Tesco to make its H.B. debut

Another wave of the British invasion is coming to Huntington Beach.

Within a year, one of the world’s largest retailers, British grocer Tesco, is expected to open a “Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market” store in Huntington Beach. It is one of 100 intended to open by February 2008 as the company’s first beachhead on the American market, according to company statements.

Liquor license information from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control shows one such market scheduled to open in a mall on Beach Boulevard and Terry Drive. It is one of six scheduled in Orange County and a few dozen from Los Angeles to San Diego. Huntington Beach Economic Development director Stanley Smalewitz says he and city staff sought out Tesco after he read about the proposed stores in a financial newspaper about eight months ago.

“We called them up and we dealt with their broker and their people in America,” he said. “They told us they were looking to break out about 100 stores and supermarkets. We were looking at four or five locations for them in the city.”

While details from the company are scarce, Fresh & Easy news releases say the stores are aimed at customers interested in fresh, healthy food but less willing to spend long hours at the store. Recent statements released by Tesco say the stores will be about 10,000 square feet, which is closer to the size of the average Trader Joe’s than a regular supermarket, and some will open in areas not usually occupied by large supermarkets.

The stores will sell beer and wine but not tobacco, and “fresh&easy;” store brand products will contain no added trans fats, artificial colors or flavors, according to materials on the Fresh & Easy website. In addition to fresh produce and natural foods, the store will sell a variety of take-out meals.

The company has a 500,000-square-foot distribution center under construction in Riverside, where it is using massive solar panels and other energy-conserving technology, a hallmark of the company’s reputation in England.

Smalewitz said while no one knows what the exact concept will be for the store scheduled to open this winter, it will enrich the city’s range of shopping options.

“This adds to the ambience of the city,” he said. “We are a cosmopolitan area, and I’m looking forward to any new service that comes into our city.”