In a ceremony attended by Mayor Kevin Johnson, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets formally announced it will soon open in Sacramento's Oak Park, the first of six stores the urban supermarket chain plans to open in the region next year.

The store at 34th Street and Broadway opens in 2012, officials announced at the site on Wednesday, more than three years after British parent Tesco PLC first announced plans to bring the stores to the region. Fresh & Easy's stop-and-go journey to Sacramento began back in February 2008, with plans to open about 20 stores in the Sacramento area and some 40 stores throughout Northern California.

Fresh & Easy CEO Tim Mason also revealed the sites of the other five regional stores Fresh & Easy plans to open in 2012:

• At Watt and El Camino Avenues, in the old Tower complex.

• On Mack Road in South Sacramento

• In the city of Lincoln

• On Calvine Road in Elk Grove

• On Blue Ravine Road in Folsom.

Today, Fresh & Easy operates 177 stores in California, Nevada and Arizona and has made a recent push in northern California, opening 13 stores so far in 2011. Fresh & Easy combines elements of a traditional grocery store and a convenience store. With about a quarter the floor space of a typical supermarket, the stores emphasize fresh items, prepared take-home food and private-label goods.

The Oak Park store will be opened on the site of what was once the Made-Rite market, which went out of business in 1986. Johnson bought the piece of land in 2002 and held it. About six years ago, Fresh and Easy approached the city about the site, the mayor said. Fresh & Easy cleared escrow on the property in 2008.

"This is something we've been working on not just for one year or five years but a long time," Mayor Johnson said of bringing a grocer back to the site. "This store creates jobs and it's green."

Mason also touted the new store's environmental credentials, and said the company was happy to be bringing a grocery store to an underserved market in the city.

"We've worked hard to create a thoughtful, green business," Mason said. "We believe that everyone deserves fresh and affordable food no matter where they live. We want to be part of the solution to providing greater food access."

The store is about 15,000 square feet and will use 30 percent less energy than a typical supermarket, Mason said.

"This is going to be one of the most environmentally advanced stores for Fresh & Easy in the country," he said. "It will be a benchmark in terms of efficiency."

Each of the new Fresh & Easy outlets will have about 30 permanent employees. Mason said the company plans to hire at least half of the employees from within four miles of the specific store. He also said each site will provide about 300 construction jobs as they are made ready.

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