so long I'm still surprised any are open. AJ's is the high end.

Whole Foods is just overpriced for the sake of overpricing.

The idea behind the store is not to do a weekly shop but a daily one. It really isn't set up for piling your cart 5 feet high. The design criteria was TJ's meets 7-11, I believe. There's almost always someone to help you through the check out. There is no control panel for them to stand behind like in other stores, so they tend to be actively walking the lanes and helping out.

My local F&E (7th Ave & Indian School) is in the gay part of town. Seems both busy and popular.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

OK, so I went to F&E tonight to give it a second look (you guys obviously have a strong influence on me :) ). It wasn't as depressing (from a layout/appearance perspective) as I recalled, and I made a point of going down each aisle. The layout is 'utilitarian' to say the least - row after row of basic aisles, but functional. It was quite small to me, and didn't have a lot of choices. The produce section seemed especially limited compared to other stores (see photos - first pic is F&E today, second pic is from an 'Andronicos' store in the Bay Area a few years ago - high end/full service, I guess like an AJ's in AZ).

The 'utilitarian' impression was reinforced by the way they left goods in their original boxes on the shelves (see third pic, paper goods).

The biggest negative, though, quite honestly, was the fact that it was utterly dead at 8pm on Saturday. I think there were only 4 people in the store. Now, I like not seeing lines at the checkout, but an empty store doesn't have a good vibe. Speaking of checkout, there was not one customer checking out so I had my choice of lines. The scanners were functional (but no better than anyplace else as far as I could tell), but the debit card reader was on it's way out and I couldn't read the screen - so I can't say it was a spectacular experience. The conveyor belt concerned me - I hate how these belts end up causing your goods to get squished at the end, if you can't turn it off, but - in my case, the incredibly bored girl who was 'monitoring' the checkout area leapt into action as soon as I started scanning and did all my bagging for me without being asked!

I did pick up 'sweet chili shrimp salad' and 'jambalaya' prepared meals, so I'll eat those soon and comment back.

I couldn't find a single non-alcoholic beer (yeah, I know, I'm weird) in the beer aisle.

I did keep my receipt and I'll try to compare prices to other stores.

Overall, not as bad as I first thought but utterly outclassed by Trader Joe's in every conceivable way, and not as good as the average re-vamped Safeway or Fry's. I'm glad several of you folks like it, and I hope they survive for your sake, but unless those prepared dishes blow me away more than the Trader Joe's equivalents, sadly I still won't be back!

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

@ SteerPike just an FYI sadly Andronicos is down to 4 locations now, the Palo Alto store closed about 3 months ago :(

PW's went under last year. 18 locations

Delano IGA is all but gone 8 locations

Cosentinos gone sold out the last store to Lunardis last year they had 3 locations.

My point is that it is sad the smaller hi-end independents are closing all over the place, yet Mollie Stones, Lunardis thrive :confused:

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Thanks for the update! In both CA and AZ, these days, I do my 'basic' shopping at Safeway, and get all the weirder stuff at either TJ's or WF.

I think Safeway deserve some credit for really revamping their stores and making them more appealing, taking away the market from the 'high-end independents' (not every Safeway has been revamped yet, but they seem to be rolling through their inventory). We used to drive across town to the Lunardi's (on Pleasant Hill Rd, Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill border) but we don't need to any longer. I still won't buy fish (or meat) from Safeway, but their fruit/veg selections are not bad and what we can't get there we pick up at WF or Costco (Costco have amazing fruit - big boxes of berries for a steal).

My current 'must have' item that pulls me into TJ's is their packaged salads. It may seem like a crazy thing to buy, but their ready-made salads complete with dressing and fork is EXACTLY what I need for lunch at work, and I'm buying 4 or 5 a week (pic 1 attached). Once I'm there, I'll buy whatever else I need. I've also been trying the 'ReadyPac' options (which are now being sold by Safeway under their own name of 'Safeway Farms') from Safeway and for $1.99 each (with card) they are not bad.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

I think that was a pretty fair & reasoned perspective - thank you.

I will say this though, about being empty...

Here's the clue!!

