Some of you may or may not be familiar with the grocery store Fresh and Easy.  They’ve been sprouting up all over southern California like weeds.  They are taking a different approach to grocery shopping.   Rather than being a big box grocery store like Vons, Ralphs, Albertsons, etc… they are taking a smaller more intimate approach. The best way to describe it is a poor-man’s Trader Joe’s.  Both Fresh and Easy and Trader Joe’s dub themselves as “Neighborhood” stores (Fresh Easy – Neighborhood market, Trader Joe’s – Your neighborhood grocery store).

A few months ago when the Fresh and Easy’s started popping up they offered these great $5 off $20 worth of groceries.  My girlfriend and I started shopping there because of these coupons.  She really got hooked on the store more than I did.  It was kind of cool since you could save a lot of money with the coupons, but then later on they stopped offering them, so I wasn’t as crazy about the store anymore.  My girlfriend still shopped there…until Fresh and Easy did her wrong one too many times.

The main thing that got her mad / doubting Fresh and Easy was she bought bread that spoiled way too fast (before expiration date) and then had a few run ins with spoiled deli meat.  It’s the first time we’ve seen deli meat that would expand the bag it was wrapped in.  That’s right it the meat inflated the bag before she even opened it.  A little research revealed that bacteria was eating way at the meat and producing gases.   Once again this happened before the expiration date.  As you could imagine this did not please her one bit, but she still decided to give them another shot (cause like a junkie she was hooked on their “stuff”).  Well it happened again which prompted her to write the letter I have pasted below:

Dear Fresh and Easy,

I know you haven’t heard from me in weeks, and I just wanted to let you know that I have not forgotten about you. I told you I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to come back to you- You just weren’t fulfilling my needs. I’ve gone out to explore what my other options are, and I am still unsure.

How can my feelings be so torn for you? Do you feel the same about me? I often wonder if you’re thinking about me… If you’re missing me like how I miss you.

We’ve had so many ups and downs that my thoughts are clouded now. You have left me unsure of my choice. Sometimes I think we’ve had more sad times than happy, but I can’t be sure.

I miss the sweet taste of your unique apple oatmeal in my mouth. I miss the packaging of your sandwich sliced pickles. I miss the convenience of your self check out stand. And most of all… I miss the vast choices of the abundance of cheese selection you have to offer.

But I simply cannot forget how you wronged me! How you offered me spoiled deli meat countless times! I can still feel the harshness of your whole wheat bread tearing at my mouth… Tearing at my heart… I just cannot forget all the deceit and lies you put me through. You just don’t understand the concept of expiration dates!

At this point, I honestly don’t know if your cheese and oatmeal would be enough for our relationship. I’m not sure you can offer what I need to make this work.

I hope you can understand my decision. I will continue to look at other markets. Vons, Ralphs, and 99 Ranch all beckon to me. But none can hold their place in my heart like you once did.

Until we meet again…

We’re curious to see if they will actually respond, or how they will respond.  Maybe they’ll give us a bunch more coupons…though I don’t know if that’s enough to lure her back to her Fresh and Easy junkie ways.   I’ll end this post with Fresh and Easy’s slogan…Fresh should always be this easy…

I like my version better, “Fresh should always be this easy…if we cared to serve you fresh food…”

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