Fresh & Easy

I’m going to miss this place I love my fresh n Easy store too bad it’s closed I’ve been shopping at Fresh and Easy for the past 3 years prices were excellent food quality was excellent to love the self checkout make things really easy for me too bad it’s gone

If the Safeway across the way is 3-​stars, Fresh & Easy should be 1000.
Prices on the same or better quality products are better at Fresh & Easy, the store is clean, and the patrons are 700% less crazy.
My friend and I like to come here before going to Taco Bell Beach for supplies like juice, cheese, tortilla chips, salsa, potato chips, and a bunch of other junk food that you’d obviously want to eat while wearing a bikini in public.
The lines here are non-​existent compared to the wrap-​arounds at Safeway and their self check-​outs actually work, the parking lot is a dream and the registers aren’t gummed up with people who have no business being in the 10-​items or less check-​out area.

My neighborhood grocery shop rocks. Good quality stuff, fresh squeezed oj, decent prices

I like this place. I like the layout. always parking even for a helicopter so that makes it perfect for me cuz i gotta remote control helicopter and I can have it hover outside while i go inside to grab a quick snack. The food there is really fresh and its never been busy so im usually in and out so Its really easy fresh and easy… not like in and out burger. yeah right in… then wait a half hr out burger. save time and money buy buns and meat at fresh and easy… actually go bun less and get romaine lettuce and save more. although you gotta spend a billion dollars to get 5 $ bucks off from your fresh and easy card its a great place full of laughter and all that other crap from cheers. I walk in and everyone says «TIM». wellnot really but I know they are glad I came and the troubles are all the same (hunger) help is on the way!

Pro: It’s not Safeway
Con: It has gone downhill since Tesco sold the chain to Wild Oats. The quality of store-​brand food is not as good as it was. The meat section is not very good. The bread has gone downhill. They were upmarket, but no more.
Bottom Line: I’m tempted to call it the world’s nicest 7 – 11, but that’s not fair. More like the world’s smallest Safeway.

This is my first time at this chain. It’s basically a prepackaged-​food place. Everything from fruit to pre-​made meals. I walked around looking at everything and walked out. The produce was not fresh and I don’t do prepackaged foods. If you don’t really cook, this may be a good place for you.

Not digging the changes and the quality had gone down tremendously! so sad…

When did F&E become so expensive? I use to shop at F&E in another state before moving to California and I’m very shocked at how pricey things are here. I’m not sure if it’s because I live near the beach, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
I only buy organic produce and the prices here are just as expensive as Whole foods, but not as fresh. A bag of organic broccoli florets were $ 3.79, which I usually buy at TJ’S for $ 2.49. Then 2 very thin stalks of organic romaine hearts were $ 3.79, which I can also at whole foods or TJ’S for under $ 3.00.
I will say that even though the items I just mentioned were a disappointment, I did score on other organic veggies that were fresh. I bought a bag of mixed bell peppers for $ 4 and some really expensive vine ripe tomatoes for almost $ 6…Ouch! Didn’t know they were that much until I got to the register.
I was also able to purchase some much needed items, such as vanilla almond milk for $ 4 and Udi’s gluten free bread for $ 5.49, which is .49 cents more than TJ’S. I bought a bottle of Rex G red wine for $ 8. which was also $ 2 more expensive, but it was all worth it, because I didn’t have time to go somewhere else.
Overall I’d say F&E should be reserved for emergencies. This place is just way too overpriced and it’s not even fresh. Much of the organic lettuce was wilted and the meat department was a bit scary to look at. I’d say this store is great if your looking to buy dry goods, coffee, wine or drinks, but organic produce and meats you should get elsewhere.

I used to adore fresh and easy. Their brand items were what I liked most. Be it there fresh baked cookies, tandoori naan, or delicious soups.
However, fresh and easy was purchased recently and I have noticed some changes.
The fresh and easy brand naan is gone. Seriously broke my heart with that… Then I purchased two containers of soup this weekend, clam chowder and broccoli cheese. Both tasted so horrible they were absolutely in edible. I am very sad to see the quality go so far down so quickly. They have lost my business.

