Review: So fresh and so easy

 by Amanda Fruzynski
 published on Wednesday, February 13, 2008

STATE PRESS MAGAZINE

Not everything that boasts of being easy is fresh, like those sandwiches from a drive-thru window. And not everything that is fresh can be easy, like picking veggies out of a backyard garden.

But one grocery store that calls itself Fresh and Easy has managed to deliver on both accounts.

The "easy" part is the most noticeable at first. Almost all Fresh and Easy-brand cold food is packaged in clear tubs. The food has simple, matter-of-fact labeling — "vegetable platter," "hot salsa," "guacamole." There are other brand-name items, but the choices are limited, which makes decision-making another easy part of the experience.

The most ease, though, comes from the multitude of pre-made foods. There are ready-to-cook rosemary and garlic cut potatoes, fresh fish with seasoning packets on the side, and 99-cent lumps of pizza dough that only need a quick roll at home.

Then there's the "fresh" part. All of the fruits and vegetables have the same easy labeling, plus a "best by" date and a "grown in …" label. The store keeps only a small amount of each good on the shelves — which means they have to restock often — so freshness is guaranteed.

The prices are fairly similar to a regular grocery store, with organic items costing a bit more. The atmosphere, though, is drastically different. The store is small, shelves are short and everything is stacked simply, but with uber-precision. The employees walk around with a bounce in their step, wearing green T-shirts and a smile you don't see on many grocers. There's even a "sample kitchen" in back where goodies are piled for customer tasting.

In a world that's full of stale food and constant complications, at least a trip to the grocery can be Fresh and Easy.

— amanda.fruzynski@asu.edu