We received many inquiries when we disclosed that Tesco has been signing leases outside of Nevada, Arizona and southern California, as we wrote:
We know it has already signed several leases in the San Francisco Bay area and needs to build many more stores within range of its distribution center to efficiently utilize its enormous size.
Although Tesco still isn’t talking, things are now starting to leak out in the local press. For example, the Danville Times, a local Bay area paper, confirms that Fresh & Easy is coming to the Bay area:
Floating rumors about a new grocery store and anchor tenant in Green Valley Center — where the old Albertsons once stood on Diablo road by the freeway — are now confirmed.
Owners of the property have signed a lease that could have the United Kingdom-based Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market up and running by summer 2008.
This is a direct assault on Safeway’s homeland. If the Southern California launch goes well, how many weeks can it be before Safeway unveils a small store format?
You can read the whole story here.
