News

The Fresh & Easy store in the Costa Mesa Courtyards shopping center at Newport and Harbor boulevards is one of 30 stores in Southern California that the supermarket chain plans to sell, the company said. It will redesign the rest.

Fresh & Easy’s other Costa Mesa store, on Harbor Boulevard near Gisler Avenue, is not on the sale list.

The El Segundo-based company said it would sell locations “that do not meet the criteria of Fresh & Easy’s model of modern convenience,” spokesman Brendan Wonnacott said in a statement.

The move will enable the company to finance new development and growth, Wonnacott said. Fresh & Easy is working with Apple store designer ADMI on the new fresh-food convenience-store concept, he said.

Fresh & Easy, British supermarket giant Tesco‘s first venture into the U.S. market, has struggled to establish itself in a crowded landscape for natural and organic grocery stores since its debut in 2007.

Fresh & Easy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2013 after operating for years without earning a profit. The chain was then sold to grocery billionaire Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos.

— Los Angeles Times

*Salon owners to be honored for helping charity

Mark McArdle, Ron Perez and Al Perez, owners of Images Salon in Corona del Mar, will be honored Thursday with an award from Childhelp during the organization’s fashion show and high tea at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach.

The three have helped raise more than $160,000 for the Phoenix-based nonprofit in the past 14 years to aid its group homes for children affected by abuse, according to Ashley Bishop, manager of Images Salon. The salon hosts an annual “Cut A Thon” offering half-price haircuts and a drawing, with all proceeds going to Childhelp, Bishop said.

*Grand opening Saturday for new townhomes

Brandywine Homes will hold a grand opening Saturday for Seabright, a new 26-unit development in Costa Mesa’s Westside.

The townhomes, on a 1.42-acre lot at 2019 Anaheim Ave., replaced an 18-unit apartment complex. Prices start in the $600,000s.

Seabright’s units contain two bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms and range from 1,599 to 1,727 square feet.

“Where else in Orange County can you find a townhome community where units have rear yards, a gated entry, a community pool and easy access to nearby beaches and shopping?” Dave Barisic, vice president of sales and marketing for Irvine-based Brandywine, said in a statement.