Oak Park's Fresh & Easy to open

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers TO THE MARKET—The new Fresh & Easy grocery in Oak Park will offer natural and organic food. The new Fresh & Easy grocery store on the corner of Lindero Canyon and Kanan roads in Oak Park is nearly complete and will be opening its doors in October, a company spokesperson said.

Tesco, the British-based retail giant that is behind Fresh & Easy, opened 73 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada following its West Coast launch last year.

Tesco said its investment in the U.S over the next five years will be $2 billion.

Stores are currently open in Simi Valley and Moorpark, and in the fall another store will open in Newbury Park on Wendy Drive and Old Conejo.

In Oak Park, the company is in the process of hiring 20 to 30 employees, and a grand opening celebration is being planned.

"Construction is almost done. We are getting close to wrapping up," said Fresh & Easy's Brendan Wonnacott.

Oak Park resident Lena Tucker is excited about the new market.

"It's like being able to go to a farmers' market everyday in a very convenient location and open all day," Tucker said.

Vacant for nearly six years following the closure of Ralphs, the 10,000-square-foot Oak Park grocery store site will come back to life with shelves full of allnatural, organic and prepared foods and staples. All eggs are cage-free, and the meats carry no hormones.

"We are happy to be filling an empty space and are confident the reception we receive there will be like everywhere else," Wonnacott said.

"We've had a lot of interest from the neighborhood already, a lot of curiosity about when the store is going to open from folks in the neighborhood and from others who have gone to our website to ask questions."

Earlier this year the company imposed a threemonth moratorium on store openings. Wonnacott said it's difficult to tell if the struggling American economy was having an effect on the chain's success.

"In terms of sales we've only been open (in the U.S.) since November, so it's not really possible to track," Wonnacott said.

The company, however, has noticed an increase in job applications as the store openings get back on track. Entry level positions in the California stores start at $10 an hour.

As part of the Oak Park grand opening, Fresh & Easy is offering a $1,000 donation to a local nonprofit organization. Nominations for the donation are being accepted.

For more information, visit freshandeasy.com/goodneighbor.