Fresh & Easy Portola Store OPEN!

Although I didn't make it to the opening today at 10AM, after three years since the Bell market closed down, I'm still very happy to have a grocery store only a half-mile from my house once again.

The new Fresh & Easy is open at the corner of Gottingen and Silver Ave.

Fresh & Easy Portola Store to open Feb 1, 2012

Great news, everyone!!!  The second Fresh & Easy store in a Southeast San Francisco neighborhood will be opening on Wednesday, February 1st at 1390 Silver Ave at Goettingen!!

Fresh & Easy Singled Out by AB183?

Yesterday, in a move that seems directed solely at Fresh & Easy, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB183, which will, as of Jan 1, 2012, ban self-serve checkout for alcohol sales.

Read more at Mission Local.

Fresh & Easy opened their 5800 Third St store opened up a couple of months ago, and are moving toward opening their Silver Ave at Göttingen location soon. Whenever I've been in one of their stores, there has been a person in the self-checkout area inspecting ID when an alcohol purchase stops the process and alerts them to it. I've never seen the need for this new law, and it will be interesting to see what Fresh & Easy do as far as continuing to open (and keep open) stores in California.

Fresh & Easy, a middle-class grocery that should accept WIC, but not necessarily unions

An opinion piece in Tuesday's SF Bay Guardian got me thinking...

It's true that Fresh & Easy is a middle-class person's grocery store.  Its prices are matched against Safeway, not FoodsCo, and its organic, pesticide-free offerings are matched against Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, not Super Save.

I've been fortunate as an adult and have never needed the support of a government food stamp program, but growing up in Canada, we relied on the monthly "baby bonus" check from the government, which my mom always used to buy groceries.  As such, I have benefited from and definitely appreciate the need for programs like WIC in ensuring mothers and their children are fed.  One of the purported reasons for putting the store where they did, besides making money for Fresh & Easy, was to bring fresh food to a veritable food desert and a less-wealthy community.  Realizing that WIC is something that this community relies on heavily and adjusting their policies to meet that community's needs is simply the right thing for Fresh & Easy to do.

The union issue is a non-issue, as far as I'm concerned.  Workers at Southern California Fresh & Easy's have repeatedly said no to unionization because they're well paid, have decent work environments, and are given opportunities for advancement.  Over the years, the labor unions have ensured that state and local laws have been written to protect workers to such a degree that the unions themselves are less necessary today than in the past.  The fact that more than half of the employees at the store live hyper-locally is a huge boost not only for those people and their families, but for the community, and the only reason I can see that the unions are complaining is that they're not getting union dues from these folks.

I have to agree whole-heartedly with Ms Gray-Garcia's suggestion that we need to have more community vegetable gardens.  Quesada Gardens Initiative is a perfect example of what needs to happen throughout the Bayview, Portola, and Mission neighborhoods in this regard.  The only large hurdle with this is and always will be in finding people to bring the land to life, tilling, planting, and tending the soil to produce the vegetables needed for the community.  I just don't know that there are that many garden project leaders out there to do it.

Local Grocery Stores Try to Find Traction in Tough Times

The Bay Citizen, our local New York Times, had this to say about our new Fresh & Easy store.

News around D10

The SF border, through parts of Alamada Island

According to some who went to the Fresh & Easy opening this morning, there were no fewer than three groups protesting the opening of the store. Thankfully, they haven't received any press yet.  Did you go to F&E today?

As expected, Community Groups File Lawsuit Over AT&T Utility Box Installation

Brunch, anyone?  How about Serpentine?

How well do you know San Francisco?  Did you know this?

It seems our SFPD officers have a hard time leaving their work behind, as one off-duty San Francisco cop escapes hail of bullets.

San Francisco Grocery Store Under Fire Over Easy Alcohol Access

And now, in the "give me a frickin' break" news category, San Francisco Grocery Store Under Fire Over Easy Alcohol Access

Seriously, has it been so long since these "religious and community leaders" have actually been in a grocery store that they haven't noticed that self-scanning of alcohol is the norm, and that when it is done, the scanner freezes and a clerk is notified to complete the transaction and check ID? Or are they just that distrusting of the people of the Bayview that they purport to be protecting by demanding this kind of B.S.? These people are treating Bayview residents like they're children and only they, the "religious and community leaders", know best. It's this kind of patronizing attitude that helps to keep poor neighborhoods from enjoying the benefits of society that others in wealthier neighborhoods take for granted, because businesses just don't want to have to deal with this crap. Please, save it for your pulpits and let the rest of us enjoy, for the first time in years, a modern, clean, and well-stocked grocery story in our own neighborhood!

Furthermore, Fresh & Easy has gone out of their way to hire locally, and the positions have full potential for advancement that people in our neck of the woods haven't seen in a grocery store before. 

Ugh, I guess it is San Francisco, and there is always going to be someone out there to bitch and moan about even the really good stuff.


Welcome, Fresh & Easy, opening Wednesday, 10AM, at 5800 Third St.!

Bayview district ready for new restaurants, market

I am SOOOO excited!!

