Things aren't going too well over at Tesco PLC, the British company that runs the U.K.'s largest grocery chain as well as Fresh and Easy stores stateside.
Not only is the American dream failing as Fresh and Easy slides toward oblivion, but the franchise was recently caught overcharging customers and a San Diego Superior Court judge ordered it to pay $833,136 in penalties, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune piece.
Meanwhile across the pond, Tesco is dealing with a PR battle after its hamburgers were found to contain horse meat.
Still, more than 1,000 shoppers want to "Keep Fresh and Easy stores open" and are petitioning on Change.org and another thousand want to "Save Fresh and Easy" on Facebook.
The petition on Change.org says that if Fresh and Easy were to fail, "they would be missed" and "as many as 5000 US jobs would be lost."
The Facebook page asks people to bring three friends to Fresh and Easy and "show them exactly what it is you have come to love" about the store.
The final decision will be up to Tesco, after it weighs out whether or not the US venture is worth pursuing.
Fresh and Easy thinks so, and the chain is appealing to customers to stick with their local "neighborhood market" store. As of yet, there are no plans to close stores, the company says.
Is Fresh and Easy worth saving? Share your thoughts in the comments.
