New store looks to build Latino business

Although their roots are in Great Britain’s giant Tesco grocery chain, the Fresh & Easy store that opened January 24 in Fallbrook will specifically strive to meet the needs of the Latino population here, Store Manager Pablo Baltazar said.

The third Fresh & Easy store to open in San Diego County, the 10,000-square-foot Fallbrook location has been stocked at the onset with the standard selection of merchandise typical in all 33 stores the company has opened to date in Southern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix, Baltazar said. However, the balance is destined to change, he explained.

“The inventory will change and we will keep adding more ethnic foods to meet the needs of the Latino customers as we assess what they want,” Baltazar said.

Though they are owned by a British grocery powerhouse, don’t expect to find much in the way of European items in stock, Baltazar said. The likelihood of the store stocking international foods, other than those that cater to the Latino market, in Fallbrook is minimal, he confirmed.

What customers can expect, he said, is “a good selection of pre-packaged produce, bakery items, cheeses, meats and seafood.”

With the majority of the goods in the store encased in plastic containers or cellophane wrap, the store resembles a mini-warehouse and receives its daily shipments from the company’s distribution center in Riverside.

“Everything is made and packaged there,” Baltazar said, citing examples such as sandwiches, ready-made entrees, sushi and salads.

When shopping for produce in the store, be prepared to buy in given quantities. Running in for a single apple, tomato, bell pepper, onion or artichoke, isn’t possible. Produce items are packaged in varying quantities, i.e. apples may only be offered in a bag of 10 or bell peppers in a package of four.

A large number of prepared foods, salad dressings, sauces and more carry the private Fresh & Easy label. These foods appear enticing and state they are prepared without artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. As a result, they carry a very short expiration date.

The availability of low-fat, sugar-free or reduced-calorie items seems nonexistent or very minimal for those with dietary restrictions. However, there is no denying the store offers a new and different concept.

“The name [reflects] essentially what the store is: it’s fresh, it’s easy and it’s in your neighborhood,” corporate spokesperson Brendan Wonnacott said. “Our stores are smaller than the usual grocery store, but at the same time, it has everything you need to maintain a household.”

As far as the selection offered in the store, Fresh & Easy stocks roughly 4,000 items. Baltazar said the range of choices is much narrower than big supermarkets and used ketchup as an example: “Our shoppers will find only two choices – Heinz and our [Fresh & Easy] brand, because that’s how we will be able to provide a low price. It’s a whole different type of shopping experience.”

In comparison, the 34,000-square-foot Major Market in Fallbrook offers shoppers 14 varieties of ketchup, owner/partner Sam Logan confirmed. With a type for every palate, Logan says, “If there is something a shopper needs or wants and we don’t have it, we’ll figure out how to get it.”

While Logan admits he carries a staggering 37,780 items in stock, it is the checkout line ease that he is most proud of at Major Market.

“We have the fastest lanes in the West,” Logan said, chuckling. “When people get to the check stand, they are ready to go and don’t want to wait another eight or nine minutes. We always have plenty of check stands going and keep the flow going.”

Logan’s focus on customer service seems to have paid off, since the store will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year.

At the new Fresh & Easy, self-checkout is the observed style and nine stations have been installed for that purpose. On grand opening day, January 24, Fresh & Easy employees were plentiful in the store, offering assistance in familiarizing shoppers with the new experience.

The Fallbrook Fresh & Easy is estimated to employ 25 people, 75 percent of whom reside in the Fallbrook/Bonsall area, Baltazar said.

As part of their grand opening festivities, the company solicited nominations from the community and subsequently contributed $1,000 to the Angel Society of Fallbrook.

Corporate spokesperson Brendan Wonnacott said 90 more Fresh & Easy Stores are slated to open in 2007, the fourth being Escondido this week.

When asked if the Escondido store will differ in inventory from the Fallbrook store, Wonnacott said, “Our stores are for everybody.”

The strip center in which the new Fresh & Easy is located, in the 1000 block of South Main (former Do-It Center), has undergone a facelift, making it more aesthetically pleasing to shoppers and passersby.