From SFGate,

For years, San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood has been seen as gritty - more fit for drug dealers than chic storefronts.

But developers and the city's Redevelopment Agency hope that food will clean up the district's image and attract new residents, turning this area from fringy to trendy.

That's right - food.

Two restaurateurs have already signed on with the 5800 Third St. condo complex, which has so far sold 31 residential units out of a planned 400. TV chef Tanya Holland of Brown Sugar Kitchen and the owners of Limon Rotisserie, a Mission District spot popular with hipsters and lovers of Peruvian cuisine, plan to open their places this year.

Read more at SFGate

Fresh & Easy Hiring Event, Friday, June 24 10AM-5PM

The Bayview Opera House at 4705 Third Street is hosting the Fresh & Easy
Neighborhood Market hiring event THIS Friday, June 24 from 10AM-5PM.

The store at 5800 Third St is scheduled to open on Wednesday, August 24.

Fresh & Easy announces S.F. store opening dates

Those dates are:

June 22nd: 32nd Ave. and Clement St. in the Richmond.
August 24th: 3rd St. and Carroll Ave. in the Bayview.

According to the company, the openings will "create more than 50 jobs and we are currently accepting applications for positions at both stores."

(Entry-level positions start at $10 an hour, quarterly bonuses, 401(k) with company match, health care coverage included.)

According to the company,

For each new store opening, we invite neighbors to nominate a local, non-profit organization to receive a $1,000 donation. Based off the nominations from the neighborhood, store employees will select the winning charity. Charity nominations are currently being accepted for 32nd & Clement here. Nominations for 3rd & Carroll will being in July.

Read more at SF Gate

Fresh & Easy Launch Party

I too was invited to this event, but didn't get nearly as much information from the F&E folks as The Portola Yahoo Group member J. Morri did.  She writes,

Just wanted to give you an update on what the St. Elizabeth's LOC of the SFOP have been doing with bringing Fresh and Easy into the Portola.  In a prior e-mail, I mentioned that with met with D9 Supervisor David Campos.  Last Wednesday---(2/23), we met with D10 Supervisor Malia Cohen.  She, of course, wants to see a grocery store in the neighborhood and will be scheduling a meeting  with F&E on this matter.  As has been mentioned many times, it has been a very frustrating situation.

However, I think we now have some light at the end of that proverbial tunnel.  My husband, Tom and I were invited to attend the fete given by Fresh and Easy to celebrate their entry into Northern California.   It was held at the Palm Room in the Presidio.  

We were served food and wine plus dessert and coffee---all products from Fresh and Easy-even got some samples and a F&E bag!  What was exciting is we learned that F&E will be submitting architectural plans for the Silver Avenue location to the SF Planning Department by the end of March!

Now, we need to hope and pray that the City moves on this in a timely manner.  Also, perhaps, some of you have seen the notice of the liquor license attached to the fence on the Goettingen Street side of the building.  Please note that F&E only sells beer and wine.  

Now, we still don't have a specific date, but things are moving along.  There are no dates for the other two SF stores, either.  Although, 32nd and Clement will open first.  During this event, Tommy and I spoke with many people---vendors of F&E; the two top people for the West Coast operation and the regional real estate director of F&E.  We told them all of the need for a grocery store in our neighborhood---a need they sorely are aware of.  They are frustrated that this has taken so long, too.

Of interest, in speaking with the vendors, they mentioned that Fresh and Easy in very involved with quality control of the products-----products that don't have any chemicals or additives.

F&E will go to the plant to observe the processing of these products. 

Additionally, I know when F&E made their first presentation; they talked of the fruit and vegetables being pre-packaged. Well, they listened to consumers and now there is a choice---either loose or packaged. We, of course, will continue to monitor the situation and keep you advised.

If you are able to attend, the F&E in Pacifica will open next Wednesday--3/9 at
10:00 am---Cabrillo Highway and Linda Mar Boulevard.

Fresh and Easy - SFGate

Andy Ross at SFGate writes,

Promises, promises: To those eagerly anticipating the premiere of Fresh & Easy "neighborhood markets" in the Bay Area, your wait is almost over.
At least nine stores are opening locally, beginning March 2 in San Jose and Danville. They'll be followed, through April, by stores in Pacifica, Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Hayward, Napa and a second one in San Jose.
Another two are set in March for Vacaville and Modesto.

As I read through the list provided by Fresh & Easy, which has 150 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, I couldn't help but notice the absence of the promised San Francisco stores, at 32nd Avenue and Clement Street in the Richmond, and Third Street and Carroll Avenue in the Bayview.

Those opening dates will be announced "in the coming weeks," I was assured by a Fresh & Easy spokesman.

Incidentally, job openings have been posted for the Bay Area stores. Entry-level positions start at $10 an hour in California, with bonuses, health insurance and a 401(k) with a company match.

"We're thrilled by the response we've already seen on our website for these new job positions, and we are proud to bring more good jobs to the area," said Tim Mason, CEO of Fresh & Easy, which is an offshoot of the British supermarket chain Tesco.
Interested? Check out www.freshandeasy.com/joinus.

h/t Russ Morine