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This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

KPCC Archive

Fresh & Easy grocery chain set to shut down unless someone buys them

File: A sign is posted outside of a Fresh & Easy grocery store on Dec. 5, 2012 in San Francisco.
File: A sign is posted outside of a Fresh & Easy grocery store on Dec. 5, 2012 in San Francisco.
(
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
)

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The Fresh & Easy grocery chain released a statement Wednesday announcing that they would be shutting down.

"Over the last two years, we have been working hard to build a new Fresh & Easy. While we made progress on stemming our losses and moving the business closer to break even, unfortunately we have been unable to obtain financing and the liquidity necessary to continue to fund the business going forward," the company said in the statement.

However, they noted that they are still looking to sell either all or some of their operation.

"As we start the process for an organized wind down of the business, we continue to work to sell all or part of the business," the statement said.

Fresh & Easy first opened in 2007. It was sold to its current owners in 2013, after Tesco, the British company that owned it, decided to pull out of the United States market. It also filed for bankruptcy around the same time as the sale. The chain closed about 50 stores in California and other states earlier this year, the Associated Press reported.

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