Fresh & Easy on Hold. Again.

Stop WGx if you’ve heard this one before.

The long-promised arrival of Tesco’s Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in Willow Glen may be further delayed. While the roofing work underway at Bird & Minnesota/Alma has inspired local residents to dream of conveniently packaged fresh food sold right here in WG, F&E’s CEO Tim Mason told The Times of London (United Kingdom) that Tesco is slowing its Northern California expansion. Again.

In an interview published in the November 12 edition, Mason says the financial crisis and economic recession has resulted in a decision by Tesco to slowdown the rapid expansion plans of its Fresh & Easy grocery and fresh foods chain.

And the “Fresh & Easy Buzz” weblog reports that the Stockton distribution facility that would supply any WG operation is also behind schedule:

Tesco is way behind its original schedule already to open its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market distribution center (in Stockton, California) and first stores in Northern California. The first Fresh & Easy markets in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the Sacramento/Vacaville region, for example, were to have opened earlier this year, according to Tesco’s original Northern California market Fresh & Easy store rollout plan

But late last year Tesco’s Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market changed its original schedule, saying then the first Northern California stores would be open by the end of this year. Then earlier this year, the retailer said the first Northern California stores wouldn’t start opening until early in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Northern California distribution center in Stockton was originally set to be open by now. However, based on our sources in the area, it is nowhere even near ready for a first quarter 2009 opening. In fact, work appears to be non-existent at the facility site.