Fresh and Easy could become "Wild Oats"

Fresh & Easy ground-breaking.  Photo: Footprints

Bayview residents remain anxious about the future of the Fresh and Easy supermarket on Third Street which could close in the wake of the parent company's sale of the chain.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that billionaire Ron Burkle is in talks to buy the Fresh & Easy chain through his private equity company Yucaipa Cos.  Sources say the chain would be relaunched under the Wild Oats brand. 

Wild Oats is owned by Jim Keyes, who has been the Chief Executive Officer of 7-Eleven Inc. and Blockbuster Inc.  Bloomberg sources say Keyes would serve as Chief Executive Officer of the new venture.

Thus continues the saga of food retail in a neighborhood often referred to as a "food desert."  Public officials and community organizers celebrated the opening of Fresh & Easy as it was the first new market to open in the neighborhood in decades.

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