Fresh & Easy Draws a Crowd for Its Opening

It's hard to fit more than a few shopping carts at a time through the automatic doors of the newly opened Fresh & Easy at 22475 El Toro Rd., so it took a couple minutes before everyone who was lined up outside could actually enter the store once the ribbon was cut at 10 a.m.

But once inside, shoppers bustled down the aisles of the British-owned grocery outlet that feels distinctly different from other chain supermarkets: wide aisles, self checkout, and signs with pledges to sell products with no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, artificial colors or added trans fats.

Lake Forest Mayor Pro Tem Mark Tettemer addressed the crowd before the store's opening, and the store's staff presented a large, $1,000 check to local charity Family Forward. Council members Marcia Rudolph, Kathryn McCullough and Scott Voigts were also in attendance.