Foodies: Fresh and Easy serves gourmet-style groceries, to-go dishes for cheap
As a Trader Joe's fan, I love being able to buy high-quality groceries at pretty reasonable prices without the confusing variety in larger chain supermarkets, like Safeway or Ralphs. Ever since I moved to near UCI Medical Center, I kinda missed having a store like that.
Enter Fresh and Easy. This "neighborhood-sized" grocery store is conveniently located along some pretty heavily-used bus routes (OCTA line 53-Main and 54-Chapman), making it a cinch to shop there. Nearby, a Ralph's with a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Starbucks, a Pho noodle restaurant, a Thai restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, Quizno's, and — oddly enough — T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T stores, all make Main/Chapman a very good bus stop to shop. You can also find plenty of other Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market stores throughout Orange County.
The grocery store is very clean and well-lit, and food is packaged in clean Ikea-like packaging. Although I felt the store was sterile at first, I really warmed up to it — the clear labeling helps me figure out what's in a bag or a box — and, I'll admit, the $5 off $20 coupons they send to my place is a very good financial incentive. Even without said coupon, though, Fresh and Easy's prices are very easy on the wallet. Fresh and Easy has a very good variety of pre-packaged ready-to-go foods, including refrigerated burritos ($3-4 each), salads ($4 each), chicken marsala (also in the $4 per package ballpark), Indian curries, soups, and sandwiches. If you're short on cash, Fresh and Easy places discounted items of their dishes for up to 50% daily, popular with frugal shoppers.
Their baked pastries rival that of high-end Whole Foods-esque grocery stores.
And, they've got a "tasting corner," where they give out food samples. Delicious!
The downsides? Fresh and Easy has a skeleton crew working at each store, so finding help can be difficult especially when their cash registers jam (all their cash registers are self-serve automated computers). As a result, their food sample counter is often empty. And, Fresh and Easy is owned by Tesco, a British corporation with a politically-atrocious track record not unlike Wal-Mart.
But give them a try for a few weeks. It's a very, very quick place to shop and I'm glad I don't have to wander the endless aisles of Ralphs. See how small the store is?
Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market [map] — OCTA lines 53, 54
146 S Main St (corner of Main and Chapman)
Orange, CA 92868-2861
(714) 978-1446
Comments
Fresh & Easy is great! I have
Fresh & Easy is great! I have one just a short walk away from my home. Try to get there when they do their mark downs. The deals can't be beat.
Unfortunately, they're not perfect. I've bought a few items that had problems. For example - their meatballs had bone chips in them. Their ranch dressing had way too much vinegar and their crackers seemed a bit generic. I wish they'd find another vendor for bread products.
The checkout is self-serve, so is the bagging, but they usually help . One small complaint - no cash back with debit card purchases. Not even a buck or two for bus fare (though you might be able to buy an extra item and return it for cash). They don't take manufacturers coupons. But overall, I'm impressed and shop there almost every day. I probably do 80% of my monthly grocery shopping at Fresh & Easy.