Reader Reponse: Details on Tesco Fresh & Easy Stores Denied Licenses and Permits to Sell Spirits, Beer and Wine in Southern California

In this October 7, 2008 piece, "Sacramento's Oak Park Neighborhood Association Files Appeal On Design of Proposed Neighborhood Fresh & Easy Store; Hearing Set For Oct.15," about Sacramento's Oak Park Neighborhood Association and its appeal of the design of the Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market small-format grocery store set to be built in the neighborhood, we mentioned that a Fresh & Easy store in Southern California had stopped selling alcoholic beverages because of protests by various community groups.

Fresh & Easy Buzz has received a number of requests via email to provide some additional information and details about the store and the issue.

First, we need to clarify a bit. The store didn't stop selling alcoholic beverages. Rather Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market pulled its liquor license application (after having its approval initially denied) that was on file with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) because of the intense opposition and objections from the various organizations and community and neighborhood groups to the store's being able to sell alcoholic beverages in the neighborhood.

The store is located at: 15230 Vanowen Street, Los Angeles, California, 91405. It's referred to as the Vanowen & Sepulveda Fresh & Easy store.

We first reported on the development on March 13, 2008 when the California ABC denied Fresh & Easy's request for a hard liquor license for the store. Below is our March 13 report:

Spirits are down--beer and wine only: The state of California has refused to approve a liquor license application for a Fresh & Easy grocery store in Van Nuys, (Southern) California after a coalition of community and neighborhood groups based in Los Angeles petitioned and lobbied the state booze board, arguing there are already too many stores selling spirits in the area. The state liquor license review board agreed and denied Tesco's application.

The store can still sell beer and wine, since virtually any retailer in the state can sell the beverages in the adult drinks categories as long as they meet minimal qualifications and pay for and legally obtain a permit. However, it's not known if Tesco will go forward with the Van Nuys Fresh & Easy store absent being able to sell spirits at the proposed location. A Tesco spokesman said one option would be to not locate a store in the city at all. The other would be to go forward and sell just beer and wine at the proposed Van Nuys unit.
Van Nuys is a district in the city of Los Angeles and part of Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles-based coalition tells us it plans to protest other Fresh & Easy proposed store liquor license applications in Los Angeles County, and perhaps in other Southern California counties as well.

On August 18, 2008 the supermarket industry trade publication Supermarket News then reported the following:

Fresh & Easy Reportedly Pulls Liquor Application
Aug 18, 2008 6:00 AM, By ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market here has reportedly pulled its application for a liquor license at a store it opened earlier this month in Van Nuys, Calif., after the Los Angeles City Council said it would vote on whether to rescind the license that was pending. Fresh & Easy executives could not be reached for comment. According to the Alliance for Healthy & Responsible Grocery Stores, a coalition of over 25 labor-, environmental-, faith- and community-based organizations that has been at odds with Fresh & Easy over various issues during the past year, the chain originally was denied approval for a liquor license at the Van Nuys store by the city's zoning administration for that area, but that denial was overruled by the area's planning commission; however, when the city councilman who represents Van Nuys sought to have the entire council reconsider the appeal last week, Fresh & Easy withdrew the liquor application, the alliance reported. The alliance said Van Nuys citizens were concerned that the area — which the alliance said has seen an increase in alcohol-related crimes — is already over-saturated with liquor licenses, and there were also concerns that Fresh & Easy's self-checkout policy might make it easier for minors to buy liquor.

Regarding the concerns about Fresh & Easy's self-checkout policy (the stores offer only self-service checkout although store employees will assist customers if asked to do so by the shopper) perhaps making it easier for minors to buy liquor, we were the first to report in this July 14, 2008 piece, "Breaking News & Analysis: CA Assemblyman Introduces 'Tesco Fresh & Easy Law' to Ban Stores With Self-Checkout-Only From Selling Alcoholic Beverages," on new legislation proposed by California Assemblyman Hector De La Torre that if passed would ban the sales of alcoholic beverages of all kinds at stores in California like Fresh & Easy which offer only self-service checkout.

Very few if any food and grocery stores in California other than Tesco's Fresh & Easy offer self-service checkout only. Some such as Winco, Ralphs Fresh Fare, Safeway's "the market by Vons" in Long Beach, California and selected Wal-Mart-owned stores, along with a few others, offer a combination of self and full-service checkout. However we aren't aware of one major -- or minor-- chain that has stores in California offering self-service checkout-only like Fresh & Easy does.

The Assembly Bill, AB 523, wasn't voted on in this session, along with numerous other bills, because of the California State Legislature's failure to pass a state budget on time. The budget, which was more than 3 months overdue past its deadline, was only recently passed by the California Assembly and Senate and signed by the Governor. As a result of so much of the lawmakers focus going to hammering out a budget compromise, the leaders in the Assembly and Senate decided to table numerous pieces of legislation (including AB 523) and not take the time to vote on them in this session.

Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, a Democrat from South Gate in Southern California, has yet to say if he will reintroduce the legislation in the next session of the Assembly.

Vanowen & Sepulveda Fresh & Easy

The Vanowen & Sepulveda Fresh & Easy store hasn't been approved to date to sell not only hard liquor/spirits but was unable to even obtain a permit to sell wine and beer. Therefore the store currently is unable to sell alcoholic beverages of any kind. We varified this status with the store.

Originally, after being unable to sell spirits, it was thought by even members of the groups in opposition to the Fresh & Easy store being able to offer wine and beer for sale that the store would be granted an off-sale beer and wine sales permit, since such permits are seldom denied in California. However, as mentioned above, even that permit was denied the Vanowen and Sepulveda Fresh & Easy.

