EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market on Wednesday said it will open its first stores in Northern California in March and April, with the first two scheduled to open March 2 in San Jose and Danville.
Nine additional stores are scheduled to open in the area within the two-month timeframe, including units in Pacifica on March 9; Concord and Vacaville March 16; Modesto and Walnut Creek March 23; Pleasanton April 13; and Hayward, Napa and another San Jose location April 27.
The company said it also plans to open two stores in San Francisco early this year, though it did not disclose the opening dates.
The Northern California stores will include a mix of newly built ground-up locations and space formerly occupied by other retailers, including supermarkets and drug stores, a company spokesman told SN.
Fresh & Easy, a division of Cheshunt, U.K.-based Tesco, operates 156 stores in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. Tim Mason, chief executive officer, said in a statement he is "thrilled by the response we've already seen on our website" to the 275 job openings the company will fill at the Northern California stores.