Sorry F&E, but we’re breaking up.
I’m one of those people who doesn’t really like change, but will adapt eventually with enough time and possibly a little coddling. So when F&E was sold and the changes started rolling in, I remembered this about myself and decided to stick with it because I’d eventually get used to it and stop being butthurt. Well it’s been quite a while now and the changes keep getting worse, so I’m gonna go crawling back to Safeway and hope they forgive me for straying.
Here’s a summary of all the things I think suck:
1) They stopped issuing their weekly coupons — $ 14 off $ 75, $ 5 off $ 25, etc. That shit alone made it worth the extra drive for grocery-​gettin’ every week (15 – 20 minutes each way, versus literally 2 minutes to get to Safeway from my house). Shit, if I rang up my haul and it came to $ 73.47, I’d run and grab a magazine or something to knock it up past $ 75. Despite what it seems, the store was moving more merchandise that way, in addition to getting my lazy ass to drive all the way to Pacifica.
2) The quality of the produce has taken a huge shit. It used to be relatively fresh but lately everything has looked awful. The green onions are wilted, the Brussels sprouts are a sickly yellow, and good luck finding a bag of spinach that’s not set to expire tomorrow yet has a weird brown slime-​slurry pooling at the bottom.
3) For the love of all that is holy, how hard is it to keep the Purell cart wipe thingies filled?
4) They used to put all the clearance items together in one spot. Now, they’ve switched to keeping them on their regular shelf spots, so in order to get something that’s not about to rot by the end of the day you have to go digging through a bunch of old crap.
5) Speaking of stocking the shelves, they’re not. Ok not THAT bad, but it’s gotten reeeally spotty… it’s hit or miss whether or not I’ll be able to find things that we regularly buy. I’ve been jonesing for the roasted salted seaweed snacks for two weeks now!
6) They claim that their prices/​value should be more than enough to compensate for the lack of coupons (according to an email reply from Corporate because I have a lot of free time on my hands these days and actually bothered to email them about some of my whiny concerns) but it seems to me that their prices have actually been creeping up. My shopping trip today ran me $ 131 when usually it’s in the neighborhood of $ 80…and I didn’t get anything unusual.
Soooo…as much as I love their neat little packages of salmon, ahi, and scallops (and those damn seaweed snacks)…and as much as I’ve tried to roll with the changes… NOPE. I’ll get that shit from Safeway and New Leaf [shudder] instead. I can walk to those places from my house… coupons or not, it’ll save me gas at least.

I want to comment on their «kitchen to go» produce section. It’s very affordable and unbelievable fresh. For a day hanging out on the beach, short hikes at the nearby trails, it’s a great place to visit. lots grab and go items to pick from. And most of the items are microwaveable. Nice!

Let’s just say I don’t have a lot of time to cook these days. Luckily F&E has beaucoups of meals ready to be heated and served. And if you have a little more time there are seasoned and marinated chickens and meats ready to be thrown on the grill or in the oven. Add a salad and a veg and you’re done. We’ve stocked the freezer and can stop with all the carry out and delivery meals. Win/​Win.
What I’m not a fan of is the self check-​out. If you’re purchasing alcohol, it has to be made a separate transaction. PITA.

For that quick, tasty, awesome, non-​frozen pre-​made dinner it’s perfect A+. I recommend the pasta and meatballs. To die for. Coffee? They don’t sell Peats or Starry coffee sorry, The Coffee Bean brand they do sell is terrible F+. Inspite of quadrupling the amount of dark roast grinds, it was like coffee from a bad diner #weaksauce.

Fresh produce, not so fresh. Left my tomatoes out for a day to ripen and they rotted! The meat lacks flavor and is tough. So tough it talks back (get what you pay for)! C– I bought 2 of those BBQ Readi-​Paks, you know the one with the brats and burger patties and steak, ready-​2-​grill? The links are flavorless, dry and wholly unappetizing. The burgers lack fat, When seasoned and cooked even medium rare are unsatisfying and flavorless. A sign it’s not fresh.
So for a quick trip for eggs or bread sure. For anything else go to Safeway or Trek across town to Lucky’s.

Love this store! Between this store and the little Pacifica Farmers Market on the other side of town, I’m set!
Pros and Cons: great selection of pre prepared food. Healthy food. Kinda like whole foods but cheap. There is way more healthy stuff here than crap. If you want crap, go to Safeway.
Tons of cheap meat. Really good pre marinated chicken too!
Sure the checkout is slow, but honestly it’s not any slower than Safeway. People are just assholes and can’t wait a few minutes for you to clear your stuff out before they start throwing their stuff down the lane.
The only real bummer is the parking. Good luck finding any, on nice days I have to fight douchey beach goers/​surfers for parking. I shouldnt have to. I’m going for groceries. Lately it’s been getting horrific with people parking on top of each other to just go to the beach. Wish that was regulated somehow :(
But all that aside, I love the store, the food, great prices and prepared meals.