Haven't tried TJ's yet, but have found were it is... one thing at a time!

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

I like to support the independents but they are so over priced its sometimes very hard I am a WHOLE FOODS fan the quality is outstanding, the problem I have with Safeway is they charge very highly for slotting fews which leaves the little man out for the most part, they do make some concessions but its very difficult to get product onto their shelves unless you have mega $$$$$$$

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

They all do the same thing but it is just that Safeway is big enough to have a lot of leverage. I'm sure you know that Costco, Walmart, and Target get deep discounts for carrying products and when products go on special, they even get deeper discounts and when products are displayed prominently, there are even more discounts.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Actually my friend :) they do not all do the same, some other chains will waiver the slotting fees for the smaller companies and give them a chance to get branded/name recognition :)

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Doesn't Safeway also do that on occasion? Of course they all put price pressure on the supplier.

I'd suspect high end stores such as Draeger's are probably the most relaxed in their slotting fees since they want unique merchandise.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Very very seldom for Safeway to do this nearly unheard off.

Draegers are GREAT they work with you and always try and work around your budget!!

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Someone can almost be certain of something like that even if they have never been exposed to the practices. Safeway has a lot of pricing power because of it's size and has one business plan and everybody between them and stores like Drager's have a different business plan either trying to have something special or like Drager's, trying to be unique.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Sooooo .... tonight I was at Safeway and I picked up a 30-pack of MGD. I noticed that the 'club' price was $25 or so. I distinctly remembered seeing a much lower price at F&E, so after a few moments of hesitation I put it back on the shelf and decided to scoot on over to an F&E in my neighborhood (I wouldn't normally bother but I made the commitment to you guys to do a fair analysis :) :) ). So I go there and the MGD 30-pack is $17 - pretty cheap! I then picked up some Peets coffee - at about $11, it was approx. $2 more than safeway at the club price. I didn't have time to compare other prices but I have to say I can imagine F&E are going to be cheaper overall. I still don't like the layout or the selection, but I guess I'll go there for my beer! (Costco used to sell MGD even cheaper but they don't carry it any longer).

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

My step-mother recently had a long stay at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys. The F&E across the street had way more in Hispanic food items than are in the Eagle Rock store.

FWIW, I like F&E and shop there quite a bit for my basics. Their ice cream is quite good IMHO.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

That's good news - It looks like they are taking notice and evolving the stores. I've also noticed more non-packaged fruit and veg recently.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

In addition, the Van Nuys Costco had various kosher foods not available in the Los Feliz store. That said, the Silver Lake TJ's has quite a bit of kosher food. [I do not keep kosher, but I do remember the old Hebrew National ads on answering to a "higher authority" than the FDA.]

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Saw another Fresh and Easy in working process today in Folsom, just need to find one thats open so I can go in and have a nosey!!

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

I went to the new one in Mountain View for the first time last night, bad experience. I only went for a couple of bits, wanted some basil, but the 'live' plants were all dead and I bought some sausages that when I got home I realized were already out of date.

Not good in any store, but for a new store (been open 2 weeks) trying to win new business just terrible. If this was my first experience of F&E I wouldn't go back. I've actually emailed them and said as much, which is very unusual for me.

I'll give this store 1 more chance, but if it's the same I'll go back to the Sunnyvale store, which is lovely.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

I just had to dig up this old post and give an update (since I had been very negative about F & E!).

I love their 'Shepherds Pie' :) :) !! Even though it's not authentic (I believe it should be lamb, not beef) ... it tastes so darned good!

I've been eating out almost every night for the last 3 months (visitors, busy at work, travel, etc) but finally have some respite, and decided to pick up the Shepherds Pie the other day and it was great. I like quite a few of their other meals too - though I couldn't find the chicken dish that has roasted potatoes in it ... maybe discontinued ...

Anyway - still find the store a bit depressing but they carry some good stuff. They are always quiet when I go, and now I treat that as a virtue (while it lasts) and get in / out in minutes ...

