New Fresh & Easy location to open Feb. 22

COSTA MESA — Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is set to open its second location in the city Feb. 22.

Construction is underway at Harbor Boulevard and Gisler Avenue for the newest location of the El Segundo-based grocer, whose parent company is Tesco, the British supermarket giant.

The store will be similar to other Fresh & Easy locations in that it will contain a 10,000-square-foot sales floor and offer natural and high-quality products at affordable prices, said company spokesman Brendan Wonnacott.

The market will employ about 25 workers. Applications can be submitted through the company's website. However, it is not clear how many new positions will be created, as some employees could be transferring in from another location.

The company has a history of local hiring — most employees live within a four-mile radius of their store — and entry-level positions start at $10 per hour, according to the website.

This will be the second Fresh & Easy location to open in Costa Mesa within about a year. The first opened Feb. 9 at the Costa Mesa Courtyards shopping center, off Harbor and 19th Street.

"Our first Costa Mesa store has been very well received and customers are very excited about all our Fresh & Easy products," Wonnacott wrote in an email. "We're excited to be expanding and to bring our fresh and affordable food to the neighborhood."

Both stores' openings represent the continuation of Tesco's 2006 pledge to invest $2 billion over five years in the U.S., Wonnacott wrote. Tesco is the world's third largest retailer.

More than 180 stores in California, Nevada and Arizona have opened since 2007, he said.

The company gives $1,000 to a local nonprofit with each new opening. At the Feb. 9 opening, the company donated a check in the same amount to Project Cuddle, which aims to end infant abandonment.

To date, the company has donated $175,000 to local charities, according to the website.

A third Fresh & Easy location nearby is about three miles away, at 16201 Harbor Blvd. in Fountain Valley.

sarah.peters@latimes.com

Twitter: @speters01