My first visit was disappointing. The selection was good but the checkout was very time consuming and annoying. The machine would not scan prices correctly and would shut down requiring the intervention of a store employee when items were placed in the bagging area and it didn’t sense them correctly. I’m no novice in computers — I built my own PC — and the scanner required employee intervention 3 times during my checkout!
Parking can also be difficult on weekends because of all the surfers who park in this lot for the whole day.
I may give the store one more chance…

Fresh & Easy is like the boyfriend/​girlfriend who’s bad for you (and you know it), but you keep going back.
This is why Fresh & Easy is bad:
1. produce is often past its prime, even prior to the expiration date
2. aisles are too narrow, so it’s hard to navigate the store
3. self check is VERY slow, since many folks don’t know how to use it
4. if you buy alcohol, you have to hunt down a staffer to OK your purchase
5. Most of my F&E coupons didn’t scan last time, making them nearly useless
6. Lots of wasteful, non-​recyclable packaging on products
This is why Fresh & Easy is good:
1. interesting offerings
2. sometimes the prices are pretty good
3. staff are friendly, but there aren’t enough of them
F&E is not all terrible, but increasingly the benefits are outweighed by the detriments. I’m shopping here much less often than I used to.

It’s so clean and bright in here! I would give them 4 stars but it was the hubby and my first time there and didn’t know how the «Friends Rewards» worked. We were looking for the Checkout lane attendants to ask, since the signage was lacking, but there were several long times forming so we decided not to ask. Plus, they weren’t immediately available to answer questions.
I like that they have the pre-​packaged meals with fresh ingredients for you to make at home. We’ll have to try that next time we shop here.

Their self-​check out gives everyone who play-​pretended to be a cashier when they were younger a chance to do so in real life and keep their day job!
Although I find it interesting and different, it kind of saddens me because there is no longer a need for human interaction. Before you know it, robots will be taking our cash. That would intrigue Dwight Schrute!
–1 star because their «Fudgy Brownie Bites» had the texture of chocolate cake.

It’s been a year, since this place opened up in our neighborhood. And I still go there, often. Happy One Year Anniversary! (Yes, I had a slice of their cake last evening too!)
Their prices are still much better than Safeway, for the most part (If you’re looking for Pillsbury, Nestle, Duncan Hines or ‘brand name’ items, this place doesn’t mark down the prices for it!). There was a time wherein I did not go to Safeway at all for almost 4 months, and instead frequented this store.
Yes, there is a lot of plastic wrap on everything, but I’m chalking that up to the UK/​European packaging. However, I am a fan of their individual, or for-​two-​meals, packaging, as it really cuts down on the food waste in my household. Truth be told, I’m usually not a fan of the flavors of pre-​made, ready-​to-​eat meals, as they usually have way too much of preservatives or something that gives it an awful odd off flavor, but F&E packaged meals are a delight to have on hand, in a pinch.
Since I’ve been shopping here (and often from their clearance/​marked-​down items). I’ve made gallons of homemade tomato sauce, roasted red pepper sauce, homemade infused (rosemary) olive oil, and other delicious things that I make and keep in the freezer for a night in. I also have insane amounts of great quality ground chicken, pork chops, steaks, burgers, chili-​lime marinated chicken in the freezer. And their stuff holds up quite well, even after a few months in the freezer! I never enjoyed salmon, until I started purchasing it here and preparing it at home. Nothing is more delicious than a high quality piece of salmon, and some fresh veggies to go with it!
Since they’ve opened, this location has also expanded their selection of cheese, meat, and incorporated a bakery (on site), along with Il Fornaio baked goodies, and Donsuemor! Phenomenal baked bread – 98 cents for a load of Italian bread! They have their own brand of ice cream, juice, milk, etc… all very, very pleasant replacements for brand name items.
Service, well, not everything stays perfect. Some of the clerks there are always cheerful, helpful and friendly. It’s self-​checkout and you’re supposed to bag your own stuff, but they’ve generally tended to help you bag the groceries anyway.
They’ve recently started the Friends Card Rewards program – get it, it’s free. You get points for every time you shop there (double, triple, extra points vary by week, on their specials), and every 100 points earned can be converted to $ 1.00. (See their site or a pamphlet for details.) They still offer a coupon via e-​mail, and they almost always have a coupon on their weekly flyer. Occasionally, they will mail out a pair of coupons, just as an incentive to shop there. Coupons vary from 10 to 20% off (which includes purchase of the marked-​down items too).
Parking, it’s still the same parking situation. When it’s not too busy, plenty to choose from. When it is busy, you have too many irate people.

I’ve been waiting forever and a day for Fresh & Easy to finally open in Northern California. Nevermind that they are owned by Tesco (yet another deliciously evil company).
I am a pretty big fan of their own brand of food and products for these reasons:
tasty
reasonably priced
variety i.e. gluten free /​soy /​low fat etc.
You definitely won’t meet all your fruit & produce needs here but if you need a few items you’ll get your money’s worth.
Here’s a tip: if you’re looking for something that is at its utmost ripe check the 50% off aisles. They usually have bread/​fruit/​produce that is ripe and about to be past its prime if nobody purchases them.
*raises hand* I have a problem with the Fresh & Easy snickerdoodles and blueberry cereal bars: I CANNOT STOP EATING THEM.
The Fresh & Easy product that started my addiction? Parmesan & garlic pita chips. THEY ARE THE BEST.