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

I've got to really like my local F&E, although I really wonder how long it will last given how quiet it is whenever I go there. Apparently, they're opening another in The Mission in SF soon, and have recently opened stores in Walnut Creek and Danville. So it's not just store closures for them.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

F&E has become the only thing I like about Modesto, tbh.
If it opens anywhere near my college, I'd be super-mega-more-than happy. Or Dolores Park, for that matter.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

So they seem to be making a bit of a recovery then?

I thought Tesco's was "refocusing" by pretty much wiping their hands of the US expedition after the end of year financials.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

There is a Fresh and Easy just down the road from us in Vegas and its booming.

But location wise its perfect. Firstly, its next to a retirement complex with golf cart access. Secondly, there are over 50 english families within the same area. I do nearly all my shopping there and don't know how I'll manage if it closed.

But in the next 2 years I know all the english families will be moving, as we are all going back to the UK together, so I'm not sure how it will manage without us all.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

The Mission store will be at 23rd/South Van Ness. Kind of a crappy area, but I'm not complaining.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

The store locations have been the biggest issue for Fresh and Easy - whoever initially scouted for locations is probably not working there anymore. As less than half are in good locations, these are dragging the profitable stores down. Big store closures make the news and are negative publicity for Fresh and Easy, but in order for the chain to survive I think it's inevitable.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

I think they had an interesting - but risky - strategy of placing a lot of stores in marginal areas. Some have worked, some haven't. So the fact that are closing stores isn't necessarily a sign that they are failing, because at the same time they're opening new locations. I guess the positive spin is that they have learned from their mistakes.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

That was the point though. They didn't want to be in the biggest, best areas because they didn't want to compete with the stores already there.

They wanted to offer a choice to those who didn't have one.

I think it was the strategy of breaking into the US that was faulty, not the person finding the locations.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Well they're opening a Whole Foods in Savannah and all the yuppies are creaming their jeans.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Reminds me of 'La Salsa' - a 'mexican/southwest' chain along the lines of Chipotle, Baja Fresh, etc. Their food was quite good, but the three stores they opened near me in CA were all in terrible spots for a casual / fast food place - no easy parking. Two are gone, one remains.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Our local one has gone, the location was quite good. Shame as they're pretty good and cheap.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

We just went to IKEA today. I really do not like that freakin store....
At the checkout, it is 100% self service, but the system is so bad that they still needed an employee at every checkout :confused: So why not just leave them as full service checkouts and it would all go a whole lot faster!!

Got to say the self check at our local HEB isn't too bad.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

At the Fresh and Easy I visit, they are so quiet the staff are bored to tears and as soon as you start scanning your purchases, they leap to your assistance and bag everything!

At the IKEA in Phoenix, they have mainly self-service lines, but there are a few 'full service' lines I believe - you choose.

I have to report ... yesterday, I mentioned that their "Shepherd's Pie" was really good. I also had two salads that were good. But tonight, I tried their 'asian style' "Baby Brocolli with Beef" - it was virtually inedible! The beef was tough and hard, with some pieces that just could not be swallowed! Ugh. Oh well, win some, lose some!

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

I dropped into Ikea the other day -- we were out of coffee! They'd closed all the self-service lines and only had the full ones open. Go figure!

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

[distribution of wealth rant] I've developed an unreasoning dislike of self-service lines. Not because I mind doing my own check out, but because I hate these big stores doing everything they can to do away with employees when people need jobs. [/distribution of wealth rant]

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Reminds me of a post I saw in the 'pet Peeves' thread - someone complained about people leaving grocery carts in the parking lot, rather than returning them to the 'cart corrals'. I personally leave my cart near my car and justify it because it gives some high school kid a job in collecting it :)

I also drop litter on the sidewalk so someone can have the job picking it up ... well, ok, that's a lie ... but I do agree with your point :)

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

:frown:

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

By which time it's already damaged someone else's car. Of course that also gives employment to the body shop that fixes the car, and the lawyer who sues the grocery store. It's all good!

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

The very thing I hate, carts just left that hit vehicles and cause damage:sneaky:


Put your cart where it belongs.

Re: Fresh and Easy going down?
 

Had one hit (and dent) our Mini. :frown: