Fresh & Easy Continues Los Angeles Expansion

Grocery chain Fresh & Easy will soon expand its Los Angeles presence with five new stores that are in the late stages of entitlement requests, according to applications reviewed by a Land Use LA report. Once the stores open, El Segundo, Calif.-based Fresh & Easy, a division of U.K. grocer Tesco, will operate 12 stores within the city and 182 stores across the Southwest.

Two stores are planned for the Valley. The proposed Tujunga-Sunland location has a public hearing for its request for signage exceptions to the Foothill Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan scheduled for Sept. 19, according to the report. The location has also requires a standard Conditional Use in order to sell beer and wine. Meanwhile, the location at Coldwater Canyon and Sherman Way is expected to reveal its opening date soon, and has already begun hiring employees.

The first Fresh & Easy Market Express, approximately half the size of a traditional Fresh & Easy, is proposed for San Pedro at the corner of W. 6th and Gaffey streets. A conditional use hearing for the 4,000 to 5,000 square-foot store is scheduled for Sept. 21.

A public hearing for the proposed Mid City store, located at 1788 S. La Cienega Blvd., was held Sept 7. The company wants to replace an existing used-car sales lot at the location with a large-format Fresh & Easy.

One store is still on hold; the company's proposed South Central location, announced last February, is still waiting for entitlements following a July appeal of its initial approval, according to the report.