On our recent trip to California, we stopped at a Fresh & Easy neighborhood market to pick up a couple bottles of wine to bring to dinner.  We emerged with two bottles of wine, a twelve-pack of beer, a one-pound package of grapes, a bag of spinach artichoke tortilla chips, and an apple that CJ and Oliver fought over shared on the way to Hollywood.  All for about $20.

But Fresh & Easy has so much going for it that the prices are only a small part of the appeal.  Before our trip, I chatted with a couple friends here in Denver who’ve heard about Fresh & Easy from friends and family in LA, and I was surprised to hear that low prices didn’t top the list of reasons why they like to shop there.  Instead, it was the accessibility of the stores, Fresh & Easy’s community involvement, and the quality and simplicity of the selection that they cited.

Hear that, megastore-that-shall-remain-nameless?  Low prices aren’t everything.

The Fresh & Easy we visited in Glassell Park was austere, but well-stocked and immaculate.  It wasn’t large, but the aisles were wide, the shelves didn’t tower over me (I always hated how Manhattan groceries were jam-packed floor to ceiling), and I’ll reiterate how clean it was.  Cleanliness always makes a favorable impression on me.

The selection was very basic: a few name brands, plus the Fresh & Easy brand, for each type of item.  But here’s what struck me - I gravitated to the Fresh & Easy brands.  Simple packaging, with appealing descriptions and visible contents.  Plus, the prices were outstanding.  There were so many items I wanted to try, I wished I were shopping for my own pantry and refrigerator.

Did we like what we bought?  Definitely.  The wine was good - I chose a couple bottles bearing the “selected especially for Fresh & Easy” sticker, along with a $4 price tag - and the chips and grapes kept the kids happily satisfied and out of the minibar.  Kyle grumbled that the beer was bland, but the man drinks Natty Light every night - when did he get so picky?

I also noticed the diversity among our fellow shoppers.  Unlike some specialty groceries that seem to be populated exclusively by young white couples, I saw a wide variety of ages and ethnicities at Fresh & Easy.  Which made me smile, because eating healthfully should be important to everyone.

Fresh & Easy markets are currently located only in southern California, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, with planned expansion to northern California.  I realize that they’re working to get the model down pat before opening stores in other locations, but I can’t help being a bit impatient for them to get to Colorado.  Yes, I was that impressed.

Have you visited Fresh & Easy?  What did you think?