Fresh & Easy (in SoCal) - a Tesco Creation

Just talking to my friend Jim in Yucaipa, CA - even as I write this - and he stopped at the brand new Fresh and Easy supermarket. He LOVES this place, and raves about the cilantro dressing, the shrimp shumai - really fresh as he puts it - and the fresher (though pricier) udon. But he's telling me to avoid the coconut water. Why am I talking about a nice new grocery chain on the other end of the country? Well, the cool thing about F&E, owned and operated by UK grocery chain Tesco, is that is tapping not just into the ritzy areas (such as Burbank) but the rural areas (several in the eastern Inland Empire) and the inner cities where few if any grocery stores ever open (one is open in Compton, for example). So far, F&E is only in Cali, Arizona and Nevada, but like Trader Joe's they are planning to spread across the country.

I just have to fly six hours west to get to it. At least now it's not an international flight!