A Different Kind of Grocery Store
I really like this place. But it is different from a "normal" grocery store. First off, it's smaller. Much smaller than the Vons and Ralphs in Loma Portal just a couple of miles away.
Secondly, they seem to focus on prepared food more than do other grocery store chains. By "prepared food" I don't I mean canned food or bags of chips that might last weeks if not opened. Rather I mean "perishable" prepared food, like refrigerated (but not frozen) entrees and salads, as well as sandwiches and wraps, that might only last a couple of days, even if not opened.
I really like a number of their prepared meals." Not just the taste, but also the convenience and the price. I once bought a really good chicken tikka masala there that I thought was almost restaurant quality.
But I expected to like this because I was already familiar with it. My wife and I lived in London a decade ago, and the main grocery store chain in Britain is called Tesco. We liked Tesco's prepared meals like these when we lived there. "Fresh & Easy Market" is Tesco's attempt to crack the lucrative American market under another name. Same food, essentially.
Lastly, I also really like the fact that they have automated, self check-out. I always use this at "Ralphs," too, and wish that this was more widely adopted.