Hollywood, California Fresh & Easy

The Vanowen & Sepulveda Fresh & Easy isn't the only one of the grocery chain's stores in Southern California unable to sell alcoholic beverages.

Its Hollywood, California Fresh & Easy unit also doesn't sell liquor, wine or beer.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market's applications for a liquor license and beer and wine permit for the Hollywood store were both denied after the Rite Aid drug store chain, which has a store next to the Fresh & Easy, opposed granting the store the permits because of some sort of ordinance in the city that requires there only be a set number of stores within a given geographical area that are allowed to sell spirits, beer and wine. The Rite Aid drug store next to the Hollywood Fresh & Easy sells hard liquor, wine and beer. It appears Rite Aid saw a competitive advantage to opposing the Fresh & Easy Hollywood store's ability to sell spirits, beer and wine.

Fresh & Easy Gets Local; Creates Free 'Indie' Music Concert Series at its Hollywood, CA Store For September

Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in partnership with Southern California radio station indie 103.1 is launching a free acoustic music series starting this Thursday at its Hollywood, California grocery store.

The free musical events, which will be held each Thursday evening at 7pm in the outdoor courtyard of the Fresh & Easy store at 7021 Hollywood Blvd., are being called the Blank Canvas Series at Fresh & Easy.

The performers, all from the indie music scene, include: Nico Stai (September 4); Anya Marina (September 11); Meiko (September 18); and Greg Laswell (September 25). You can learn more about the performers here.

As an interesting addition to the music, during the Thursday evening concerts artists will be on hand at the Hollywood Fresh & Easy store custom-painting reusable canvas shopping tote bags. Customers who spend $50 or more at the store will receive a free hand-painted tote bag.

Fresh & Easy Buzz likes the concept and promotion. First, the tie-in with the indie radio station and the Hollywood store located on Hollywood Blvd. is a good one, since the demographics of the neighborhood's residents fit well with the demographics of indie music listeners.

Additionally, who doesn't like free? The free music series offering is a good way to draw attention to the store by providing customers and potential customers with free entertainment. There's no hard sell such as having to make a purchase to listen to the music and the like. Soft sells always work best. It's all value-added.

The free music series also is a good positioning tool for the Hollywood store. Indy music is hip and Fresh & Easy wants to be perceived as somewhat hip. Therefore it's a good marriage of music and store format we think. Grocery stores should be social places as well as ones of commerce. Music is a great social lubricant.

Lastly, the store-specific music series is good local marketing. It matches the store's neighborhood, Hollywood Blvd., with something many residents and visitors to the neighborhood enjoy--indie music.

Since we've been critical of Tesco's Fresh & Easy for not putting a local design, marketing and merchandising focus on its stores, we want to give the grocery chain props for doing so in its tie-in with the indie radio station for the September music series at the Hollywood Blvd. store in Hollywood, California. It's a good fit in our analysis.

Grocery stores and supermarkets are different than most other retail formats in that they sell the most essential of all commodities--food. As such they've historically have served as focal points for people in communities and neighborhoods.

The more of a sense of place a food retailer can create in its stores in terms of physical design, community and ambiance, the more successful generally that grocer is. That's one reason independent grocers continue to survive and thrive in the U.S. while they've nearly gone the way of the horse and buggy in many other western industrialized nations.

Events like the music series at the Hollywood Fresh & Easy, along with incorporating some local design elements and local merchandising features, help create this neighborhood sense of place. Consumers tend to reward such food retailing by spending their money at the stores of grocers who factor in this important consideration, along with the basics like product selection, pricing and service.

Out of His Compound and Hitting the Street; the 'Militant Angeleno' Shops and Reviews the Hollywood, California Fresh & Easy Grocery Store

Tesco's Hollywood, California Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

Los Angeles native and blogger "Militant Angeleno" (MA) recently decided to come out from his fortified compound in an unspecified central Los Angeles neighborhood to visit and shop at a Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market grocery store for the very first time.

MA decided to make his virgin Fresh & Easy shopping trip to the Hollywood, California Fresh & Easy store, which is located on famous Hollywood Blvd., home of the walk of stars. The blogger says it's a quick trip from his central LA compound to the store via the city's Metro public transportation system.

"Militant Angeleno," who travels the city and chronicles his adventures in his blog, gave the Hollywood Fresh & Easy a complete going over--shopping it from stem-to-stern; from warehouse-style gondola shelf to the next one; from the fresh, prepared foods refrigerated case, to the pre-packaged produce department, and beyond.

The blogger has chronicled his virgin Fresh & Easy outing and shopping trip in his blog in a piece called: "Supermarket shopping sans soul."

Read what the "Militant Angeleno," urban adventurer and blogger, has to say in his comprehensive review of the Hollywood, California Tesco Fresh & Easy grocery store here.

the Haphazard Gourmet Girls Visit the Hollywood, California Fresh & Easy, and 'Love it Dahling'

Eddie Gehman and Pleasant Gehman, two Hollywood, California artists, writers, bloggers, foodies and more, recently visited the just-opened (a couple weeks ago) Hollywood Fresh & Easy grocery market on the advice of their good friend, the "ultra fetching Miss Whistle," and say in their blog called "The Haphazard Gourmet Girls" that they absolutely "Loved it Dahling." Ok, we added that last phrase. But in their entertaining blog they say they like the store, and give Miss Whistle props for turning them on to it.

Read what "The Haphazard Gourmet Girls" have to say about their trip to the Fresh & Easy--and their views of the market. You can also read and letter the "ultra fetching Miss Whistle" emailed them about the new store here.