A Consumer Correspondent Reports on and Reviews the Family Visit Tonight to a Fresh & Easy Store in Southern California's Inland Empire Region

We recieved the email below this evening from a reader and correspondent who went shopping today at a Fresh & Easy grocery store in Southern California's Inland Empire region.

As the writer says, the store opened this week. The correspondent also publishes a personal blog called occassionalpiece. We have no commentary on our correspondent's review. It stands on its own. We have, however, recieved a number of similar reviews from readers and correspondents over the last few weeks. Our correspondent read our piece here

(Note: Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market's U.S.corporate headquarters and 850,000 square foot distribution center is located in the Inland Empire region county of Riverside.)

By: Occasionalpiece. Received: March 1, 2008 @ 7:50pm.

Here's our review of our foray into our local Fresh and Easy (3/1/08) which opened this week. Out of stock on many items. Most of their flowers (first thing seen when entering the store) were wilted or bruised. Produce unappetizingly displayed ("naked" and in black plastic crates). French bread was stale. Indian nan was good and fresh. For dinner we had their tortilla soup: basically inedible with an astounding 1300 mg of sodium per serving (way too salty) with a funny smell & weird texture. (Try Von's tortilla soup for something delicious.) Tortilla chips: either they were stale or thick, but there was no "fresh" taste. Potato chips: merely OK. I kept remembering our trips to England, thinking, yeah, this feels like eating British food. You're dead on: no ambiance or sense of place. We think it's a cross between Food4Less, 7-11 and TJoe's--although without TJ's charm, quirkiness, delicious food, and excellent produce. Who's their customer? Their target audience? Bottom line? I give it about six months.I'm from the Inland Empire in Southern California.

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Editor's Note:

Fresh & Easy Buzz is an independent blog. We have no affiliation with Tesco plc. or Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market. Additionally, we do not own stock in Tesco plc. Further, we currently have no economic relationships such as buying and selling with Tesco plc., nor do we currently work for any companies or vendors who sell to Tesco or Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

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