Fresh & Easy Opens Its 62nd Store After Expansion Hiatus
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market opened its 62nd store in Manhattan Beach, Calif., yesterday, the first opening in several months after the company took a brief hiatus from its expansion plans to take stock of its progress and tweak operations.
Just last week, however, the company announced an aggressive relaunch of its growth plans, which calls for 30 new stores over the next 90 days or so.
The Manhattan Beach stores is less than a mile away from Fresh & Easy's headquarters in El Segundo, Calif.
Fresh & Easy customers, local government officials, as well as representatives from the Wiseburn Education Foundation attended the grand opening celebration. The foundation, which raises funds to enhance the local Wiseburn School District's education, was presented with a donation from Fresh & Easy.
"We are proud of all we've accomplished in a very short amount of time," said CEO Tim Mason. "[This store] opening marks Fresh & Easy's continued expansion in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. So far, we have hired over 2,100 people and plan to hire hundreds more in the coming months, particularly good news in this economy. We look forward to opening more stores and bringing high quality foods at great prices -- and competitive jobs -- to even more neighborhoods."
The company announced last week it plans to hire 750 employees over the next three months to accommodate its new growth plans. Next Wednesday, Fresh & Easy will open its 63rd store in North Las Vegas.
During the grand opening in Manhattan Beach, Mason officially announced the future location of a Fresh & Easy in South Los Angeles. The groundbreaking on this site is planned for later this month.
With the opening of a store in Compton earlier this year, Mason said this announcement continues to demonstrate Fresh & Easy's commitment to open stores in all types of neighborhoods, including those that have been traditionally underserved.
"We believe everyone deserves fresh, high quality food at affordable prices regardless of where they live, and we are proud to bring Fresh & Easy to South L.A.," added Mason.